[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1992-1993, Book II)]
[October 24, 1992]
[Pages 1962-1964]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



[[Page 1962]]


Statement on Signing the Energy Policy Act of 1992
October 24, 1992

    Today I am signing into law H.R. 776, the ``Energy Policy Act of 
1992.'' My action today will place America upon a clear path toward a 
more prosperous, energy efficient, environmentally sensitive, and 
economically secure future.
    Soon after I took office I directed the Secretary of Energy, Admiral 
James Watkins, to prepare a comprehensive and balanced National Energy 
Strategy (NES) in recognition of the vital importance of energy to our 
economy and to our daily lives and the need for changes to Government 
policies and programs to take full advantage of the tremendous resources 
our Nation possesses.
    Under Admiral Watkins' leadership, the NES was issued in February 
1991 to provide a blueprint for our energy future while ensuring that 
our environmental and economic goals would also be met. Proposed 
legislation to implement some of its core features was sent to the 
Congress on March 4, 1991, and with the support of leading members of 
the congressional energy committees, sound energy legislation was 
finally enacted by overwhelming margins in both Houses.
    There is much that is good for America in this new law. It contains 
a landmark provision furthering competition in the way electricity is 
generated and sold, thus lowering prices while ensuring adequate 
supplies. It also contains licensing reforms that will help to preserve 
the option of using more nuclear power--which now supplies one-fifth of 
our electric power--in the future. Our near total dependence upon 
petroleum to fuel cars and trucks will begin to decline because of 
provisions to encourage the development and use of clean burning 
alternative fuels. Research and development on a host of exciting new 
energy technologies--including advanced clean coal, natural gas, 
renewables, and conservation--will be greatly increased. America's 
independent oil and natural gas producers will be allowed to keep more 
of their hard-earned money for reinvesting in the production of domestic 
fossil fuels, so we will produce more here and import less from abroad. 
Finally, this bill will upgrade postsecondary math and science education 
for low-income college students so that they will have a better 
opportunity to contribute to their country and thereby enrich their 
lives as well as ours.
    These are some of the highlights of this legislation. The chief 
highlight, however, is this: In all of these great and worthy endeavors, 
Government will serve as the partner of private enterprise, not as its 
master. This approach will allow our Nation to reap the benefits of the 
greatest single energy resource we possess--the entrepreneurial spirit 
of free men and women.
    This new energy policy now takes its rightful place alongside our 
initiatives in clean air, trade, and other areas that together form a 
solid basis for my Agenda for American Renewal. This agenda will enable 
us to approximately double the size of our economy over the next decade 
and achieve the world's first $10 trillion economy.
    I must note, however, that there are several provisions that the 
Congress has added to the NES that raise constitutional issues.
    Various provisions of the Act must be interpreted consistent with 
the Appointments Clause of the Constitution, which requires that 
authority under Federal law be exercised only by officers of the United 
States, and not by private organizations and State officials.
    For example, numerous provisions added by title I of the Act, 
including various provisions in sections 101, 121, and 123, purport to 
require the Secretaries of Housing and Urban Development, Agriculture, 
and Energy to amend Federal standards or testing procedures to ``conform 
to'' or ``be consistent with'' standards or procedures to be established 
in the future by private organizations. Consistent with the Appointments 
Clause, the Secretaries should, when exercising their responsibilities 
under these provisions, reserve for themselves the final decision 
whether or to what extent to adopt

[[Page 1963]]

these standards or procedures. In particular, the title I provisions 
must be interpreted as authorizing, but not requiring, the Secretaries 
to change Federal standards or procedures in response to changes 
promulgated by the private organizations specified in title I.
    Similarly, provisions of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 
1935 (as added by sections 711 and 715 of this Act) purport to condition 
exemptions for wholesale generators and foreign utility companies on the 
consent of every State commission having jurisdiction over the relevant 
utility company, and section 2407(c)(1) of the Act purports to condition 
the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's granting of certain licensing 
exemptions on the licensee's compliance with terms and conditions set 
down by Alaska's fish and wildlife agency. In administering these 
provisions, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission should reserve for 
itself the final decision regarding the exemptions, while requiring that 
notice be given to the relevant State authorities and taking their views 
into account. In particular, the Commission need not regard non-
concurrence by any such State authority as sufficient to require denial 
of an exemption.
    Certain portions of section 901, relating to the Uranium Enrichment 
Corporation, must also be interpreted to avoid constitutional problems. 
In particular, the provisions adding section 1312 (b) and (c) to the 
Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (AEA), and which subject the Corporation to 
Federal environmental laws and to the Occupational Safety and Health 
Act, must be construed not to authorize litigation in court between the 
Corporation and other Federal agencies as long as the Corporation is 
wholly owned by the government. Similarly, new section 1315 of the AEA, 
which authorizes a Transition Manager to exercise the powers of the 
Corporation until a quorum of the Board of Directors has been 
``appointed and confirmed,'' must be interpreted so as not to interfere 
with my authority under Article II, section 2 of the Constitution to 
make recess appointments to the Board. And new section 1306(c) of the 
AEA, which requires that certain materials be made available to the 
Comptroller General at his request, must be construed as limited by 
other applicable law, including Executive privilege. (The same applies 
to section 2605(1)(3), which authorizes the Indian Energy Resource 
Commission to obtain certain information from Federal agencies.)
    Other provisions of this legislation must likewise be construed to 
avoid constitutional difficulties.
    Sections 1211(a) and 1332(a) of the Act purport to direct the 
Secretary of Energy to enter into agreements with the Administrator of 
the Agency for International Development and other agency heads. If 
these officers are unable to reach such agreements, they must send their 
competing versions of proposed agreements to the President, who shall 
within 90 days determine which version shall be in effect. I will 
interpret these provisions consistent with my inherent constitutional 
authority as head of the executive branch to supervise my subordinates 
in the exercise of their duties, including my authority to settle 
disputes that occur between those officials through means other than 
those specified in the statute.
    Sections 1332(g)(3) and 1608(g)(3) of this Act direct the Secretary 
of Energy to ``consult with government officials'' and other persons in 
certain foreign countries regarding technology transfer programs. 
Sections 3020(c) and (d) of the Act purport to direct the course of 
objectives of negotiations concerning the establishment of a 
Consultative Commission of Western Hemisphere Energy and Environment and 
to require that the Commission include representatives of legislative 
bodies, presumably including the Congress. Under the Constitution, it is 
the President, not the Congress, who articulates the foreign policy 
goals of the Nation, who decides whether and when to negotiate 
agreements with foreign nations or otherwise consult with them, and who 
represents the United States in international bodies. I will, therefore, 
construe these provisions merely to express the sense of the Congress 
with respect to the matters to which they refer.
    Section 3021(a) of the Act directs agencies to expend 10 percent of 
the amounts obligated for certain contracts under the

[[Page 1964]]

Act with organizations that may be defined on the basis of race, 
ethnicity, or gender. A grant of Federal money or benefits based solely 
on the recipient's race, ethnicity, or gender is presumptively 
unconstitutional under the equal protection standards of the 
Constitution. Consistent with these standards, I will construe these 
provisions so as not to allow the expenditure of monies solely on the 
basis of race, ethnicity, or gender.
    Finally, several provisions of the Act purport to require officers 
of the executive branch to submit reports to the Congress containing 
recommendations for legislative action, and to submit certain other 
reports ``to the President and the Congress.'' I will construe these 
provisions in light of my constitutional duty and authority to recommend 
to the Congress such legislative measures as I judge necessary and 
expedient, and to supervise and guide my subordinates, including the 
review of their proposed communications to the Congress.

                                                             George Bush

The White House,
October 24, 1992.

                    Note: H.R. 776, approved October 24, was assigned 
                        Public Law No. 102-486.