KMBC-TV 9 - 2 GOP Candidates Talk About High Gas Prices

2 GOP Candidates Talk About High Gas Prices

POSTED: 8:52 pm CDT July 12, 2006
UPDATED: 9:15 pm CDT July 12, 2006

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. -- With gas running at about $3 a gallon, at least two men running for Congress admit that if they get elected, there isn't much they can do about it, KMBC's Micheal Mahoney reported Wednesday.

Two Johnson County Republicans said they don't have any solutions to the rising price of gasoline.

Republican Chuck Ahner told voters not to get hopeful about gas prices.

"I do not think that oil is going to drop very much from where it is today," Ahner said.

Ahner's Republican opponent in the primary, Scott Schwab, agreed.

"No, we're not going to get them to drop, but you're going to get them to stabilize. That's something congress can and should obtain," Schwab said.

Ahner said America needs an energy policy that protects national security, and he encourages more oil production in the United States.

Schwab holds a similar view, Mahoney reported.

Both candidates also oppose taxing big oil's profits.

"You're not going to affect Exxon; you're going to affect those small oil and gas producers in southeast and southwest Kansas," Schwab said.

Both Ahner and Schwab said they would back more federal support for ethanol, the fuel alternative made from corn.

Schwab said he's not worried that turning feed corn into fuel could drive up costs for the Kansas cattle business.

"Beef can handle a little higher price -- energy can't," Schwab said.

Ahner said another energy source is switch grass.

"What we're going to do is create a comprehensive energy plan, because there are no short-term fixes," Ahner said.

The Republican primary for Congress in Kansas is Aug. 1. Whoever wins the Republican primary will face Democrat Dennis Moore, who is seeking his fifth term in Congress.

Advance voting for the primary is under way. Kansas residents can vote in advance at certain sites, or they can vote by mail by requesting a ballot from their local election office or county clerk.

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