Cheney castigates state over conservation
Davis calls VP 'grossly uninformed'
Carla Marinucci / Chronicle Political Writer 9may01

Bush says, Tax cut would help pay fuel bills
He urges Congress to pass plan quickly
Carolyn Lochhead / SF Chronicle 12may01

Cheney's comments, during an interview with CNN, were a departure from the administration's recent attempts to sympathize with the plight of Californians facing rising electricity bills and a summer of rolling blackouts.

Discussing the administration's upcoming energy plan, Cheney said the entire nation could be as bad off as California if it didn't produce more energy.

"What's happened in California, I would argue, is they've taken the route of saying, 'Well, we can conserve our way out of the problem. All we have to do is conserve; we don't have to produce any more power," Cheney said. "So they haven't built any electric power plants in the last 10 years in California, and today they've got rolling blackouts, because they don't have enough electricity; they've got rising prices; they've got a whole complex of problems that are caused by relying only on conservation and not doing anything about the supply side of the equation."

Democratic Gov. Gray Davis called the vice president "grossly uninformed" on California's "aggressive" efforts to build new power plants.

"While no major power plants were built during the 12 years before I took office, my administration has approved 13 new plants, eight of which are currently under construction," Davis said in a statement released after the interview. "In addition, we've approved six peaker plants for this summer. No state in America is building more power plants than California."

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., also criticized Cheney as missing the point on conservation. She called it a "no-brainer" for the administration to support her effort to raise fuel efficiency standards for popular sport utility vehicles.

"By any reasonable standard, mileage efficiency of passenger vehicles should be part of an energy policy," Feinstein said.

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer was immediately forced to defend Cheney's remarks on CNN as "valid," and address the charge the vice president was blaming Californians for their energy woes.

"I don't think it's pointing a finger to say no new plants have been built in 10 years," Fleischer said, according to transcripts of the White House press briefing yesterday. "No matter how you analyze it, California, while doing its best with its economy and with its environment, has not built any new (power) plants . . . and California's electricity usage has soared. . . . I think everybody recognizes that.

"(But) this administration will continue to do all it can to help California," Fleischer added.

Cheney also was questioned about his disclosure during the CNN interview that the administration would make no immediate decision on higher fuel standards for SUVs pending the results of a National Academy of Sciences study in July.

Feinstein, whose efforts to meet with Bush on the energy issue have been rebuffed three times, said in a statement, "The no-brainer in all of this is simply to recognize . . . that SUVs and light trucks are passenger vehicles and, as such, should have the same efficiency standards as other such vehicles. "

She said increasing fuel efficiency standards could save "1 million barrels of oil a day, reduce oil imports by 10 percent and prevent 240 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions from entering the atmosphere."

Overall, Cheney echoed previous comments by Bush that conservation was part of their upcoming energy plan, but it would rely on new energy sources to preserve "the American lifestyle."

"There are lots of ways we can use technology to get better, more efficient,

conserve more, get more mileage, if you will, out of our energy resources, without saying to the American people, you've got to live in the dark, turn out all the lights, don't enjoy the things that our modern society brings you, " Cheney said. "That shouldn't be necessary."

The flap over Cheney's comments come after several recent attempts by the administration to appear sensitive to California's plight and turn aside suggestions it was ignoring the state because voters overwhelmingly supported Democrat Al Gore in last November's election.

U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, in San Francisco last week, called California "the center of our attention," adding the state was "obviously the place (we're) most focused on."

Abraham cited Bush's order that federal employees conserve at least 10 percent of their energy use in California and said, "We're not waiting for the summer to address the needs."

Almost bristling at times during a suddenly called White House press conference, Bush said, "Let me say it again, see if I can be more clear. To the Congress, who is interested in helping consumers pay high gas prices: Pass the tax relief as quickly as possible.

"The best way to make sure that people are able to deal with high energy prices is to cut taxes, is to give people more of their own money so they can meet the bills, so they can meet the high energy prices," Bush said.

Congress agreed this week to budget a $1.35 trillion, 11-year tax cut, including an immediate $100 billion stimulus, but the cuts themselves have not been passed.

"That's the quickest way to help consumers," Bush said. "I am deeply concerned about consumers. I'm deeply concerned about high gas prices. To anybody who wants to figure out how to help the consumers, pass the tax relief package as quickly as possible."

Bush also defended his emphasis on increasing supplies of natural gas, saying tight natural gas supplies are directly linked to California's electricity crisis and that he is working with Mexico and Canada to get more of the fuel.

"We have a serious situation in the state of California, as you're very aware," Bush said, adding that his administration has been working with state officials and ordered federal sites in the state last week to cut their power demand by 10 percent.

"But the new plants that are being brought on stream in California are going to be driven by natural gas," Bush said, "and we need more natural gas to make sure there's fuel for those plants."

The White House is preparing to announce on Thursday a sweeping new energy policy that holds big political and economic stakes for the new administration.

Under development since Bush's first days in office, the policy has been crafted in secret by a Cabinet-level task force headed by Vice President Dick Cheney. The task force has consumed heavy administration attention, and the officials involved have been ordered to keep a tight lid on their discussions.

ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY CRITICIZED

Cheney and Bush are veterans of the oil industry, and the policy has already come under fire from Democrats and environmentalists who say it will shortchange conservation in favor of increasing supplies.

Bush has long advocated opening such controversial areas as the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling, and Cheney has suggested heavier reliance on coal and nuclear power.

Yesterday, Bush said hybrid automobiles that rely on fuels other than gasoline also will be part of his plan.

Asked if the public might be suspicious of an energy policy coming from an administration headed by oil veterans, Bush said, "I would tell the American people I'm going to tell the truth when it comes to energy."

While saying conservation will be part of his plan, Bush insisted that conservation alone will not solve energy shortages.

"I'm also going to say, as plainly as I can, we won't conserve our way to energy independence," Bush said. "We must also increase supply. It's in the consumers' interest that we do so.

"The only thing I know to do, sir, is to tell the truth, the way I see it," he said. "And we can play like there's not an energy crisis or hope there's not a problem. And there's a problem that's going to confront this nation. And my job, as the president, is to take the problem on and propose the solutions I think necessary to solve the problem. And again, I repeat, it's a combination of good conservation and an increase in supplies. And I believe we can do both. And so, I think most of the American people understand that."

BUSH DEFENDS GAS TAX

Bush also is facing criticism from some Republicans on Capitol Hill, who argue that he should lead an effort to roll back the federal gasoline tax.

Bush quickly dismissed that idea, saying his broad income tax cut is a better remedy.

"I want to remind the members of Congress, both Republican and Democrat, all of us are concerned about high energy prices and prices at the gas pump being too high," Bush said. "Let's get the tax relief done and do it quickly. I hope there's no intention to delay."