President Bush on Tuesday called on Congress to act on his economic and energy proposals. He offered this analysis of gasoline prices and the state of the U.S. economy: "The past 18 months, gas prices have gone up by $1.40 a gallon. Electricity prices for small businesses and families are rising as well. I repeatedly submitted proposals to address these problems, and time after time, Congress chose to block them."
Speaking at a White House news conference Tuesday morning, the president said one solution to the energy crisis would be drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, or ANWR.
"This is a litmus test issue for many in Congress," President Bush said. "Somehow, if you mention ANWR, you don't care about the environment. Well, I'm hoping now people, when you say ANWR, it means you don't care about the gasoline prices."
Is the refuge any closer to being drilled than it was a few years ago? To answer that and other questions about the president's speech, Steve Inskeep talks with NPR Economics Correspondent John Ydstie.
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