For seven months, the White House and leading congressional Democrats have fought a bitter and seemingly endless battle over the future of energy policy in the U.S. Spurred on by Senator Henry M. Jackson and other presidential hopefuls, the Democrats sought to lower oil and gas costs by legislating a rollback of prices to levels far below those set by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. For his part, President Ford believed that only an eventual decontrol of prices—which would mean higher consumer costs—would encourage energy conservation, provide an adequate incentive for increased domestic oil production and ultimately render...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
