US must cut foreign oil use, Bush aide says

WASHINGTON -- President Bush's new chief of staff said yesterday that the White House plan to address high gasoline prices will have only a modest impact and the ultimate goal must be reducing dependence on foreign oil.

''This is a very large problem," Josh Bolten said on ''Fox News Sunday" in his first interview since taking over April 14 as Bush's top aide. ''It's built up over many years -- decades, in fact. It's not going to be solved in the short run by some silver bullet."

Administration officials on yesterday's talk shows drove home the importance of reducing US consumption of foreign oil. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called it a ''trap" and Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman acknowledged that rising gas prices had become a crisis.

Senate majority leader Bill Frist favors mailing $100 rebates to taxpayers to help cushion the higher gas prices, but lawmakers and voters from across the political spectrum have ridiculed the idea.

Republican senators have received calls and e-mail messages from constituents describing the rebate as inadequate and a calling it an attempt to pander to voters before the November election, The New York Times reported in today's editions.

Bodman suggested that finding short-term fixes to soothe consumers angered by pump prices topping $3 per gallon might be difficult.

''The suppliers have lost control of the market. Demand exceeds supply," Bodman said, citing demand worldwide from China, Indian, and other growing economies. ''Clearly, we're going to have a number of years -- two to three years -- before suppliers are in a position to meet the needs of demands."

Rice left the impression that the president is not going to take action against oil-producing nations for high prices through the World Trade Organization, as some lawmakers have urged.

She said the United States is encouraging oil-rich countries to increase production, but the long-term solution is to diversify sources of energy.

''We need to deal with the long-term problems of technologies that may get us out of this trap," Rice said on ABC's ''This Week." ''But I can tell you that if anything has surprised me as secretary of state, it is the degree to which the kind of search for hydrocarbons is distorting international politics. That means that the quicker we get about the business of reducing our reliance on oil, the better we're going to be."

Bolten said he didn't know how much the president's plan would lower the price of a gallon of gas. ''I expect the effects would be relatively modest," he said on NBC's ''Meet the Press."

''All of those policies need to come together because we need to leave behind a legacy in which this country is headed toward weaning itself from its dependence on foreign oil," he said. ''We've been going in the wrong direction for years, for decades."

Bush said last week that he wants Congress to give him the power to raise fuel efficiency standards for cars. The fleet average of 27.5 miles per gallon has not changed for two decades.

Bolten said the president does not have a specific increase in mind and the transportation secretary would take time to figure it out. Bolten said Bush does not just want to raise the standard, but change it so that it is based on vehicle weight and size.

Bodman reiterated his opposition to imposing a tax on oil companies if they make excessive profits. When tried several years ago, the windfall tax ''did not work. It resulted in decreased production," Bodman said.

Red Cavaney, president of the American Petroleum Institute, defended his industry's profits, saying US companies have consolidated over the years to compete with the growing size of foreign oil companies. US oil company profits ''typically come close to industry average," he said.

He also said the unrest in Iraq has exacerbated the situation by disrupting oil production.

Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, said on CBS' ''Face the Nation" that the United States must start looking at increasing domestic supply such as ''sensible drilling." Rolling back gas taxes or handing out rebates might soothe consumers this summer but not in the long run, she said.

''What we're faced with are the laws of supply and demand, and Congress isn't going to be able to repeal the laws of supply and demand," said Murkowski, a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

Speaking about his new job, Bolten said it's time for the White House to go on offense and ''get our mojo back."

Bolten made no promises of pulling up President Bush's all-time low approval ratings, but he said he and Bush have decided that they want to be more open with the media and the public.

''We've taken advice from a lot of folks that we ought to put the president out more in ways that the American people can see what he's really like," Bolten said on ''Fox News Sunday."

But he said that does not mean the president's policies are going to get an overhaul. ''I don't think we need to change, but we do need to refresh and reenergize," Bolten said.

For example, he said the White House is ''thinking actively" about immigration and putting the president out front on an issue that has split him off from some in his own party.