May 14 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. President Barack Obama said his administration will begin stimulating domestic oil production to blunt rising gasoline prices with measures including encouraging drilling in Alaska and giving oil companies more time to comply with safety regulations.

"Without a doubt, one of the biggest burdens over the last few months has been the price of gasoline," Obama said in his weekly address on the radio and Internet. "And while there are no quick fixes to the problem, there are a few steps we should take that make good sense."

Obama said the government will begin conducting annual lease sales for drilling in Alaska, make faster evaluations of oil and gas resources in the Atlantic Ocean, and create new incentives to develop unused leases.

The administration also is extending drilling leases in the Gulf of Mexico by one year and some in Alaska by at least a year to allow more time for companies to comply with safety standards implemented last year's oil spill. A new team is also being created to accelerate Alaskan permits.

"We should increase safe and responsible oil production here at home," Obama said.

Oil prices have risen more than 30 percent in the past 12 months, and the national average price for a gallon of gasoline was $3.982 yesterday, according to the American Automobile Association, up from $2.890 a year earlier.

Oil Industry Tax

Rising oil prices have led to billions of dollars of profits for oil companies. Congressional Democrats have proposed increasing oil company taxes by $2 billion a year over the next decade.

Obama called on Republicans and Democrats in Congress to terminate as much as $4 billion in "taxpayer subsidies" oil companies receive each year.

"The American people shouldn't be subsidizing oil companies at a time when they're making near-record profits," Obama said.

In today's Republican address, Representative Martha Roby of Alabama touted measures passed by the U.S. House to increase domestic energy production and spur economic growth.

Roby said the federal budget deficit is harming economic growth by creating uncertainty for businesses and consumers. To balance the budget, she said everything must be considered except tax increases.

"We cannot tax the same people we expect to create jobs," she said. "That is a recipe for keeping people out of work."

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