[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2001, Book II)]
[July 31, 2001]
[Pages 930-933]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks on Signing an Executive Order on Energy Efficiency and an 
Exchange With Reporters
July 31, 2001

    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 would be battery chargers, 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.

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    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.

[At this point, the President signed the Executive order.]

    I'd be glad to answer a few questions. Gregory [David Gregory, NBC 
News], you look like you have something on your mind. [Laughter]

Patients' Bill of Rights

    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. Well, 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.

National Commission on Federal Election Reform Report

    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 knows? 
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 prejudge 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 are 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.

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    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 [Steve Holland, Reuters].

Trade Promotion Authority

    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.

Situation in the Middle East

    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 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.

Note: The President spoke at 2:53 p.m. in the Oval Office at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to the Report of the Sharm el-Sheikh 
Fact-Finding Committee, chaired by former Senator George J. Mitchell, 
issued April 30. The President also referred to ANWR, the Arctic 
National Wildlife Refuge. The Executive order on energy

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efficient standby power devices is listed in Appendix D at the end of 
this volume.