Democrats doubt Bush can cut US oil imports

[Eugene]

Democrats doubt Bush can cut US oil imports

Feb 21, 2006 — By Tom Doggett and Chris Baltimore

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Democrats on Tuesday asked the Bush administration to explain
how it can slash Middle East oil imports by 75 percent by 2025 when the government's top energy
forecaster predicts that won't happen.

As President George W. Bush wrapped up a two-day, three-state tour to promote his alternative
energy plan, Democrats asked Energy Secretary Sam Bodman to detail how the plan will reduce oil
imports from the Mideast.

"Could you please identify for us and the public the specific policy initiatives the administration
has underway or will propose to reverse the current trend," the Democrats said in a letter to Bodman.

The letter noted that Guy Caruso, head of the federal Energy Information Administration, told a Senate
hearing last week that shipments of Mideast oil to the U.S. market will rise by about 50 percent in
the next two decades.

<snip>

Full article: http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=1646360