Latham calls for national energy policy

Iowa Congressman Tom Latham says this winter’s bitter cold should alert lawmakers to the need for a comprehensive national energy policy. As the federal government puts more money into low-income heating assistance, Latham says a long-range plan might help avert future runaway energy bills.The fifth district republican from Alexander says more work also needs to be done in the area of renewable fuels. Latham says he’s solidly backing President Bush’s one-point-six trillion-dollar tax cut proposal. Latham says it’s time American taxpayers see changes that will enable them to keep more of the money they earn in their pockets. Latham says the plan would eliminate the so-called marriage tax penalty for most people. He says the Bush proposal would also get rid of the death tax, which he says destroys small businesses and family farms.