Hinchey announces congressional run

Opponent attacks energy position

By FRITZ MAYER

MONTICELLO, NY — U.S. Congressman Maurice Hinchey attacked the Bush administration and big oil companies as he announced that he is running for his ninth term in congress.

At a news conference at the government center on September 4, Hinchey blamed the administration for leaving the country with the highest national debt in history, as well as a budget deficit that is at record levels.

Hinchey, who has been a fierce critic of the war in Iraq and of the administration’s energy policy, drew a round of applause from the approximately 75 people on hand when he endorsed Senator Barrack Obama as the candidate best suited to become the next president.

Hinchey highlighted his efforts to promote renewable energy in the 22nd Congressional District and railed against giving energy companies tax breaks at a time when they are enjoying record profits. Hinchey has opposed providing new leases to oil companies in areas such as the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge because he said energy companies already have leases for 68 million acres of federal lands on which they have not yet drilled. He has accused the energy companies of trying to amass more leases while simultaneously driving up the price of oil by not drilling.

Hinchey’s opponent, George Phillip, has accused Hinchey of blocking new oil production in the United States. In a news release issued in mid August, the Phillips campaign wrote, “Despite polls showing public support for offshore drilling near 70 percent, including a majority of Californians and Alaskans, Hinchey continues to oppose tapping the 20 billion barrels of oil that the Department of the Interior says can be found in the areas currently closed to drilling.”

Opponents to such drilling have said that oil from those areas would not reach the market for at least 10 years if exploration were to begin today.

Phillips has also accused Hinchey of supporting environmental laws that have blocked the building of new oil-refinement facilities in the United States.

Phillips is a high school and community college teacher, who lives near Binghamton, NY.

The 22nd congressional district includes all or parts of Sullivan, Orange, Ulster, Delaware, Broome, Tioga and Thompson counties, and its cities include Binghamton, Ithaca, Middletown, Kingston, Newburgh and Poughkeepsie.