Bush to Unveil Energy Plan, Courts Labor

President Bush will roll out his long-term energy strategy Thursday. Meanwhile, he is making a behind-the-scenes appeal for labor union support and hopes to use diplomacy to tap overseas oil.

Bush had directed Vice President Cheney in January to study the nation’s energy needs, and in the ensuing weeks, California’s electricity woes have deepened and gas prices have climbed toward $3 a gallon.

Lawmakers up for reelection next year are growing increasingly anxious about being blamed for the rising costs of energy, and they are beginning to pressure the president.

But Bush has made plain that his plan contains no quick fixes.

Some details of the plan have already emerged.

The administration will try to lay the groundwork by courting a key labor group today when Teamsters President James Hoffa visits Cheney and Labor Secretary Elaine Chao. Bush wanted to “pre-brief [Hoffa] as to what’s coming out so they have comprehensive understanding and can make a judgment if this is something they want to support,” said Cheney spokeswoman Juleanna Glover Weiss.