New Mexico’s representatives on Bush’s SotU

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Heath Haussamen was up early this morning:

Most of New Mexico’s leaders in Washington were critical of at least some of the proposals President Bush made Tuesday in his State of the Union address.

Oh really?

On energy independence and climate change, Bush called for reducing the nation’s gasoline usage by 20 percent in the next 10 years by increasing the use of alternative energy – in particular ethanol – and pushing tougher fuel efficiency standards. He acknowledged for the first time the need to confront “the serious challenge of global climate change.”

U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M. and chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said he was encouraged that the president has set a goal of reducing the nation’s gasoline usage by 20 percent in the next 10 years.

“That is an initiative all Americans can get behind,” Bingaman said. “But I am very disappointed that the president did not say much about addressing global warming in a comprehensive way. There is a great desire across the country – including from leading American companies – for presidential leadership on this important issue. By essentially ducking the issue of taking a mandatory, economy-wide approach to the problem, the president has missed a real opportunity.”

There’s a lot more over at Heath’s place, so be sure to read the whole thing.

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