For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
July 31, 2001
Remarks by the President
On Energy Efficiency the Oval Office
2:53 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all
for coming. Mr. Secretary, Larry Lindsey, thank you for
being here today. I'm signing an executive order, fulfilling
a promise that I made that our federal agencies must lead the way for
energy conservation.
One of the ways that our nation wastes
energy is through what they call vampire devices. These will
be a battery charger, cell phone chargers, computer systems that we --
we really think we're not using energy when plugged in but, in fact,
are. And so we've set what we call a one-watt standard
throughout the federal government, that we expect our agencies to be
ridding themselves of the vampires and using energy conservation
devices.
The Secretary of Energy has agreed to lead
this project, and I'm so thankful for it. The federal
government can be good stewards of our resources and we fully intend to
be. There's an energy bill working its way through Congress
which will encourage new technologies that will help save energy, that
will call for research and development, to make sure that we're wise
about how we use the scarce resources we have in America.
But it's also a bill that recognizes that,
while on the one hand we must conserve, we also must find additional
sources of energy, such as natural gas. And that's why I
think it is very important for Congress to pass a balanced energy plan,
one that includes the capacity to drill for, explore for and find
natural gas throughout our entire country, including
Alaska. And I'm confident we can do so in an environmentally
friendly way.
I urge the members of the House of
Representatives to support the energy bill that will include allowing
for there to be a small amount of exploration in ANWR, that will yield
a lot of energy on behalf of the people of America.
And so it's now my honor to sign this
executive order and look forward to working with the Secretary, to show
the nation -- to show the nation how best to use technologies to
conserve energy.
Thank you, Mr. Secretary.
(The President signs the bill.)
I'd be glad to answer a few
questions. Gregory, you look like you have something on your
mind.
Q Mr. President, do
you have a deal on a patients' bill of rights bill now with Congressman
Norwood? Can you tell us what the outlines of that might
be?
THE PRESIDENT: Congressman
Norwood came into my office and he said, Mr. President, would you like
to talk about the possibility of reaching an agreement on a patients'
bill of rights? I said, you bet. After all, in a
speech I gave early in my administration, I not only outlined the
principles of a bill that would be unacceptable, I more importantly
said I would like to see a piece of legislation that protects consumers
and doesn't reward lawyers.
So he brought some ideas right here in the
Oval Office. He felt like he needed to go back and discuss
them with some of the bill sponsors -- senators and other members of
the House of Representatives. I'm hopeful that he will shake
the hand of accommodation that I put out for him, and I believe there's
room for compromise and I'm more than willing to try to do so with
him.
We don't have a specific deal yet, David,
to answer your question, but we're making good progress.
Q What are you
offering that you think will be acceptable?
THE PRESIDENT: I'm offering to
sign a bill and not veto it. And that's pretty powerful
incentive for someone to try to come up with an agreement. I
will not sign a bill that I think will end up tossing people out of
health insurance. And if we have too much litigation, if we
encourage lawsuits, costly lawsuits, it could drive up the health care
for people; it will drive people off the health care rolls; and it will
make it very difficult for small business people to afford health care,
and I'm deeply concerned about that.
Q Mr. President,
today you received the election reforms report from President Carter
and President Ford. If those reforms had been in place
already, for the last election, do you think you'd be sitting in this
room today?
THE PRESIDENT: It would have
been a landslide. (Laughter.) Who
know? But I do appreciate the report. I most
appreciate that President Carter, himself, delivered the report to
me. Former Congressman Michel, on behalf of President Ford,
was here. I walked right out of the Oval Office, having
gotten briefed, and stood in front of the American people and said,
this is a very good report.
And there is a lot of positive things in
it, including making sure that America's networks don't pre-judge
elections by calling them too early. And there are a lot of
other reforms in there that make sense. I urge Congress to
take a good, close look at them.
I think it's very important to note that
one of the principles involved in the Carter-Ford report was that the
elections really are local; that the federal government should enable
and help local jurisdictions develop practices that make sure every
vote matters; practices that make sure that our voting rolls and
registers and up to date -- you know, that people aren't registered
three or four times across a state; that people who are eligible to
vote are those who are the ones who should be voting.
But I was impressed by the
report. I thought it had a lot of very serious
recommendations. And I hope Congress takes it seriously.
Yes, Steve.
Q Mr. President,
House Republican leaders say that they don't have enough votes for fast
track, so they're going to have to delay action until
September. Why is it proving so hard to get fast track?
THE PRESIDENT: Some people in
America don't believe in free trade. Some folks believe that a
protectionist policy would be best for our country's economy and the
workers. I strongly disagree.
I think trade offers promise for people
who want to find work. Trade is important to enhance the
growth of small businesses. Trade is important in our own
hemisphere. Trade has been important to make sure we've got
good relations with Mexico. After all, we want our neighbors
to do well; it's a neighborly way to think. And if Mexico
and Canada do well, America will do well, as well. So trade
is important. Trade is an important -- it's also an
important part of making sure the world is more free.
But there are some who resist trade
because they don't see its benefits. And my job, and the job
of those of us who strongly see the benefits and know the benefits of
free trade will continue to work hard until we get a piece of
legislation that enables the President of the United States to make
sure that America is involved in the world; that we don't miss out on
opportunities for the working people of America to find jobs; that we
don't miss out on the opportunities for our farmers and ranchers to
find markets to feed people. We're the best in the world at
growing crops.
And we need to make sure that our farmers
and ranchers have the capacity to sell their product in overseas
markets. It's to the benefit of our economy. It's
a benefit to the people who take risk in America. I believe
we'll get a trade promotion authority bill out. Whether or
not we get it done before August is, obviously, you know, up in the
air. But I believe when it's all said and done, that
Congress will realize the benefits of free trade for the people of
America.
Q What is your view
of the kind of targeted attack the Israelis carried out on Hamas
today? And do you plan to step up your involvement in the
Middle East?
THE PRESIDENT: I spoke to King
Abdullah of Jordan this morning. I was very much involved,
continue to remain actively involved in the process. And
step one, in order to get to Mitchell, is to break the cycle of
violence.
As I told the King, His Majesty, all of us
-- all of us have got to work together to convince both parties to stop
the cycle. And, obviously, we've got a lot of work to
do. But it is important to get to Mitchell. But the first
step in getting into Mitchell is for there to be significantly reduced
violence, and that's not the case right now.
And so all the world must continue to say
to both sides, break the cycle of violence, and then we can
get into the Mitchell process.
Obviously, I'm -- I wish the levels of
violence were lower than they are today. A couple of weeks
ago it looked like we had made progress, and then the violence
spiked. That means that the United States will continue to
stay actively involved and urging there to be calm, and urging both
parties to resist the temptation to resort to violence.
END
3:01 P.M. EDT
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