Obama Promotes Domestic Oil Production

     U.S. President Barack Obama is announcing a new initiative to increase domestic oil production, while moving toward lowering the country's dependence¹ on imported oil.

    In his weekly address Saturday, Obama said his administration plans to extend drilling leases in the Gulf² of Mexico, and sections of Alaska.

    The president says his team is looking at ways of simplifying(简化) the permitting process in Alaska that will impact oil prices in future.

    Obama admits his initiatives will not impact current gasoline prices.

    President Obama says a task force is now looking to root out fraud and any suspected price fixing, which may influence what consumers pay at the pump.

    Obama is also calling on Congress to vote down next week the $4 billion in tax incentives³ for energy companies that raked in billions in profits this year.

    He says the country would be better served by investing in clean energy technology.

    In the Republican weekly address, Congresswoman Martha Roby called for the government to cut spending and address soaring gas prices.  She said the cost of energy is directly related to the cost of hiring workers and running businesses.(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 dependence   

n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属

参考例句：

• Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
• He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。

2 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

3 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法