The president urged help for other nations to improve technology that could reduce worldwide demand for fossil fuels. And he urged Congress to pass his energy plan so he could sign it by summer.
Mister Bush says former military bases could be used to build oil refineries. He also proposed that the government provide risk insurance for nuclear power operators in case of trouble. Another proposal would increase federal power to approve new centers for liquefied natural gas.
Earlier in the week, Mister Bush proposed ways to reduce the long-term need for imported oil. In his words: "Our dependence on foreign energy is like a foreign tax on the American people." Gasoline currently averages more than two dollars and twenty cents per gallon, or fifty-eight cents a liter.
IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English was written by Jerilyn Watson. I'm Steve Ember.
A report this week added to concerns about the effects of high energy prices on economic growth. The government says the United States economy expanded at a yearly rate of just over three percent from January through March. The increase was the smallest in two years.
Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia visited President Bush this week at his home in Crawford, Texas. The crown prince discussed a Saudi plan to increase oil production. But Saudi foreign affairs adviser Adel al-Jubeir noted that American refineries cannot process much more oil.
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