Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama would have very different energy policies if elected president. Senator John McCain proposes ideas such as a $5000 tax credit for people who purchase zero-emissions cars and a $300 million prize to the developer who invents a better battery pack for vehicles. McCain has also proposed increasing off-shore drilling and a federal gas tax holiday. On the other hand, Senator Barack Obama said he wants to reduce demand for energy over the long term and that he would increase government oversight of energy traders. Quotes "I further propose we inspire the ingenuity and resolve of the American people by offering a $300 million prize for the development of a battery package that has the size, capacity, cost, and power to leapfrog the commercially available plug-in hybrids or electric cars. That's $1 for every man, woman and child in the U.S., a small price to pay for helping to break the back of our oil dependency, and should deliver a power source at 30 percent of the current costs." - Senator John McCain, R-Ariz. "The truth is, is that I want to give a tax break to help offset rising gas costs, but we're not going to bring down gas prices easily, quickly. The only way to do it is to reduce demand over the long term in a serious way." - Senator Barack Obama, D. Ill. Warm Up Questions 1. Where does the gas that powers cars and buses come from? 2. Gasoline is $1 more per gallon than it was last year. How has the increased price of gasoline impacted your daily life? How is it affecting the economy? Discussion Questions 1. Research the energy plans of presidential candidates Senators John McCain and Barack Obama. Outline the positives and negatives of each. Which plan do you think is better? Why? 2. Are the candidates leaving something out of their plans that you would include? Additional Resources Transcript of this report NewsHour Vote 2008 Coverage