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MINNEAPOLIS - U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann said the U.S. needs to tap its energy reserves and that only Congress is standing in the way of making a dent in rising fuel costs.

Bachmann held a conference call Tuesday after returning from a tour of energy sites in Colorado and Alaska with other Republican members of Congress.

She said Congress should open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling, and allow for the expansion of oil exploration in other areas including Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota and off the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf of Mexico coasts.

Bachmann predicts that if the U.S. more thoroughly taps its own energy sources, gas prices could be cut in half. Other energy experts have disputed that projection.