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Published June 18, 2008 11:03 pm - SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Sen. John McCain said Wednesday that the United States must end a growing dependence on foreign oil that is weakening the country economically and strategically. McCain speech boosts energy independence By Susan Redden sredden@joplinglobe.com SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Sen. John McCain said Wednesday that the United States must end a growing dependence on foreign oil that is weakening the country economically and strategically. In a town-hall forum in Springfield, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee called for a mix of new and cleaner power sources and, in the short term, said he would favor eliminating the federal gasoline tax over the summer to give motorists some savings at the pump. The tax amounts to 18.4 cents per gallon. Because energy and national security converge, the United States “can’t afford to delay energy reform and needs to get it right,” McCain said to a packed house at Plaster Student Center at Missouri State University. He said the next president should lead a campaign for energy security that would “transcend election-year politics” and get a national focus similar to President Kennedy’s call for the United States to go to the moon. While McCain said the country must produce more energy and find new sources of power, he said he would not shift from his opposition to oil exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. He said he does favor, with state approval, allowing states to open oil reserves off the continental shelf. He said the United States needs more nuclear energy, and that he, if elected, would set the nation on a course to building 45 new nuclear reactors by the year 2030. Calling the nation’s coal reserves “a strategic national resource,” McCain said he would commit $2 billion per year toward research and development for clean coal technology. McCain also presided at a round-table discussion on energy that included executives from Great Plains Energy and Peabody Coal Co., and retired Marine Corps Gen. James Jones, now involved with an energy program affiliated with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The candidate was interrupted by applause several times by the more than 350 people who packed the student center hall. One audience member, who stood and shouted that McCain had accepted millions of dollars from the oil industry, was escorted out of the auditorium. Allen Shirley, of Joplin, was among those on hand for the speech. He said he was “impressed” by McCain’s message. “He realizes we need to be drilling offshore, doing more in nuclear energy, and that clean coal could be very important,” Shirley said. “But what really impressed me was that he realized there is no one answer, and that there has to be an overall picture of multiple sources to get us energy-independent.” Shirley said he also liked McCain’s argument that congressional earmarks and wasteful government spending must be brought under control. That came in response to questions McCain fielded from a number of people in the audience. He also said he would work to restore confidence in government, citing the 13 percent approval rating for Congress. 
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