U.S. President George W. Bush Wednesday urged Congress to pass legislation that would make the country less reliant on foreign sources of energy, which currently acts like a "foreign tax on the American dream". "Our supply of energy is not growing fast enough to meet the demands of our growing economy," Bush said in Washington, pointing out that while energy consumption has increased, domestic production has not. "Because our foreign energy dependence is growing, our ability to take actions at home that will lower prices for American families is diminishing," Bush said. "Our dependence on foreign energy is like a foreign tax on the American dream - tax our citizens pay every day in higher gas prices, higher costs to heat and cool their homes, a tax on jobs. Worst of all, it's a tax increasing every year." The House of Representatives is considering energy legislation this week and Bush hopes he will sign a bill into law before Congress leaves for its summer recess. While the administration generally praises the House energy bill, it criticized House Republican leaders for loading up the bill with some tax incentives while eliminating others, such as tax credits for hybrid or fuel-cell vehicles. --SP 2230 Local Time 1930 GMT
