[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 43, Number 8 (Monday, February 26, 2007)]
[Pages 205-206]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Following a Meeting With Transportation Fuel Experts and 
Researchers

February 23, 2007

    Listen, I just had a fascinating discussion. First, I'm dealing with 
some entrepreneurs, people who believe that there is a market developing 
for automobiles that will use high technology batteries to--for people 
to be able to motor back and forth from work.
    I also met with some of our scientists who are working on new 
battery technology. I also met with people that are working to help us 
develop a fuel industry that will be able to

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have ethanols derived from produce other than corn. In other words, I'm 
talking with people on the leading edge of change. And the reason why 
I've asked them to come in to see me is because I want to make sure that 
the goal I set by reducing gasoline usage by 20 percent over a 10-year 
period is a realistic goal. I know it's a necessary goal. It's necessary 
for national security purposes; it's necessary for economic security 
purposes; and it's necessary in order to be good stewards of the 
environment.
    My question is, is a practical goal, can we achieve that goal? And 
the answer is, absolutely. Now, it's going to require continued Federal 
research dollars, and I call upon the Congress to fully fund my request 
for alternative sources of energy. It's going to require collaboration 
between the public sector and the private sector. It's going to require 
making sure our smartest scientists understand that this is a national 
priority. But I firmly believe that the goal I laid out, that Americans 
will use 20 percent less gasoline over the next 10 years, is going to be 
achieved, and here's living proof of how we're going to get there.
    So I want to thank my fellow citizens for joining us. We've got a 
Nobel Prize winner; we've got all kinds of Ph.D.s, a couple of history 
majors. But what we're talking about is practical and necessary for the 
country. So thanks for coming. Americans ought to feel optimistic about 
our future. We're going to be driving our cars using all kinds of 
different fuels other than gasoline and using batteries that will be 
able to be recharged in vehicles that don't have to look like golf 
carts.
    Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 11:35 a.m. on the South Lawn at the White 
House. Participating in the meeting were David Bransby, professor of 
agronomy and soils, College of Agriculture, Auburn University; Steve 
Chu, director, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Bruce E. Dale, 
professor, Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, 
Michigan State University; Daniel J. Elliott, president and chief 
executive officer, Phoenix Motorcars, Inc.; Lonnie O. Ingram, professor, 
Department of Microbiology and Cell Science, University of Florida; 
Stephen P. Long, professor of crop sciences, University of Illinois at 
Urbana-Champaign; Alex Molinaroli, president, Power Solutions, Johnson 
Controls, Inc.; Michael M. Thackeray, senior scientist, Argonne National 
Laboratory; and David Vieau, president and chief executive officer, A123 
Systems.