Titus offers energy fixes

State Sen. Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, summed up her package of energy proposals Monday as "help now, bridge the gap and plan for the future."

Titus, who is running for Congress, unveiled the first policy paper of her campaign at a service station in Henderson, saying gasoline prices are the number one issue she hears about on the trail.

Congress needs to act, she said, because while the price of gasoline has decreased in recent weeks, "It hasn't come down enough, it fluctuates with the political winds and there's nothing in place to ensure it'll go down further and stay down."

Titus proposed a set of short-, medium- and long-term fixes including releasing oil from the federal Strategic Petroleum Reserve, allowing oil drilling off the coasts of states that agree to it and repealing some tax breaks for oil companies.

Titus' stance on offshore drilling is at odds with many in her party, including Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, who has called it a political gimmick that is unlikely to help lower gas prices, and environmentalists who say more drilling will lead to more oil spills that hurt coastal ecosystems.

Titus said she sees it as a matter of states' rights. "This decision is something that needs to be made and regulated by the states, not stuck in Congress," she said.

And she said environmental concerns have abated as techniques have improved. "The technology is much better today than it ever has been for offshore drilling, and I would support it with some conditions," she said.

Under her plan, in addition to states' consent, offshore drilling could only occur if the oil thereby produced was earmarked for sale in the United States and some royalties from offshore drilling went toward development of renewable energy.

A spokesman for the Republican incumbent Titus is challenging, Rep. Jon Porter, accused Titus of changing her position on offshore drilling, which Porter also supports.

Titus in 2007 voted against a resolution in the state Senate that called on President Bush to repeal the executive ban on offshore drilling. She had proposed an unsuccessful amendment to the resolution that would have replaced its references to coastal exploration with language about renewable energy.

"Senator Titus has failed to articulate a consistent message for Nevada's energy future," Porter spokesman Matt Leffingwell said. "In 2007, she had an opportunity to take a clear position on offshore drilling."

Titus said she didn't think it was the Nevada Legislature's "role to get involved" in the drilling issue. She said she voted against the 2007 resolution because "there were none of those qualifiers I mentioned, just carte blanche to Congress."

In addition to offshore drilling, Porter and Titus are in agreement on the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which Titus said could have an immediate impact on oil prices. The congressman voted to release some of its oil last week.

Leffingwell said Monday he didn't know Porter's positions on cracking down on oil futures speculation or removing tariffs on Brazilian ethanol, two more proposals Titus advocates. Porter has supported the tax breaks for oil companies that Titus decries, viewing them as incentives for domestic energy production.

Porter wants Congress to take a multi-pronged approach to what he sees as an energy crisis, his spokesman said. "The congressman has supported an all-of-the-above approach and continues to work across party lines to find solutions and reduce the price at the pump."

Contact reporter Molly Ball at mball@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2919.