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U.S. Rep. Sam Graves speaks to residents Wednesday afternoon at Vintage Gardens. Mr. Graves spoke to the group about the economic stimulus checks.

In the global economics of petroleum, Congressman Sam Graves believes the supply side needs acceleration.

With China and India driving demand for crude oil products, and U.S. consumers hit with the resulting high pump prices, the Republican lawmaker came to St. Joseph Wednesday afternoon to sell his proposal for speeding up energy projects.

“Demand is not going to change,” he said. “We have to increase supply.”

Legislation Mr. Graves introduced last month, called the Streamlining America’s Various Energy Needs Act, would expedite such projects as refinery and pipeline construction without, he said, lessening environmental standards.

The representative and others cite the lack of American refining capacity as one reason for the rising cost of gasoline. A new refinery has not been built in the United States since the 1970s. Mr. Graves put part of the blame on the regulatory process.

His bill would create an interagency task force to knock down obstacles for “projects that will increase the production, transmission or conservation of energy.”

The fourth-term lawmaker also repeated calls for drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska and off the American coasts, where China is funding oil exploration within 40 miles of U.S. shores.

“We’ve got to Americanize those resources,” he said during a stop at Vintage Gardens, a senior living facility.

With citizen anger rising over high gas prices, energy issues have become elevated as fall campaign issues. The campaign of Democrat Kay Barnes, Mr. Graves’ likely opponent in the November election, has criticized the incumbent for voting for tax breaks for oil companies while accepting campaign contributions from them.

Frank Freudenthal, with a family business interest in Vintage Gardens, said energy concerns affect all commercial enterprises.

“It’s all going up,” he said in introducing Mr. Graves. “It increases the cost of everything.”

Mr. Graves also spent time talking to center residents about their potential for getting federal rebates from the economic stimulus program. Even those not required to file a tax return might be entitled to a payment, he said.

Many senior citizens aren’t participating even though they qualify for money, said Sandra Walker, an Internal Revenue Service senior tax consultant who attended the gathering.

“It’s a little harder population to reach,” she said.

Ken Newton can be reached at kenn@npgco.com.