If there was one other problem besides the economy which took much of the President's time in '75, it had to be the energy problem. Consumers were hit with rising prices of electricity, gas and fuel. Oil-producing nations were responsible for at least some of the increases, because so much of the oil the U.S. gets from abroad is used for energy purposes. Therefore, talks centered around having the United States work towards a day when it would not have to rely on any other nation for its energy needs; but the plan as stated by President Ford would cost $100 billion
President Gerald Ford: "Frankly, we cannot wait any longer for the Congress to act on my Comprehensive Energy Program. Long-range security, jobs and energy are inseparable. The time has come for action on energy independence. Accordingly, I will ask very shortly the Congress to erase all doubt about the capacity of America to respond. I will propose an entirely new $100 billion Government corporation to work with private enterprise and labor to gain energy independence for the United States in ten years or less."
"(Applause.)"
Ed Karrens: An independent energy plan was fine, said most politicians; but some of them said you can't have an energy plan without a conservation plan to go with it. So if anything, 1975 was a year where there was further searching for energy policy. The fuel and energy crisis of the '70s has made the United States aware that solutions must be found and alternative systems must be investigated. In 1975, some progress toward that end may have started.
Coming up next: the Middle East closer to peace; Lebanon in civil war; Franco of Spain, a dictator, dead.
