[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 41, Number 16 (Monday, April 25, 2005)]
[Pages 619-620]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's Radio Address

April 16, 2005

    Good morning. American families and small businesses across the 
country are feeling the pinch from rising gas prices. If you're trying 
to meet a family budget or a payroll, even a small change at the pump 
can have a big impact.
    America's prosperity depends on reliable, affordable, and secure 
sources of energy. And today, our energy needs are growing faster than 
our domestic sources are able to provide. Demand for electricity has 
grown more than 17 percent in the past decade while our transmission 
ability lags behind.

[[Page 620]]

And we continue to import more than one-half of our domestic oil supply.
    In the coming days and weeks, I'll talk more about what we need to 
do in Washington to make sure America has an energy policy that reflects 
the demands of a new century. The first order of business is for 
Congress to pass an energy bill. Next week Congress begins debate on 
energy legislation, and they need to send me a bill that meets four 
important objectives.
    First, the energy bill must encourage the use of technology to 
improve conservation. We must find smarter ways to meet our energy 
needs, and we must encourage Americans to make better choices about 
energy consumption. We must also continue to invest in research, so we 
will develop the technologies that would allow us to conserve more and 
be better stewards of the environment.
    Second, the energy bill must encourage more production at home in 
environmentally sensitive ways. Over the past 3 years, America's energy 
consumption has increased by about 4 percent, while our domestic energy 
production has decreased by about 1 percent. That means more of our 
energy is coming from abroad. To meet our energy needs and strengthen 
our national security, we must make America less dependent on foreign 
sources of energy.
    Third, the energy bill must diversify our energy supply by 
developing alternative sources of energy like ethanol or biodiesel. We 
need to promote safe, clean nuclear power. And to create more energy 
choices, Congress should provide tax credits for renewable power sources 
such as wind, solar, and landfill gas. We must also continue our clean-
coal technology projects so that we can use the plentiful source of coal 
in an environmentally friendly way. The bill must also support 
pollution-free cars and trucks, powered by hydrogen fuel cells instead 
of gasoline.
    Finally, the energy bill must help us find better, more reliable 
ways to deliver energy to consumers. In some parts of the country, our 
transmission lines and pipelines are decades older than the homes and 
businesses they supply. Many of them are increasingly vulnerable to 
events that can interrupt and shut down power in entire regions of the 
country. We must modernize our infrastructure to make America's energy 
more secure and reliable.
    Every source of power that we use today started with the power of 
human invention, and those sources have served us well for decades. Now 
it's time to apply our knowledge and technology to keep the American 
Dream alive in this new century. There is nothing America cannot achieve 
when we put our mind to it. And I urge Congress to work out its 
differences and pass an energy bill that will help make America safer 
and more prosperous for the years to come.
    Thank you for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 8:45 a.m. on April 15 in the Cabinet 
Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on April 16. The 
transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on 
April 15 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. The Office 
of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of 
this address.