President Obama is calling on Congress to end taxpayer subsidies for major oil companies.
And this week, Virginia Democrats fanned out across the state to bring that message home.
Thursday morning, State Senator John Edwards held a news conference in Roanoke City Council Chambers. Other Democrats met with reporters this week in Charlottesville and Tidewater. Edwards said the President is pursuing an "all of the above" energy strategy, that has ramped up domestic oil production and reduced the nation's dependence on foreign oil, while promoting clean fuels and fuel efficient vehicles.
"In each year the President's been in office our reliance on foreign oil has actually gone down," Edwards said in an interview. "In addition we're producing more than ever before of domestic oil, in fact it's been up 13 percent under this administration in the last three years, so I think we are making progress."
"Taxpayer subsidies... make no sense," Edwards told reporters, "at a time when the big oil companies are making record profits, profits larger than they ever made before."
While Edwards was touting the President's record on energy, Virginia Republicans were criticizing the administration's priorities. In a news release, the Republican Party of Virginia said new EPA rules on power plant emissions are proof the administration is out to destroy Virginia's coal industry.
"President Obama's War on Coal may have just claimed its first casualty in Virginia - a planned 1,500 megawatt power plant in Surry, along with the jobs, tax revenue, and electricity that came with it."
