Pelosi calls on Bush to open oil reserve

WASHINGTON, July 17 (UPI) -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called on President George W. Bush Thursday to sell U.S. oil stockpiles to help lower prices at the gas pump.

Specifically, the California Democrat said she wants Bush to tap the 700 million barrel Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

"If the President had acted 10 days ago, we would have had an impact at the pump by now. Increasing the supply reduces the price," Pelosi said. "That is the way it is supposed to work. So we are calling upon the President once again to free our oil."

The oil reserve, she said, is 97.5 percent full, the largest supply there ever.

"The president does not consider what is happening in our country, to America's families and to our economy, because of the price of oil, an emergency," Pelosi said.

She added that Bush is wrong when he says more offshore oil production would provide motorists some relief.

"The president has said the economy would be doing better if only we could have drilled offshore. If that was such a panacea, why didn't he think of it sooner?" Pelosi said.

Pelosi said he supports a Democratic proposal that she said would "provide more oil" than the National Wildlife Refuge, and "will produce more oil more quickly."