Manchin Has Plan For Gas Prices | The Wheeling Intelligencer

WHEELING - Sen. Joe Manchin says approving construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline is just one move Congress can take to address increasing gas prices.

Manchin, D-W.Va., presented his six-point proposal for lowering the high cost of gasoline during stops in Wheeling Tuesday.

He suggests the following: building the Keystone XL Pipeline; developing a national plan for energy independence; making more use of domestic fuels; cracking down on oil speculators; eliminating unnecessary subsidies to oil companies; and taking a harder line with Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and foreign countries who collaborate in setting the price or limiting the production of oil.

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., presents his plan to lower rising gas prices Tuesday during a stop at Schmidt Brothers Sunoco in Center Wheeling.

On Tuesday, Manchin began his day in Wheeling with a stop at Schmidt Brothers Sunoco in Center Wheeling, where the price for a gallon of regular gasoline was $3.85.

"To me, a national energy policy is using everything we domestically have in this county," Manchin said. "That means you develop your coal, your gas, your oil, your renewables - you do everything you can to be energy independent.

"And the dependency we've had on foreign oil has caused us so much heartache and loss of life, and untold amounts on our economy."

He said America's wars against terrorism in the Middle East are tied to the U.S. need for foreign oil, and the need to keep these regions at peace.

"We continue to fight for the energy from unstable countries that don't support our way of life, and many of them wish to do us harm," Manchin said. "The quicker we could turn off the spigot in terms of using their oil - and turn the money off we are sending them - the better off we will be. We have to do everything we can to be totally independent."

Manchin is the only Democrat in the Senate who is a co-sponsor of a measure that approves immediate construction of the Keystone XL pipeline - a move that is being delayed by the Obama administration.

The pipeline would transport oil from Alberta, Canada, through Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma before ending in Nederland, Texas. And Manchin thinks its establishment will benefit America.

"I don't think anybody expects that we will go to war anytime soon with Canada," Manchin said. "That's a pretty stable country, our best partner."

Manchin also visited small businesses in the Center Market area of Wheeling, taking time to greet employees and customers at Centre Cup Coffee, The Market Wines and Casa di Vino before lunch at Coleman's Fish Market. Manchin also toured the Ziegenfelder Co. before heading to Wheeling Park High School and the dedication of the new Performing Arts Center there.

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