PRESIDENT OBAMA
Still recovering from last year
Rising gasolene prices have become a campaign issue in America, as speculation about tensions in the Middle East has exerted pressure on oil prices.
Contenders for the Republican Party nominee are promising to cut America’s dependence on foreign oil, exploiting the emotional response of United States (US) consumers to the threat of high fuel prices.
Meantime, Jamaican consumers are feeling the effects of the jump in gasolene prices and the fuel charge on electricity bills.
The possibility that high gasolene prices could become a threat to President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign is felt to have influenced what was rumoured to be a possible release of oil from the strategic petroleum reserve by the US and United Kingdom (UK). These rumours followed reports that in their recent meeting, President Obama and UK Prime Minister David Cameron had agreed to a release of oil in the summer. Putting additional oil on to the market would, presumably, halt or slow down the uptick in prices.
Since January, oil prices have jumped more than 15 per cent, and it is feared that further increases will choke
President Barack Obama is calling anew on Congress to end tax subsidies for the oil and gas industry, saying America needs to develop alternative sources of energy in the face of rising gasoline prices.
Obama said Saturday in his weekly radio and Internet address that he expected Congress to consider in the next few weeks halting $4 billion in tax subsidies, something he hasn’t been able to get through Congress throughout his presidency.
He said the vote would put lawmakers on record on whether they “stand up for oil companies” or “stand up for the American people.”
“They can either place their bets on a fossil