On energy and education

Americans felt a bite to their wallets like never before in 2008 as gasoline prices soared to record heights. The dependence on foreign oil supplies and the possibilities for developing alternative fuel and energy sources have become important issues in the debate over who will become the 44th President of the United States.

Senators Barack Obama, D-Ill and John McCain, R- Ariz., have laid out detailed energy proposals that share several goals but differ on many methods. Here’s look at their proposals.

Obama emphasizes the need to raise fuel standards on vehicles and developing biofuels, as he stated in an April 2008 address to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

He calls for eliminating the need for purchasing oil from the Middle East and Venezuela within 10 years by reducing demand and increasing the domestic oil supply. He advocates putting a million plug-in hybrid autos on the road by 2015 and offering tax credits to purchasers of ultra-efficient cars. He opposes opening more domestic sites to drilling, but would push oil companies to tap the 68 million acres of drilling sites they already possess the rights to explore.

Like McCain, Obama advocates for investment in clean coal technologies and use of a cap-and-trade system to reduce emissions from energy production. Obama proposes a windfall profits tax on oil companies enjoying the most profitable years in history, offering taxpayers an energy rebate of $1,000 with the proceeds.

McCain calls his energy plan the Lexington Project, tying his energy independence plans to the city where Americans first declared their independence from a foreign empire.

The plan includes an increase in domestic oil drilling and production, including an end to the ban on offshore drilling along the outer continental shelf. McCain advocates granting a $300 million prize to whomever can develop an ultra-efficient battery for plug-in and electric vehicles and proposes a tax credit for people who buy highly efficient cars.

McCain calls for more direct government investment in clean coal technologies than does Obama, and says 45 new nuclear power plants should be constructed in the United States by 2030 to provide clean energy.

McCain would offers tax credits to companies researching alternative energy, and opposes a windfall profits tax on oil companies.

On education, Obama calls for a quadrupling of funding for early education programs such as Head Start and a doubling of federal support for after school programs. He has said he will seek a $4,000 tax credit to apply to the first two years of college for most students, addressing concerns about growing college costs.

He has said the No Child Left Behind Act is underfunded and needs to be adjusted to support struggling schools. Obama also says he wants to introduce legislation to start programs at the middle-,school level to deter students from dropping out of high school.

McCain calls for more parental and local school control of the education process, though his campaign plan does not mention school vouchers.

McCain would route a portion of federal Title II monies directly to public school principals to spend on projects they choose, with minimal interference or oversight from federal or local administrators.

He notes that some $25 billion in federal dollars is already spent on early education programs, and advocates a program to reward top Head Start programs in each state and encourage them to pass their successful strategies to underperforming programs. McCain also sets aside close to $1 billion for advances in virtual learning programs.

Both Obama and McCain favor streamlining the college grant application process to make it easier for families to take advantage of what is available, and propose financial rewards for teachers who go to underperforming schools, geographical areas that are underserved or disciplines in which more expertise is needed.

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