[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 17 (Monday, May 1, 2006)]
[Page 807]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks During a Visit to a BP Gas Station in Biloxi

April 27, 2006

    Listen, we've got people like this that are working for a living, 
who are paying higher prices for their gasoline--it's like a tax. And I 
talked the other day about things we can do. The first thing is to make 
sure that nobody is getting cheated. One of the roles of the Federal 
Government is to make sure that you're taken care of.
    We need more refining capacity. One of the reasons why you've got 
high prices is the demand is greater than supply. And when demand is 
greater than supply, the price goes up. They've got in Pascagoula a 
really fine refinery. I remember coming over with the Governor, the 
place was shut down--they got it up and running, and we hope we can put 
a law in place that will encourage them to expand refining capacity. 
We've got a problem because we're dependent on oil from overseas. And 
oil is the main reason--the price of oil is the main thing that drives 
the cost of gasoline.
    One of the things we've got to do is make these trucks run on 
ethanol, and batteries that won't require gasoline. That's what the 
future is going to be.
    Congress is debating some other ideas. And one idea is to give me 
the capacity to raise CAFE standards on automobiles. I encourage them to 
give me that authority. It's an authority that I'd use for light trucks. 
And I intend to use it wisely, if Congress would give me that authority.
    Again, I want to thank you for letting me come by and say hello. It 
seems like everybody is getting better down here. Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 3:33 p.m. In his remarks, he referred to 
Gov. Haley Barbour of Mississippi.