Bush: Gov't prepared to tap petroleum reserve again

[Judi Lynn]

Bush: Gov't prepared to tap petroleum reserve again

By Lara Jakes Jordan
ASSOCIATED PRESS

8:43 a.m. September 26, 2005

WASHINGTON – President Bush said Monday that the government is prepared to again tap into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to alleviate any new pain at the pump caused by Hurricane Rita's assault on the center of the nation's energy industry.
He also implied he will likely name a federal czar-like official to oversee the reconstruction of the Gulf Coast from the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. But he said that local officials must first produce a vision for how they want their rebuilt communities to look.

"I'm considering how best to balance the need for local vision and federal involvement," he said. "The vision and the element of reconstruction is just beginning and there may be a need for an interface with a particular person to help to make sure that the vision becomes reality."

Sen. David Vitter, R-La., said Monday he had urged the president to place "a strong federal leader on the Katrina reconstruction effort" beyond the short-term relief effort. Such a "reconstruction czar" would also need to make sure there were no improprieties in awarding the lucrative reconstruction contracts, Vitter said.

"If the American people lose confidence in this effort, Louisiana and the victims of the storm are going to suffer, so we have to have those protections in place," Vitter said in an interview on NBC's "Today" show.
(snip/...)

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20050926-0843-rita-washington.html

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

1. Memo to Vitter:

After those remarks, you wil likely endu up with Jack Abramoff or the guy who used to head FEMA, before Brown.

[Sub Atomic]

2. Strategic Petroleum Reserve

Is this crude that's already been refined?

If not, how the hell is this supposed to help?

[Javaman]

3. Given morons* spend thrift ways, it will be interesting when that runs out

[Divernan]

4. What's with this "again" crap? Bush has refused to tap into it before.

One major problem now is that the gas in that reserve was bought at very low prices. To replenish the reserve, the govt. will be paying top dollar to their bidness buddies in big oil. I'd rather see Bush put limits on the obscene profits the oil companies are making - like that would ever happen! ! !

[jobycom]

5. What's worse, watching your home town destroyed by a hurricane or

watching it rebuilt by a Bush appointee? Who's he going to appoint? James Dobson? Rafael Palmeiro? Ken Lay? Right now he's pulling out his little black book to figure out which other of his fundraisers has recently been fired for incompetence and could use millions of tax payers' dollars to replenish their bank accounts.

[sarcasmo]

6. No School more OIL, No School more OIL. No School more Oil.

Republican slogan in 08.


Sarcasm of course.