Reagan Urges Decontrol of Natural Gas

President Reagan rejected the idea of an oil import fee to help the beleaguered U.S. energy industry by bolstering domestic oil prices and called instead Saturday for decontrol of natural gas prices.

In his weekly radio address from Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland, Reagan spoke in glowing terms of his Administration’s oil price decontrol policies, initiated in 1981.

Price Decline Cited

He said that the average price of a gallon of regular gasoline had declined from $1.25 when he took office to about 82 cents.

“In fact, the price of gas is now cheaper in real terms, meaning accounting for inflation, than it has been at any point since the 1950s,” the President said.

In addition, he said, “We have assured that our supplies won’t be as vulnerable to international politics as they have been in the past.

“We need a strong U.S. energy industry to keep it that way. I wish the entire energy picture were nothing but good news, but that unfortunately isn’t so.

“While the energy-dependent states of the nation are enjoying increased economic well-being, the economies of our oil-producing states have cooled.

Dramatic Income Losses

“Producers, large and small, have suffered a dramatic loss of income. Many small companies face bankruptcy.”

Crude oil prices have fallen from $30 a barrel in November to about $12 to $15 a barrel, largely because of the world oil cartel’s inability to impose production quotas.

“While our belief in a free market remains firm, that belief is not inconsistent with a sense of compassion and concern for individuals who bear its consequences,” the President said.

“But the answer to these problems is not an import fee on imported oil. That would be a step backward. What we have to do now is go forward with actions that will further improve our energy production, freeing up all remaining energy prices. That means doing to domestic gas what we did to domestic oil--decontrolling it.”

The President said a bill sent to Congress recently by Energy Secretary John S. Herrington would “be a boon to consumers, with the average residential customer saving up to $45 on his or her gas bill on the first full year of decontrol alone.”

“I think it’s time we seized the moment and decided to finish the work we began in 1981,” Reagan said.

Assailed on Tax Reform

In the Democratic radio response to Reagan, Rep. Robert T. Matsui of Sacramento said that the President had allowed his plan to reform the income tax system to die in the Republican-controlled Senate.

Matsui urged the President to “mind the store here at home” before going to Tokyo in May for the annual summit meeting of industrialized nations.

“Tax reform is an orphan, abandoned by the President and abandoned by the U.S. Senate,” said Matsui, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee.