    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1991, Book I)]
    [February 20, 1991]
    [Pages 157-159]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at a Briefing on Energy Policy
    February 20, 1991

        Thank you all very much. Thank you. Please be seated. First, let me
    welcome the Members of Congress who are here--Congressman Dingell and
    Congressmen Lent, Sharp, and Moorhead; Senators Wallop and Johnston--and
    a special welcome to them. I want to say that we want to work with them
    as the legislative process goes forward.
        Let me also pay my respects--in looking around, I'm told that
    Governor Hickel is here. Whoops, there he is--Wally, welcome. And
    Governor Ashcroft, Governor Sinner. Of course, our man of the hour here,
    Jim Watkins, our very able Secretary. Governor Sununu, who's been
    working on this with all of us. Henson Moore, from--the Deputy at the
    Department of Energy--made an outstanding contribution to this. And,
    Linda Stuntz, thank you. And Sheila Watkins. And I thought--Clayton--
    Secretary Yeutter and Secretary Skinner and Secretary Lujan are all with
    us. Mike Boskin was to be. Mike Deland is here from the CEA [CEQ]. I
    have a method to my madness here in getting around to all of this.
        Senator, welcome to you. I didn't see you earlier. And to Hank
    Habicht of EPA, and Jim Thompson, a former Governor, and former Governor
    Jim Edwards over here.

    [[Page 158]]

    Jim Thompson is uncharacteristically in the back of the room now that
    he's in private--[laughter]----
        But nevertheless, I cite all these names because this is an issue
    that has great appeal across all kinds of departmental lines. It's
    something that is really essential: a national energy strategy, and I
    want to announce it today. I believe it is a strategy for an energy
    future that is secure, efficient and environmentally sound.
        I want to thank Admiral Watkins and also acknowledge and thank the
    efforts of so many. We now have, thanks to all, a carefully balanced
    energy strategy, and it is designed to diversify America's sources of
    energy. It's designed to encourage efficiency and conservation, spur
    competition throughout the energy sector, give Americans greater choices
    among fuels, and enhance U.S. research and development in new
    technologies.
        The driving force behind this strategy is straightforward. It relies
    on the power of the marketplace, the common sense of the American people
    and the responsible leadership of industry and government.
        Every American will benefit from the policies that we're laying out
    here today. Over the next two decades, this strategy will make us more
    energy efficient without new energy taxes. It will mean savings for
    consumers in energy costs. And it will improve our energy security and
    reduce our vulnerability in the years ahead.
        Let's talk about reality here. We've already made progress toward
    reducing that energy vulnerability. We've diversified our suppliers so
    that we are not unduly reliant on any single source. What's more,
    through the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, we've vastly improved our
    ability to respond flexibly to supply interruptions. And we have already
    begun moving on the path toward improved energy efficiency.
        But we are, I will be the first to concede, a long way from total
    energy independence. Our imports of foreign oil have been climbing
    steadily since 1985 and now stand at 42 percent of our total
    consumption. Too many of those oil imports come from sources in troubled
    parts of the world.
        We know that for domestic oil production, certain areas are off-
    limits, and justifiably so, for sound environmental reasons. But
    developing new, alternative energy sources takes time. Some sources of
    power face political problems. So, America will have to continue to
    import energy for years to come.
        We also know that unwise and extreme measures to reduce oil imports
    would seriously hurt the consumer in this country and will adversely
    affect the working man and woman in this country, American jobs, and
    American industries. In the face of these realities, we must act with
    care, but we must act comprehensively. Our national energy strategy
    strikes a sound and reasonable balance, and it will achieve greater
    energy security without unduly burdening the consumers or the economy.
        To minimize our vulnerability to foreign oil, the disruptions that
    come from reliance on foreign oil, this strategy takes a multifaceted
    approach. It will help us to find more reliable sources of energy
    through uncompromisingly safe and environmentally sound development.
    Domestic oil production will rise by 3.8 million barrels a day.
        This strategy will also help us use energy more efficiently by
    encouraging new technologies, alternative-fueled vehicles, and
    conservation. With this strategy, we're working to give Americans
    unprecedented choice and flexibility. Instead of only finding gasoline
    at the corner station, we want Americans to be able to choose from a
    range of environmentally sound and cleaner fuels like ethanol, methanol,
    electricity, propane, natural gas, and cleaner gasoline.
        Where America's towns and cities were once able to buy electricity
    from only one utility company, we want to help spur competition in the
    electric power business and to bring lower prices to consumers. And we
    plan for electricity produced from renewable sources to rise by 16
    percent.
        We want to build an energy future that is based on a range of
    diverse sources, so that never again will this nation's energy well-
    being be swayed by events in a single foreign country. Our approach will
    give Americans the flexibility, the opportunity, and the knowledge that
    they need in order to conserve or to change fuel sources and to cut
    their energy bills.

    [[Page 159]]

        And finally, we are convinced that this strategy will keep America
    on the cutting edge of new energy technology. It promotes partnerships
    between industry and government for accelerated research in technologies
    like biomass and alternative fuels, or electric vehicles, high-speed
    rail, renewable sources like solar and geothermal power, and nuclear
    technologies of unprecedented safety and security.
        Together with the recently-passed Clean Air Act, this National
    Energy Strategy will maintain an uncompromising commitment to energy
    security and environmental protection. And it will put America on the
    road to continued economic growth. We are not going to have an energy
    strategy that assigns the status quo to the American worker in this
    country. We're going to continue to grow, and we can do it soundly. And
    that's what this energy strategy proposes.
        Nobody should assume that meeting our needs for abundant energy, a
    strong economy and a sound environment is going to be easy. I've just
    met with these Congressional leaders, these leaders in the energy field,
    and we've talked about this. It isn't going to be easy. But I will say
    that this strategy strikes a delicate balance. As always, and we're used
    to that, there will be critics in every corner, but none of them will
    propose a plan that is more comprehensive or, in my view, more carefully
    thought out.
        So, I believe that this is a good strategy because, along with our
    abundant natural resources, it draws on our resourcefulness, our
    nation's remarkable resourcefulness. From the company that finds more
    energy-efficient ways to do business, to the scientist who makes a new
    power source practical, to the individual American at home who finds
    some new way to save energy, I think we can rely on the most remarkable
    source of power that the world has ever seen, and that's the American
    people.
        So, I fully endorse this. Senator Wallop gave me a little good
    advice yesterday that Chairman Bennett Johnston concurred in, and that
    is that if we are going to get this national energy strategy fully
    adopted and the legislation that's necessary enacted, that the White
    House--and they were looking at me when they said this--the President
    must be fully involved. And so, I look around this room, and I see many
    people to whom I'm grateful for your commitment to a sound energy
    strategy. And I just wanted to conclude by telling you that the White
    House and the President will be strongly involved in trying to implement
    the legislation, help put through the legislation that is essential to
    this strategy.
        There are some things I think we can do to empower the executive
    branch. But to get this done right and to get it done the way we must,
    it's going to require a lot of give-and-take; it's going to require a
    lot of consultation with the Congress. And I just wanted to pledge to
    all of you interested in this today that I will do my part. I will be
    fully, actively involved.
        So, thank you very much for coming. And a special thanks to members
    of the Cabinet and the Congress. Thank you all very, very much.

                        Note: The President spoke at 1:22 p.m. in Room 450
                            of the Old Executive Office Building. In his
                            opening remarks, he referred to Representatives
                            John D. Dingell, Norman F. Lent, Philip R.
                            Sharp, and Carlos J. Moorhead; Senators Malcolm
                            Wallop and J. Bennett Johnston; Governors Walter
                            Hickel of Alaska, John D. Ashcroft of Missouri,
                            and George A. Sinner of North Dakota; Secretary
                            of Energy James D. Watkins; John H. Sununu,
                            Chief of Staff to the President; W. Henson
                            Moore, Deputy Secretary of Energy; Linda Stuntz,
                            Deputy Under Secretary of Energy and Director of
                            the Office of Planning Policy and Development;
                            Sheila Watkins, Secretary Watkins' wife;
                            Secretary of Agriculture Clayton K. Yeutter;
                            Secretary of Transportation Samuel K. Skinner;
                            Secretary of the Interior Manuel Lujan, Jr.;
                            Michael J. Boskin, Chairman of the Council of
                            Economic Advisors; Michael Deland, Chairman of
                            the Council on Environmental Quality; Hank
                            Habicht, Deputy Administrator of the
                            Environmental Protection Agency; James R.
                            Thompson, Jr., former Governor of Illinois; and
                            James B. Edwards, former Governor of South
                            Carolina.