Energy Discussion in Whitehouse Press Briefing

Press Briefing by Scott McClellan
April 13, 2005

Some of the energy related issues from the briefing:
-Gas price imapct on economy
-Energy Plan
-President to deliver speech next week on energy
-Prevent price gouging
-more…

Q Scott, on the subject of gas prices, what’s the President — can you detail for us the President’s concern? Is he worried that high gas prices are starting to put a strain on family budgets? Or is he concerned that they’ve reached the level now where they’re starting to actually negatively impact the economy?

MR. McCLELLAN: He’s concerned — his concern has been something he’s had for his entire administration. This is a concern that the President has had from day one, when he came into office. We continue to go through this year after year because we do not have a comprehensive energy plan. That’s why the President outlined a comprehensive energy plan to reduce our dependence on foreign sources of energy and make us more energy self-sufficient.

And rising gas prices are a drag on our growing economy. Our economy is growing strong. We have seen some 3 million jobs created since March of 2003. Our economic growth is strong. We’re seeing sustained and strong economic growth. But rising gas prices are a drag on that economy. And it’s a concern that the President has about the impact it has on the American people and on their pocketbook. And that’s why he’s calling on Congress to get moving on the energy plan that he outlined four years ago.

Q Does he have some kind of an idea where the tipping point is here, where a drag on the economy could become fully slamming on the brakes?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, keep in mind that we’ve already been acting on a number of initiatives that the President developed as part of the comprehensive energy strategy that we developed back in 2001. There are some steps that we can take from the executive branch and we have taken those steps; we will continue to do so. But what we need to do is continue to work closely with Congress and get Congress to get this legislation passed so that this problem doesn’t recur.

But in terms of the assessment, obviously, it remains a concern that we have these rising gas prices. What we have is — and you have to take into account the world economy — what we have now is two nations that have been developing, China and India, who are consuming much more oil. And the supply is tight. And that’s — the President recognized the problem that we faced when he first came into office. That’s why we need to act on the plan that he outlined.

Q Will there be any immediate impact, if Congress approved the energy package right now, on gasoline prices, the rising gasoline prices?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, there are steps that we need to look at now that we can look at and that we are looking at. This is something that is a high priority for this administration. We meet regularly on these issues, and we will continue to do so.

The President next week is going to give a major speech talking about our energy situation and about rising energy prices and the need to address this issue. It’s something that he has talked about at length for four years now. And it’s something that he has put forward a proposal to address. And Congress needs to follow up on that proposal.

But there are steps that we can look at now to address some of these issues. We’ve got to make sure that there’s no price gouging going on. We’ve got to continue to move forward on cleaner, more efficient technologies, and that’s exactly what we’re doing. We’ve taken some action when it comes to the Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards for SUVs and trucks. We helped improve those standards. And as a result, by 2007, you’re going to see some — see us save some 340,000 barrels of oil a day.

We also have taken steps on diesel regulations to enable clean diesel vehicles to — or to have clean diesel vehicles. And our budget in 2006 has $2 billion in tax incentives for energy-efficient hybrid vehicles. And we want to see continued funding for the hydrogen fuel initiative. So there are steps we’re taking. But what needs to happen is Congress needs to act on the comprehensive strategy that we outlined.

Q And if they do that, will there be any immediate impact on rising prices?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, we’ve got to make ourselves more energy self-sufficient. That’s one of the things the President, I expect, will talk about in his remarks, and you’ll hear more from the President in his remarks next week, talking about this matter.

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