Increases in gas prices may alter the political debate this year and have an impact on the volatile race for the Republican presidential nomination.
The four Republican hopefuls left standing have similar views on how to handle price increases, emphasizing increased production to ease costs to Americans and decrease dependence on foreign oil.
Rick Santorum said he favors removing "bans on drilling—both onshore and offshore. This would immediately increase supply, create jobs, and bring revenues to the federal and state governments."
He also believes the U.S. government should "immediately approve the construction of the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline. Construction of this pipeline would deliver an additional 700,000 to 830,000 barrels of oil per day to the U.S. and would create 20,000 jobs."
Santorum accuses President Obama of increasing gas prices by being to tough on domestic exploration.
Mitt Romney said the government should "open America’s energy reserves for development" and "support construction of pipelines to bring Canadian oil to the United States."
Newt Gingrich wants to "remove bureaucratic and legal obstacles to responsible oil and natural gas development in the United States, offshore and on land."
He also wants to "give coastal states federal royalty revenue sharing to give them an incentive to allow offshore development."
Ron Paul would "repeal the federal tax on gasoline. Eliminating the federal gas tax would result in an 18 cents savings per gallon for American consumers."
"Much of the 'pain at the pump' Americans are now feeling is due to federal policies designed by environmental alarmists to punish traditional energy production – like oil, coal, and natural gas – in hopes of making energy sources they favor more 'economical,'” Paul said.
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