WASHINGTON, June 15: US President George W. Bush on Wednesday urged the divided US Congress to approve his long-stalled energy bill, while acknowledging that it would not soon drive down sky-high US gas prices.

“Now is the time to stop the debate and the partisan bickering and pass an energy bill,” he said in a speech. “For the sake of national security, and for the sake of economic security, the Congress needs to pass an energy bill now.”—AFP