UTICA - President Bush asked Congress Wednesday to permit drilling for oil in deep waters off America's coastline to combat rising oil and gas prices. Yet will Congress accept the idea and will it really lower prices at the pump?   

When it was first proposed to them earlier this week, some Democratic members of Congress did not embrace the idea, suggesting it could take 30 years before results are seen and when they eventually are, it would only be a few pennies difference at the pump.

Ed Welsh of AAA is on top of the cost of fuel as it changes everyday. He says the world is sitting back and watching the U.S. being held, as he puts it, "hostage" by environmental concerns. Welsh says as long as were not drilling for our own oil, the cost may continue to stay where it is. He says if the U.S. were start drilling tomorrow, it could take 3 to 4 years before we see a change, but he says there would be one:

"I have no doubt that, if we were to start drilling, and go after where we know the oil is, as soon as the world thought we were serious about this the bidding of oil would start to go away," says Welsh.

In response to U.S. drilling, Congressman Michael Arcuri had this to offer:
    
"This Congress has made real strides to invest in new alternative energy sources that will decrease our dependency on finite fossil fuels and create good paying jobs in the Mohawk Valley. We need to look at who is telling us to drill...it is the oil companies... The last thing they would want is the development of alternative energy which would bring down their profits."

A barrel of oil is up around 135 dollars, and the average price per gallon in the Mohawk Valley is 4 dollars and 22 cents.

Congressman Arcuri is running for re-election this fall against Cooperstown businessman Richard Hanna.