[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 34, Number 29 (Monday, July 20, 1998)]
[Pages 1382-1383]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Message to the Congress Transmitting the Comprehensive National Energy 
Strategy

July 14, 1998

To the Congress of the United States:

    I am pleased to transmit the Comprehensive National Energy Strategy 
(Strategy) to the Congress. This report required by section 801 of the 
Department of Energy Organization Act (Public Law 95-91; 42 U.S.C. 
7321(b)), highlights our national energy policy. It contains specific 
objectives and plans for meeting five essential, common sense goals 
enumerated in the accompanying message from Secretary Pena.

[[Page 1383]]

    Energy is a global commodity of strategic importance. It is also a 
key contributor to our economic performance, and its production and use 
affect the environment in many ways. Thus, affordable, adequate, and 
environmentally benign supplies of energy are critical to our Nation's 
economic, environmental, and national security.
    The Strategy reflects the emergence and interconnection of three 
preeminent challenges in the late 1990s: how to maintain energy security 
in increasingly globalized energy markets; how to harness competition in 
energy markets both here and abroad; and how to respond to local and 
global environmental concerns, including the threat of climate change. 
The need for research and development underlies the Strategy, which 
incorporates recommendations of my Committee of Advisors on Science and 
Technology (PCAST) for improvements in energy technologies that will 
enable the United States to address our energy-related challenges. 
Advances in energy technology can strengthen our economy, reduce our 
vulnerability to oil shocks, lower the cost of energy to consumers, and 
cut emissions of air pollutants as well as greenhouse gases.
    This Strategy was developed over several months in an open process. 
Three public hearings were held earlier this year in California, Texas, 
and Washington, D.C., and more than 300 public comments were received. 
This Strategy is not a static document; its specifics can be modified to 
reflect evolving conditions, while the framework provides policy 
guidance into the 21st century. My Administration looks forward to 
working with the Congress to implement the Strategy and to achieve its 
goals in the most effective manner possible.
                                            William J. Clinton
The White House,
July 14, 1998.