Fifth District U.S. Rep. Jeb Hensarling met with Athens citizens Wednesday to discuss the nation’s energy policy and the role Washington, D.C., can play in reducing the cost of fuel.

Hensarling told the crowd gathered in the Athens City Council chambers at the City Hall Annex that East Texans have had to tighten their belts to pay for necessities. The rising cost of petroleum-based fuel is driving up those costs.

His visit comes at a time when the price of regular unleaded gasoline at Athens gas stations hovers above $3.80 per gallon.

Hensarling said his plan for cutting energy costs includes expanding energy production and lowering U.S. dependence on foreign oil imports.

“If the rest of the market stayed the way it is today,” Hensarling said, “and you would open up the Arctic area of Alaska (for oil production) you could bring down the price 70 cents a gallon at the pump. If you could develop the energy resources of the outer continental shelf that could bring down the price ninety cents. If you would expand U.S. refining capacity, you could cut the cost by 15 cents a gallon.”

Hensarling said congress is looking at other energy related measures that would only offer temporary relief. Republican presidential candidate and Senator John McCain, among others, has called for a summer-long suspension of the federal tax on gasoline.

“Some have called for a federal gas tax holiday,” Hensarling said. “I think that is a very short term measure. It’s one that I would favor, but it’s not a panacea or a cure-all.”

Hensarling fielded a few questions from the audience. Bill Waggoner asked if the U.S should lift the tariff on Brazilian ethanol. Foreign ethanol imported to the U.S. is subject to a tariff.

“Over the next 10 to 15 years,” Hensarling said, “Congress has mandated that we lessen our dependence on foreign oil by the use of ethanol. Last year we burned a quarter of our corn crop. We subsidized it with about a 50-cent tax credit to the farmers and put a 54-cent tariff on imported ethanol. If you’re are trying to feed livestock or are in the chicken business, it’s tough because the price of feed has gone through the roof.”

Hensarling said environmentalists have learned that ethanol has a larger carbon footprint than petroleum and could have a greater effect on global warming. A Science magazine study noted the widespread use of ethanol from corn could result in nearly twice the greenhouse gas emissions as the gasoline it would replace because of expected land-use changes.

“It’s a horrendous policy and I’m working to overturn it,” Hensarling said.

Hensarling was also asked about the liquefaction of coal as a source of energy.

“In our latest non-energy energy bill in Washington, there is a provision that effectively denies the federal government the ability to contract with anyone who does coal liquefaction,” Hensarling said. “The Air Force wanted to have a long-term contract with Canada because Alberta is full of the stuff. I’d much rather be dependent on the Canadians than the Iranians or Saudi Arabia.”