[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 31 (Monday, August 6, 2001)]
[Pages 1121-1123]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
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 will be a battery charger, 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 1-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.
    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.

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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.
    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

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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 by the Sharm al-Sheikh 
Fact-Finding Committee which was chaired by former Senator George J. 
Mitchell. The President also referred to ANWR, the Arctic National 
Wildlife Refuge.