[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2007, Book I)]
[February 23, 2007]
[Pages 185-186]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks Following a Meeting With Transportation Fuel Experts and 
Researchers
February 23, 2007

    Listen, I just had a fascinating discussion. First, I'm dealing with 
some entrepreneurs, people who believe that there is a market developing 
for automobiles that will use high-technology batteries to--for people 
to be able to motor back and forth from work.
    I also met with some of our scientists who are working on new 
battery technology. I also met with people that are working to help us 
develop a fuel industry that will be able to have ethanols derived from 
produce other than corn. In other words, I'm talking with people on the 
leading edge of change. And the reason why I've asked them to come in to 
see me is because I want to make sure that the goal I set by reducing 
gasoline usage by 20 percent over a 10-year period is a realistic goal. 
I know it's a necessary goal. It's necessary for national security 
purposes; it's necessary for economic security purposes; and it's 
necessary in order to be good stewards of the environment.
    My question is, is a practical goal--can we achieve that goal? And 
the answer is, absolutely. Now, it's going to require continued Federal 
research dollars, and I call upon the Congress to fully fund my request

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for alternative sources of energy. It's going to require collaboration 
between the public sector and the private sector. It's going to require 
making sure our smartest scientists understand that this is a national 
priority. But I firmly believe that the goal I laid out, that Americans 
will use 20 percent less gasoline over the next 10 years, is going to be 
achieved. And here's living proof of how we're going to get there.
    So I want to thank my fellow citizens for joining us. We've got a 
Nobel Prize winner; we've got all kinds of Ph.D.s, a couple of history majors. But what we're talking 
about is practical and necessary for the country. So thanks for coming. 
Americans ought to feel optimistic about our future. We're going to be 
driving our cars using all kinds of different fuels other than gasoline, 
and using batteries that will be able to be recharged in vehicles that 
don't have to look like golf carts.
    Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 11:35 a.m. on the South Lawn at the White 
House. Participating in the meeting were David Bransby, professor of 
agronomy and soils, College of Agriculture, Auburn University; Steven 
Chu, director, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and cowinner of the 
1997 Nobel Prize for physics; Bruce E. Dale, professor of chemical 
engineering and materials science, Michigan State University; Daniel J. 
Elliott, president and chief executive officer, Phoenix Motorcars, Inc.; 
Lonnie O. Ingram, professor of microbiology and cell science, University 
of Florida; Stephen P. Long, professor of crop sciences, University of 
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Alex Molinaroli, president, Power 
Solutions, Johnson Controls, Inc.; Michael M. Thackeray, senior 
scientist, Argonne National Laboratory; and David Vieau, president and 
chief executive officer, A123 Systems.