WASHINGTON, Aug. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- The following are remarks by President
Bush at signing the Energy Policy Act of 2005:
Sandia National Laboratory
Albuquerque, New Mexico
11:26 A.M. MDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. Please be seated. Thanks very much for
the warm welcome. I appreciate you treating a neighbor from Texas so kindly.
(Laughter.) I'm really proud to be here with the men and women of the Sandia
National Laboratory. We just had a fascinating tour of the facility. It was
a little quick, but I learned a lot, and I want to thank Tom Hunter for his
hospitality and his enthusiasm for the projects that go on here, and his
praise for the people who work here.
I thank you for coming, and it's such an honor to be here. I know full
well that the work you do here keeps our military strong, it keeps our nation
competitive, and our country is really grateful for your dedication and for
the fact that you lend your expertise into helping Americans.
It is such an honor to be in New Mexico, the home state of Pete Domenici,
as well as Jeff Bingaman, to sign this bill. This bill will strengthen our
economy and it will improve our environment, and it's going to make this
country more secure. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 is going to help every
American who drives to work, every family that pays a power bill, and every
small business owner hoping to expand.
The bill is the result of years of effort. It is the result of good folks
coming together, people who have made a commitment to deliver results for the
American people. This bill launches an energy strategy for the 21st century,
and I've really been looking forward to signing it. (Applause.)
I appreciate Pete Domenici's leadership on this bill. You know, he's the
kind of fellow, when he makes up his mind to do something it's hard to stop
him. And as Pete said, he's worked on a lot of energy bills in the past; some
of them were signed by Presidents and some of them never made it to the desk.
But he's been dogged in his determination to get a bill done, and he found a
really find partner in Joe Barton.
Joe Barton did an outstanding job as the Chairman of the House Energy and
Commerce Committee, and he did a really good job as the conference chairman.
This bill is here in New Mexico because of the fine work of Joe Barton and
Pete Domenici. (Applause.) And as Pete mentioned, Senator Jeff Bingaman
gets a lot of credit, as well. (Applause.) He knows the subject matter in
the bill, and he's a proven leader on issues such as conservation and
efficiency and renewable fuels and research and development. And, Jeff, I,
like Pete, I want to congratulate you for a job well done, and thank you for
being here -- (applause.)
A member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee came on over -- Ralph
Hall, a great Congressman from the state of Texas. Ralph is a good friend. I
think he came just to grab a cup of coffee on Air Force One, but -- (laughter)
-- I'm proud to have him alongside. Thanks for coming, Ralph, and thanks for
your vote. (Applause.)
I appreciate Congressman Steve Pearce, from eastern New Mexico, joining
us. He and his wife, Cynthia, are with us. Thanks for coming, Steve.
Appreciate your support on this bill. Good work. Thank you. (Applause.) I
put a good fellow to run the Energy Department in Sam Bodman. He's smart,
he's capable, he's got a lot of experience, he knows what he's doing. He's
going to be the right person to help implement this bill. (Applause.) And I
want to thank Sam and his wife, Diane, for being here. Thank you all for
coming.
I want to remind you about the fact that this economy of ours has been
through a lot. And that's why it was important to get this energy bill done,
to help us continue to grow. We've been through a stock market decline; we
went through a recession; we went through corporate scandals; we had an attack
on our homeland; and we had the demands on an ongoing war on terror. And to
grow this economy, we worked together to put together an economic growth
policy, an economic growth package, the cornerstone of which was to cut the
taxes on the American people. And that tax relief plan is working. This
economy is strong, and it's growing stronger. And what this energy bill is
going to do, it's just going to help keep momentum in the right direction so
people can realize their dreams.
Last week we had some good news that America added just over 200,000 jobs
-- new jobs -- in the month of July. Since May of 2003, we've added nearly 4
million new jobs. More Americans are working today than ever before in our
nation's history. (Applause.) Workers are taking more of what they earn --
taking home more of what they earn. Inflation is low, mortgage rates are low.
Home ownership in America is at an all-time high. In other words, this
economy is moving. And what this energy bill does is it recognizes that we
need more affordable and reliable sources of energy in order to make sure the
economy continues to grow.
It's an economic bill, but, as Pete mentioned, it's also a national
security bill. For more than a decade, America has gone without a national
energy policy. It's hard to believe, isn't it? We haven't had a strategy in
place. We've had some ideas, but we have not had a national energy policy.
And as a result, our consumers are paying more for the price of their
gasoline, electricity bills are going up. We had a massive blackout two
summers ago that cost this country billions of dollars and disrupted millions
of lives. And because we didn't have a national energy strategy over time,
with each passing year we are more dependent on foreign sources of oil.
Now, solving these problems required a balanced approach. And that's the
spirit that Pete and Jeff and Joe took into the -- on to the floors of their
respective bodies. They recognized that we need a comprehensive approach to
deal with the situation we're in. In other words, we need to conserve more
energy; we need to produce more energy. We need to diversify our energy
supply, and we need to modernize our energy delivery. And so they worked hard
and listened to a lot of good ideas, and they've taken really important steps.
Now, one of the things that I appreciate about the people on the stage
here is that they were able to set aside kind of the partisan bickering that
oftentimes -- too many times -- deadlocks Washington, D.C. In other words,
they said, let's get something done for the good of the country. And that's
an important spirit. That's what the American people expect. I know the
people in New Mexico expect people to go up to Washington, D.C. and work
together for the common good. And that's exactly what this bill has done.
These members, when they say they're going to strengthen our economy and
protect our environment and help our national security, are telling it like it
is. And let me tell you why. First, the bill makes an unprecedented
commitment to energy conservation and efficiency -- an unprecedented
commitment. The bill sets higher efficiency standards for federal buildings
and for household products. It directs the Department of Transportation to
study the potential for sensible improvements in fuel-efficiency standards for
cars and trucks and SUVs. It authorizes new funding for research into
cutting-edge technologies that will help us do more with less energy.
The bill recognizes that America is the world's leader in technology, and
that we've got to use technology to be the world's leader in energy
conservation. The bill includes incentives for consumers to be better
conservers of energy. If you own a home, you can receive new tax credits to
install energy-efficient windows and appliances. If you're in the market for
a car, this bill will help you save up to $3,500 on a fuel-efficient hybrid or
clean-diesel vehicle. And the way the tax credit works is that the more
efficient the vehicle is, the more money you will save. Energy conservation
is more than a private virtue; it's a public virtue. And with this bill I
sign today, America is taking the side of consumers who make the choice to
conserve.
Second, this bill will allow America to make cleaner and more productive
use of our domestic energy resources, including coal, and nuclear power, and
oil and natural gas. By using these reliable sources to supply more of our
energy, we'll reduce our reliance on energy from foreign countries, and that
will help this economy grow so people can work.
Coal is America's most abundant energy resource. It accounts for more
than one-half of our electricity production. The challenge is to develop
ways to take advantage of our coal resources while keeping our air clean.
When I ran for President in 2000, I promised to invest -- or asked the
Congress to invest $2 billion over 10 years to promote clean coal technology.
So far, working with the United States Congress, we've provided more than $1.3
billion for research in the innovative ways to improve today's coal plants and
to help us build even cleaner coal plants in the future. And the bill I sign
today authorizes new funding for clean coal technology so we can move closer
to our goal of building the world's first zero emission coal-fired power
plant. (Applause.)
Nuclear power is another of America's most important sources of
electricity. Of all our nation's energy sources, only nuclear power plants
can generate massive amounts of electricity without emitting an ounce of air
pollution or greenhouse gases. And thanks to the advances in science and
technology, nuclear plants are far safer than ever before. Yet America has
not ordered a nuclear plant since the 1970s. To coordinate the ordering of
new plants, the bill I sign today continues the Nuclear Power 2010 Partnership
between government and industry. It also offers a new form of federal risk
insurance for the first six builders of new nuclear power plants. With the
practical steps in this bill, America is moving closer to a vital national
goal. We will start building nuclear power plants again by the end of this
decade. (Applause.)
Meeting the needs of our growing economy also means expanding our domestic
production of oil and natural gas, which are vital fuels for transportation
and electricity and manufacturing. The energy bill makes practical reforms to
the oil and gas permitting process to encourage new exploration in
environmentally sensitive ways.
The bill authorizes research into the prospects of unlocking vast amounts
of now -- energy now trapped in shale and tar sands. It provides incentives
for oil refineries to expand their capacity, and that's consumer-friendly.
The more supply, the more reliable your gasoline will be and the more -- less
pressure on price.
The bill includes tax incentives to encourage new construction of natural
gas pipelines. It clarifies federal authority to site new receiving terminals
for liquified natural gas, so that consumers across this nation can benefit
from more affordable, clean-burning natural gas.
Thirdly, the bill I sign today will help diversify our energy supply by
promoting alternative and renewable energy sources. The bill extends tax
credits for wind, biomass, landfill gas and other renewable electricity
sources. The bill offers new incentives to promote clean, renewable
geothermal energy. It creates a new tax credit for residential solar power
systems. And by developing these innovative technologies, we can keep the
lights running while protecting the environment and using energy produced
right here at home. When you hear us talking about less dependence on foreign
sources of energy, one of the ways to become less dependent is to enhance the
use of renewable sources of energy. (Applause.)
The bill also will lead to a greater diversity of fuels for cars and
trucks. The bill includes tax incentives for producers of ethanol and
biodiesel. The bill includes a flexible, cost-effective renewable fuel
standard that will double the amount of ethanol and biodiesel in our fuel
supply over the next seven years. Using ethanol and biodiesel will leave our
air cleaner. And every time we use a home-grown fuel, particularly these,
we're going to be helping our farmers, and at the same time, be less dependent
on foreign sources of energy. (Applause.)
I used to like to kid, but I really wasn't kidding when I said, some day a
President is going to pick up the crop report -- (laughter) -- and they're
going to say we're growing a lot of corn, and -- or soybeans -- and the first
thing that's going to pop in the President's mind is, we're less dependent on
foreign sources of energy. It makes sense to promote ethanol and biodiesel.
(Applause.)
The bill I sign today also includes strong support for hydrogen fuel
technology. When hydrogen is used in a fuel cell, it can power consumer
products from computers to cell phones to cars that emit pure water instead of
exhaust fumes. I laid out a hydrogen fuel initiative, and I want to thank the
members of Congress for adding to the momentum of this initiative through this
energy bill.
The goal -- the goal of the research and development for hydrogen-powered
automobiles is to make it possible for today's children to take their driver's
test in a pollution-free car. (Applause.)
Fourth, the energy bill will help ensure that consumers receive
electricity over dependable modern infrastructure. The bill removes outdated
obstacles to investment in electricity transmission lines in generating
facilities. The bill corrects the provision of the law that made electric
reliability standards optional instead of mandatory. Most of you probably
consider it mandatory that the lights come on when you flip a switch.
(Laughter.) Now the utility companies will have to consider it mandatory, as
well. (Laughter.)
To keep local disputes from causing national problems, the bill gives
federal officials the authority to select sites for new power lines. We have
a modern interstate grid for our phone line and our highways. With this bill,
America can start building a modern 21st century electricity grid, as well.
The bill I sign today -- (applause) -- the bill I sign today is a
critical first step. It's a first step toward a more affordable and reliable
energy future for the American citizens. This bill is not going to solve our
energy challenges overnight. Most of the serious problems, such as high
gasoline costs, or the rising dependence on foreign oil, have developed over
decades. It's going to take years of focused effort to alleviate those
problems. But in about two minutes, we're going to have a strategy that will
help us do that. (Applause.)
And as we work to solve our energy dependence -- dependency, we've got to
remember that the market for energy is global and America is not the only
large consumer of hydrocarbons. As the economies of nations like India and
China grow rapidly, their demand for energy is growing rapidly, as well. It's
in our interest to help these expanding energy users become more efficient,
less dependent on hydrocarbons. You see, by helping them achieve these goals,
it will take pressure off the global supply and it will help take pressure off
price for American consumers.
And so, last month, I joined with the leaders of India and China and
Australia and Japan and South Korea to create a new Asia Pacific Partnership
on Clean Development. This is an innovative program which is authorized by
this energy bill. And through it, our goal is to spread the use of clean,
efficient energy technologies throughout the Pacific Rim. (Applause.)
After years of debate and division, Congress passed a good bill. It's my
honor to have come to the great state of New Mexico to sign it. I'm confident
that one day Americans will look back on this bill as a vital step toward a
more secure and more prosperous nation that is less dependent on foreign
sources of energy.
Thank you for coming. (Applause.)
(The bill is signed.)
END 11:47 A.M. MDT
SOURCE White House Press Office
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