[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 20 (Monday, May 21, 2001)]
[Pages 765-769]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at the Safe Harbor Water Power Corporation in Conestoga, 
Pennsylvania

May 18, 2001

    Thank you very much. Please be seated. Well, Governor, thank you 
very much. It's an honor to be back in your beautiful State. I'm glad 
you told me you were overseas recently; I thought you might have been 
boycotting my last visit to your State--[laughter]--which was Monday. 
[Laughter]
    Laura and I consider Tom and Michelle close, personal friends, as 
well as political allies. And I know the people of Pennsylvania consider 
him to be an excellent Governor, because he is one.
    I want to thank you all for coming. And I also want to thank the 
hundreds of citizens that lined the road as we came in, to wave. It 
makes a fellow feel pretty good to see all the flags and the salutes. 
This is a wonderful place to come, not only because it speaks volumes 
about the policy that I'm going to address today, but it also reminds me 
of how wonderful our country is, how good and solid the people are that 
inhabit the great land called America. So if you see any of them that 
were on the road coming in, tell them the President says, thanks a lot 
for the hospitality.
    I'm also honored to be traveling today with Members of the United 
States Congress. The United States Senator--I was going to say, the 
senior Senator, but I'm looking for some votes from him--[laughter]--but 
that's Arlen Specter, who is doing a great job for the people of 
Pennsylvania; and the younger Senator, Senator Rick Santorum, as well; 
as well, a friend of mine from the great State of Alaska is with us, 
chairman of the Energy Committee, Frank Murkowski. I think old Frank 
must be looking for a cup of coffee somewhere. [Laughter]
    We also have the Congressman from this area, Congressman Todd 
Platts. Where are you, Todd? There you go, thank you, buddy.

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And Congressman Joe Pitts and Congressman George Gekas, as well, from 
the State of Pennsylvania.
    And we're pleased, as well, to have a Member of the United States 
Congress from the West who, like Murkowski, takes great interest in 
energy policy, and that's Congressman Jim Hansen from the State of Utah. 
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to thank Marshall Kaiser and the hard-
working employees of Safe Harbor who made our visit so special. Thank 
you for making all the arrangements, and thanks for setting up this 
spectacular place to deliver a few remarks and to sign some important 
documents.
    You know, when I ran for office, I told the people of our country 
that I would put together a Cabinet of some of the finest Americans that 
would be--who would be willing to serve. And I did so. I'm blessed with 
a great Cabinet, and two of the fine Cabinet members are here with us: 
Spence Abraham and Christie Todd Whitman. And I thank them so much for 
their leadership.
    I was pretty plainspoken about what I intended to do, should I be 
fortunate enough to become the President. And when I put my hand on the 
Bible that day, right afterwards, I intended to get to work. I said, 
it's time to get after it, time to do in office what I said I would do. 
And that's what's taken place in Washington.
    First, I said if I happened to be the President, I was going to 
fight for meaningful, real tax relief to make sure the working people 
got to put some of that surplus in their pockets, and we're about to 
have tax cuts for the American people. And my call to Congress is to get 
it done before Memorial Day, to get the money to the people before the 
great Memorial Day holiday, so people have got more money to spend and 
save and more money in their pockets to take care of some of these 
energy prices that exist as a result of the failure to have an energy 
plan for America.
    Secondly, I said, give us a chance, and we have put together a group 
of Congressmen and Senators to pass meaningful, real reform of our 
education system; one that would empower local folks, to give more power 
at the local level--because we recognize one size does not fit all when 
it comes to the education of the children--but also one that says if you 
receive Federal money, show us whether or not children are learning to 
read and write and add and subtract, because we want to know.
    We want to know whether or not the very faces of our future are 
learning and, if they're not--if they're not, we won't sit idly by in 
America. When we find youngsters who can't read, we'll correct the 
problems early, before it's too late, because our motto is, ``Not one 
single child will be left behind in America.''
    I told the people of our country we would boost the morale of the 
military by having a clear mission and also making sure our troops were 
better paid and better housed. And my budget reflects that commitment to 
the military.
    And I told the people during the campaign that we've got a problem 
with energy in America. Our demand is going up, and the supplies aren't 
going up with demand, and therefore, there is pressure on price. I said 
it in the campaign and I'm saying it to you now: This Nation must adopt 
a national energy plan to make sure our consumers and workers and 
entrepreneurs have the capacity to realize the visions of a better life 
that we all have for America.
    And so, yesterday I gave a speech that did just that, a speech that 
recognizes we have a problem. I figured I was elected to solve problems, 
if there are problems, not just to hold the office but to solve 
problems. And so we laid out a plan that has 100 different proposals--
more than 100 proposals as to how to get after this energy problem we 
face and what to do about it. And it starts with encouraging and 
enhancing conservation efforts all around America. We can do a better 
job of conserving in this country. We can have policies that encourage 
conservation. We can have research that yields to better methodology for 
conservation.
    But all of us must do a better job of conserving, as well. Each of 
us must be mindful of being conscious about wasting electricity. We're 
going to have better cars, I'm convinced of it, that have better 
mileage, rely less upon hydrocarbons. We'll have better homes, many of 
which will be powered by solar energy. This future is fantastic for the

[[Page 767]]

country. And a lot of it is based upon good, sound conservation 
measures.
    But as I reminded the people yesterday, a State that has done a 
fantastic job in conservation has been the State of California. They're 
the second best at conservation measures. And yet, they're lacking 
energy; they're having blackouts. And we all must be deeply concerned 
about our fellow citizens in the great State of California.
    But the problems in California shows that you cannot conserve your 
way to energy independence, that not only do we need to have good 
conservation, but we must have a diversified base of supply, including 
hydroelectric supply.
    And I also talked about the need to make sure that we had a modern 
infrastructure to be able to get energy from the powerplant to the light 
switch, that we've got to do a better job of modernizing the capacity to 
move not only electricity but products like natural gas from point A to 
point B, in order to have an energy--to have a country where we have 
abundant and cheaper and safer and cleaner energy sources.
    So this is a vision that recognizes, one, we have a problem, and the 
willingness to confront it; but two, a vision that relies upon common 
sense, and it relies upon ingenuity of the American people and the 
entrepreneurial instincts of our country.
    And it's great to be here in Pennsylvania, because Pennsylvania is a 
State that's on the forefront of diversification and conservation. And 
it's an appropriate place to be, because this dam is a symbol of the new 
age of environmental possibilities. It's powering Pennsylvania's 
economy, while at the same time restoring Pennsylvania wildlife. It goes 
to show that economic growth and a good environmental policy do not have 
to be zero-sum. It doesn't have to be either/or.
    And one of the most important things we've got to do in this country 
is change the tone about the debate about economic growth and the 
environment. You know, it seems like recently, those of us who used to 
not be in Washington, we'd be looking up there and seeing that people 
would rather argue than discuss. They'd rather call names, rather than 
come up with solutions. They'd rather point fingers at people, rather 
than holding out the hand of constructive dialog. And it's got to 
change.
    And this is an administration that's committed--committed--to 
putting the people ahead of politics and talking about dialog. And 
discussing important issues in a way that will bring honor to the 
process. So that when youngsters look up at our Nation's Capitol, 
they're proud of what they see.
    And we laid out a plan, and I hope there's good, honorable debate 
about the plan, because it's based upon common sense and it's based upon 
hope and it's based upon new technologies.
    I think it's very important for our country to realize what Spence 
talked about, and that is the need to make sure we diversify our energy 
supplies. It's important to do so for national security reasons, for 
starters. As I mentioned yesterday in Iowa--we went to a place that was 
doing research on biomass and value-added processing--and I said to the 
folks there, I said, ``I would much rather have our economy powered by 
crops grown in Iowa than barrels of oil coming out of Iraq.'' It's in 
our Nation's interest that we diversify. It's in our Nation's interest 
that we become less dependent upon nations, some of which really don't 
care for what we believe in. And I believe we can do so.
    Now, that's going to mean we've got to understand the power and 
promise of nuclear energy, that we've got to be willing to discuss 
nuclear energy and recognize that nuclear power is much safer than it's 
ever been and, at the same time, use sound science to help us find the 
right place to store the product of nuclear power.
    It means we've got to understand the hope and promise of natural gas 
and be willing to explore for natural gas in places that heretofore have 
been off limits, such as remote areas of Alaska.
    I want you all to understand that the debate about ANWR is one that 
is not based--as far as I'm concerned--based upon sound fact. You see, 
first of all, ANWR--what we're talking about is 2,000 acres amongst, I 
believe it's 19 million acres; secondly, the technology has changed so 
that one is able to have a single drill site and explore for reservoir 
miles away from the drill site; thirdly, the explorationists are willing 
to only move

[[Page 768]]

equipment during the winter, which means they'll be on ice roads, and 
remove the equipment as the ice begins to melt, so that the fragile 
tundra is protected.
    People have got to understand that it's possible that we could find, 
and likely find, 600,000 barrels of oil a day out of ANWR. That's what 
we import from Saudi--I mean, from Iraq. It makes sense, folks, for us 
to have an environmentally sensitive exploration plan in America in 
order to diversify supply, not only for national security reasons but 
for international reasons, as well.
    We need more natural gas in America. Natural gas is a clean burning 
fuel. There's a lot of it. But in order to find it, we're going to have 
to move it by pipeline. And we need more pipeline, and we need safer 
pipelines, and technology allows us to do so.
    There's a lot of discussion about alternative sources of energy. 
Hydroelectric power is one, and our Nation must welcome hydroelectric 
power as a renewable resource. They talk about solar energy. We're very 
much in support of the alternative forms of energy. I hope some day that 
these renewables will be the dominant source of energy in America. I'm 
not so sure how realistic that is, but nevertheless, they'll play an 
integral part of the energy mix in America. And my administration, 
through incentives and research, will encourage them to be.
    I firmly believe we can solve this problem. I know we can't solve it 
without a plan, and that's why I've laid one out. I know we can't solve 
it without an administration being willing to say, ``This is a tough 
issue, but we want to tackle it. We want to take it on. We want to lead 
the people, and so we're willing to do that.'' It's right for America 
that we do so. It's the right thing for this country. It's the right 
thing for people who are coming up in a land, that want to realize their 
dreams. And it's right to change the tone in Washington, DC, as well. 
And we need your help to do so.
    When you hear these folks, it doesn't matter what side of the debate 
they're on, or are willing to kind of castigate somebody who may have a 
good idea. Stand up and let them have it. This is too important an 
issue. It's too important an issue to allow the rhetoric to deteriorate.
    And so what I'm here to tell you is, is that you've got an 
administration that's willing to take the lead on a tough issue; an--
administrations that's going to bring some commonsense practice to 
energy policy; and an administration that is willing to talk, not only 
about conservation but enhancing supply and the means to get supply to 
those who use it; an administration who understands the responsibility 
of the high offices that we hold; an administration that looks forward 
to working with my fellow Americans to get it done.
    I said yesterday, and I know it's true, that we're going to lead the 
world when it comes to energy and how to do it and how to balance our 
needs and still have economic growth and how to have good environmental 
policy with economic growth. Because one thing we're not short of--we 
may be short of certain forms of energy, but we're not short of the 
American spirit. We're not short of innovative people. We're not short 
of hard-working Americans. We're not short of the entrepreneurial 
spirit. As a matter of fact, we've got a plentiful supply of all those. 
And as a result, this great Nation is going to be a leader, not a 
follower, when it comes to energy policy.
    Yesterday I talked about the need for us to act. And today I have 
the honor of acting. I'm going to sign two Executive orders to promote 
energy security, and I'm honored to do so right here in the great State 
of Pennsylvania. I'm sure there were some folks that were watching the 
speech or heard about the speech, probably saying, ``Yes, all we've got 
now is another report that's going to sit on a shelf in Washington, just 
to gather a little dust.''
    I can assure the American people that mine is an administration 
that's not interested in gathering dust. We're interested in acting. And 
so today--one of the Executive orders will bring new energy projects 
online faster, and that's especially important this year, as we end--as 
we work together to end the blackouts in California. And the other will 
ensure that the Federal Government pays due attention to energy when it 
makes decisions, because the fuel that powers our economy should never 
be a second thought.

[[Page 769]]

    To bring projects faster online, I'm ordering all Federal agencies 
to expedite their review of energy related permits, while maintaining 
safety, public health, and environmental protections. These protections 
are vital, and so is energy. And we don't want to either--we don't want 
either of them snarled in bureaucratic tangles, as local governments or 
entrepreneurs seek permit after permit from agency after agency. This 
Executive order creates an inter-agency task force to examine how to 
move good projects through the Federal bureaucracy as quickly as 
possible. And to underscore my administration's commitment to 
reconciling energy production and environmental protection, the task 
force will be chaired by the Chairman of the Council of Environmental 
Quality.
    The next Executive order prods the Federal Government to take 
America's energy supplies very seriously. Any Federal agency that 
proposes a major regulatory action that significantly affects energy 
must, from now on, file a statement of energy impact if the decision 
will have an adverse affect on energy supply, distribution, or use. And 
the agency must describe what reasonable alternatives to its decision 
may exist.
    The statement of energy impact is not a red light preventing any 
agency from taking any action. It is a yellow light that says, pause and 
think before you make decisions that squeeze consumer's pocketbooks, 
that may cause energy shortages or that may make us more dependent on 
foreign energy.
    These two orders are the next steps toward a brighter energy future. 
Thank you for joining me as I sign them.

Note: The President spoke at 11:25 a.m. on the intake deck. In his 
remarks, he referred to Gov. Tom Ridge of Pennsylvania and his wife 
Michelle; and Marshall J. Kaiser, president and chief executive officer, 
Safe Harbor Water Power Corporation. The President also referred to 
ANWR, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.