Democratic candidates' comments on energy

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidates were asked during a debate on Tuesday what could be done right now about what afflicts the United States on the issue of energy. Here are their responses:

CONNECTICUT SEN. CHRISTOPHER DODD

"I would suggest to you what Senator Byron Dorgan and I offered twice in the last couple of years, and that was to say that any increase in price over $40 a barrel either be reinvested in alternative energies or new exploration here, or provide a direct rebate to consumers across the country to reduce the cost that you have exactly described here with these increases in the price of a barrel of oil."

FORMER NORTH CAROLINA SEN. JOHN EDWARDS

"What we can do in the short term -- and I will do as president -- is ensure that my Justice Department investigates what these oil companies who are vertically integrated, you know, from refinery to pump, are doing."

NEW YORK SEN. HILLARY CLINTON

We need to do more to investigate, as John says, and we might even have to look at the strategic petroleum reserve, which the Bush administration has been filling up beyond any expectation of need for the short term, at least. But we also have to have a serious move toward energy efficiency and conservation."

NEW MEXICO GOV. BILL RICHARDSON

"You need an energy revolution in this country -- an Apollo program that does the following: one, reduces consumption of fossil fuels by 50 percent by 2020. Fuel efficiency -- I'm going to be specific -- 50 miles per gallon. A renewable portfolio standard -- in other words, all electricity in America -- 30 percent renewable sources."

DELAWARE SEN. JOSEPH BIDEN

"Why do we continue to cause the price of oil to rise by a foreign policy that is absolutely moribund of any center? And what we have to do immediately to take care of those people in Iowa and New Hampshire: provide for emergency fuel assistance."

ILLINOIS SEN. BARACK OBAMA

"As Joe pointed out, out of the $90 that it's costing right now for a barrel, about 30 percent of that is just risk. It's not dictated by supply and demand. If we can lower the rhetoric, with respect to military action in the Middle East, that will have an immediate impact.

OHIO REP. DENNIS KUCINICH

"Everyone knows that the war against Iraq was about oil. This administration was trying to gain control of Iraq's oil, with the help of Congress. It's time we had a president who stood for the Constitution and international law. And that's exactly what I'll do."