Bush Plan to Lower U.S. Energy Costs

WASHINGTON—President Bush presented a plan on Wednesday that would lower national energy costs by offering federal risk insurance to companies that build nuclear power plants and by encouraging the construction of oil refineries on closed military bases.

Mr. Bush patiently laid out his plan to a friendly lunchtime audience of small-business owners at the Washington Hilton. Though his proposals would not lower domestic gasoline prices this summer, they do respond to continuing criticism from Saudi Arabia that one reason for the high cost of gasoline is a lack of refining capacity in the United States.

"Because of our foreign energy independence, our ability to take actions at home that will lower prices for American families is diminishing," Mr. Bush told the business owners. "Our dependence on foreign energy is like a foreign tax on the American people."

As a result of record gasoline prices, Mr. Bush's popularity has fallen. To reassure the public, the president has made two speeches in the last week on efforts to bring down the cost of oil. At the same time, he has used the speeches to keep up pressure on Congress to pass his long-stalled energy bill, which the Democrats have obstructed for nearly four years.

The president has acknowledged that his proposals would not lower gasoline prices "today," but they would help in the long run.

"This problem did not develop overnight, and it's not going to be fixed overnight," Mr. Bush said in his speech at the Hilton. "But it's now time to fix it. See, we got a fundamental question we got to face here in America: do we want to continue to grow more dependent on other nations to meet our energy needs, or do we want what is necessary to achieve greater control of our economic destiny?"

Most of Mr. Bush's speech restated White House energy policy, but the bold plan to build refineries on closed military bases startled energy experts outside the administration. Federal officials said that bases could either be leased or sold to private companies in open bidding. At present, there are about 100 closed bases in the United States, but some have already been redeveloped as commercial airports or economic free zones for businesses. The plan could face local opposition.

Building more nuclear power plants has long been a part of Mr. Bush's energy policy, but offering federal risk insurance to companies willing to try to get approval for them is new. In his speech, Mr. Bush said that his goal was to reduce uncertainty in the building and regulatory process, and to protect companies from construction delays beyond their control. Critics have complained that government red tape is stifling innovation.

No U.S. company has ordered a new nuclear power plant since the 1970's, and since then 35 plants were stopped at various stages of construction because of bureaucratic delays.

"No wonder the industry is hesitant to start building again," he said.

There has been a shift in opinion in the industry and among environmentalists toward more nuclear power, because it is clean and far safer than at the time of the Three Mile Island nuclear accident in 1979.

White House officials said that they wanted Mr. Bush's proposals to be part of the energy bill now working its way through Congress. Senator Pete V. Domenici, the New Mexico Republican who is chairman of a Senate subcommittee on energy and water and a major proponent of nuclear power, said in a statement on Tuesday night that he would incorporate some of Mr. Bush's proposals into the bill.

Democrats oppose the plan and a consumer group also criticized the president:

"The president is proposing to increase refining capacity in this country ostensibly to reduce our dependence on foreign countries, yet in the same breath he is pushing for increased imports of liquefied natural gas, which will leave us more dependent on other countries," the National Association of State Public Interest Groups, a left-leaning consumer advocacy organization, said in a statement.