Puckett gives away free gas, promotes plan to lower prices

by Nora Gathings (hsgathings@wsbt.com)

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2nd District congressional candidate Luke Puckett (R) pumped gas for 50 drivers and talked to them about his plan to lower prices at the pump on Tuesday, April 29, 2008. (WSBT photo)

By Beth Boehne

Story Created: Apr 29, 2008 at 4:10 PM EST

Story Updated: Aug 5, 2008 at 2:38 PM EST

SOUTH BEND — Gas prices hit an all time high in South Bend Tuesday: $3.75 per gallon. Just one year ago, prices were almost a dollar cheaper.

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That has everyone talking about gas prices — whether it's how to pay for it or what they think lawmakers should do to lower the costs.

Last week Congressman Joe Donnelly announced his gas savings plan. Tuesday, one of his Republican challengers outlined how he would help ease the burden at the pump.

Luke Puckett gave away 250 gallons of gas in 30 minutes at the Marathon station on East Ironwood. He said he was giving away free gas to draw more attention to the oil problem and the need for change.

Most people would do just about anything for five free gallons of gas right now, so waiting in a line that stretched around the building wasn't a big deal.

Puckett pumped gas for 50 drivers and talked to them about his plan to lower prices at the pump. He says liberal Democrats who are financially backed by environmental lobbyists are to blame.

His plan would be dramatically different from the plan Donnelly outlined last weekend. Donnelly is requesting 20 million barrels of oil to be taken from the reserve, which he says would lower the price of gas by 25 cents now.

But Puckett is thinking about the future and wants to drill for oil in Alaska and California.

“We know we have a long-term energy problem and we plan to deal with it on a long-term basis, but we want to take immediate action so that our families can get a break in the pocket right now,” Donnelly said last week.

“That's a Band-Aid," Puckett said Tuesday. "The solution is very simple: Go to Congress, allow them to begin the discussion of tapping into ANWR and other domestic resources."

WSBT News spoke to people as they waited for their free gas. They say they will be thinking about gas prices when they go to vote next week. They also said they believe President Bush is to blame for the high gas prices.

Click on the link in the Related Content box to find the cheapest gas in your area.

With prices this high, you may be wondering: Am I really getting what I pay for at the pump? WSBT News decided to test pumps across the area to find out. WSBT's Troy Kehoe has the special investigative report — Gallon of Gas — Thursday night at 11 p.m.

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