Obama: Cut Oil Imports by a Third

The Hill reports:

President Obama will lay out a broad energy plan Wednesday aimed at cutting the country’s foreign oil imports by one-third over the next decade.

The plan comes amid increasing pressure to address high gas prices and concern about the country’s reliance on Middle Eastern and North African oil, particularly given the political unrest in the region.

Obama’s speech will mark a “transition in public communications” from foreign policy issues like Libya to energy security, according to a senior White House official.

“You will see a concerted focus on energy from us over the next period, ” the official said.

In his speech at Georgetown University, Obama will outline a four-point plan for reducing the country’s reliance on foreign oil. The president will call for domestic oil-and-gas development, incentives for natural-gas vehicles and biofuels and an increase in vehicle efficiency, the official said.

A key part of the plan is a proposal to provide incentives to industry to develop unused oil and natural-gas leases on public lands both onshore and off-, the official said.

In recent weeks, the plan, dubbed “use it or lose it,” has become a Democratic counterpoint to Republican calls to open up new land for oil-and-gas drilling.