PRES BOOSTS NEW ENERGY

Obama backs renewable energy amid oil hikes
April 23, 2011 (AFP)

"Taking issue with a Republican budget proposal that calls for steep cuts in energy programs, President Barack Obama said on Saturday that higher gas prices require investments in renewable energy…In his weekly address, Obama also called again for an end to the $4 billion in tax breaks the oil and gas industry receives each year…

"Rising gasoline prices are expected to be a crucial factor in next year's presidential election, and Obama has ramped up his public statements on the issue…[He recently announced] a Department of Justice working group that will probe oil price fraud and speculation…The oil and gas industry's billions in tax subsidies were also singled out for criticism during [his] State of the Union address…"

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"The Republican budget plan, aimed at dramatically reducing the country's $14 trillion deficit, calls for steep cuts in transportation and energy, including slashing by 70 percent a Department of Energy loan guarantee program that supports renewable energy like wind farms and solar installations."

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"The Obama budget calls for a 70 percent increase in spending for renewable fuels…[to create] jobs and opportunities…

"Nebraska Senator Mike Johanns, in his Republican rebuttal to Obama's address, said the idea that government policies could create job growth ‘misses the point entirely’…[because job creation] ‘starts with our businesses, especially our small businesses’…"