AURELIUS - U.S. Rep. Michael Arcuri, D-Utica, stopped at the Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES campus in Aurelius Monday to discuss the impact high energy prices are having on central New Yorkers and to share his thoughts on how the federal government should be reacting.
Jill Connor / The Citizen
Dick Kramer, of Jordan, who commutes to work at Superior Insulation Company, in Auburn, fills his car at the Citgo on Franklin Street in Auburn on Monday. Kramer said his monthly gasoline bill has doubled due to the rising prices.
Dick Kramer, of Jordan, who commutes to work at Superior Insulation Company, in Auburn, fills his car at the Citgo on Franklin Street in Auburn on Monday. Kramer said his monthly gasoline bill has doubled due to the rising prices.
Arcuri, who is seeking re-election in New York's 24th Congressional District, said he had supported legislation that would lower gas prices by forcing oil companies to drill on the 68 million acres of land they lease on the continental United States instead of just sitting on it, by halting the addition of any more oil to the nations strategic oil reserves until the price of crude oil fell below $50 a barrel and by taking steps to stop excessive speculation which has contributed to the increase of gas at the pump.
“We won't see a silver bullet solution overnight,” Arcuri said. “We've taken a number of steps to bring critical relief, but there are many more long-term investments we must make.”
Those investments include increasing fuel and energy efficiency to sever the nation's reliance on foreign oil.
Bill Champlin, BOCES' superintendent of building and grounds, said the schools geothermal heating and cooling system increased the buildings efficiency by 43 percent.
“This building is twice the size of the old building and it only costs $4,000 more to heat it or to cool it,” Champlin said.
The school's old energy bill was $200,000 a year.
Arcuri's likely Republican opponent, Cooperstown businessman Richard Hanna, said he believed the legislation that Arcuri had supported was too long-term to help residents afford to heat their homes this winter.
“We need to open up more resources,” Hanna said. “About 85 percent of the available natural resources are off limits to oil companies, and that's outside of the (Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.) This shows a lack of planning by Congress. People knew this was coming but they waited until now to do anything at the expense of the citizens.”
While Hanna believed geothermal energy was good, he did not see how it would benefit residents who made a household income around $40,000 a year.
“We need more immediate practical solutions in addition to long-term solutions,” Hanna said. “We need to help improve the market and we need to conserve. People are already driving less. It's a slow process and it will be hard for people to give up their driving habits.”
Until the economy improved, Hanna said he did not believe the legislation, which Arcuri supported and that U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer will be presenting to the public during the government's holiday recess, would work. The bill would bring in new business by giving tax credits to companies offering environmentally friendly jobs to residents.
“Instead of sending people out to drill we can keep them right here working with alternative energy,” Arcuri said. “These are the type of skilled jobs that can't be outsourced.”
Staff writer Nate Robson can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 248 or nathan.robson@lee.net
“We won't see a silver bullet solution overnight,” Arcuri said. “We've taken a number of steps to bring critical relief, but there are many more long-term investments we must make.”
Those investments include increasing fuel and energy efficiency to sever the nation's reliance on foreign oil.
Bill Champlin, BOCES' superintendent of building and grounds, said the schools geothermal heating and cooling system increased the buildings efficiency by 43 percent.
“This building is twice the size of the old building and it only costs $4,000 more to heat it or to cool it,” Champlin said.
The school's old energy bill was $200,000 a year.
Arcuri's likely Republican opponent, Cooperstown businessman Richard Hanna, said he believed the legislation that Arcuri had supported was too long-term to help residents afford to heat their homes this winter.
“We need to open up more resources,” Hanna said. “About 85 percent of the available natural resources are off limits to oil companies, and that's outside of the (Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.) This shows a lack of planning by Congress. People knew this was coming but they waited until now to do anything at the expense of the citizens.”
While Hanna believed geothermal energy was good, he did not see how it would benefit residents who made a household income around $40,000 a year.
“We need more immediate practical solutions in addition to long-term solutions,” Hanna said. “We need to help improve the market and we need to conserve. People are already driving less. It's a slow process and it will be hard for people to give up their driving habits.”
Until the economy improved, Hanna said he did not believe the legislation, which Arcuri supported and that U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer will be presenting to the public during the government's holiday recess, would work. The bill would bring in new business by giving tax credits to companies offering environmentally friendly jobs to residents.
“Instead of sending people out to drill we can keep them right here working with alternative energy,” Arcuri said. “These are the type of skilled jobs that can't be outsourced.”
Staff writer Nate Robson can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 248 or nathan.robson@lee.net
