[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 43, Number 20 (Monday, May 21, 2007)]
[Pages 630-631]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks on Fuel Economy and Alternative Fuel Standards

May 14, 2007

    Thank you all for coming. Good afternoon. I just finished a meeting 
with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the 
Secretaries of Transportation and Agriculture, and the Deputy Secretary 
of Energy. Thank you all for being here.
    We discussed one of the most serious challenges facing our country, 
our Nation's addiction to oil and its harmful impact on our environment. 
The problem is particularly acute in the transportation sector. Oil is 
the primary component of gasoline and diesel, and cars and trucks that 
run on these fuels emit air pollution and greenhouse gases.
    Our dependence on oil creates a risk for our economy, because a 
supply disruption anywhere in the world could drive up American gas 
prices to even more painful levels. Our dependence on oil creates a 
threat to America's national security, because it leaves us more 
vulnerable to hostile regimes and to terrorists who could attack oil 
infrastructure.
    For all these reasons, America has a clear national interest in 
reducing our dependence on oil. Over the past 6 years, my administration 
has provided more than $12 billion for research into alternative sources 
of energy. And I'd like to thank the Congress for its cooperation in 
appropriating these monies. We now have reached a pivotal moment where 
advances in technology are creating new ways to improve energy security, 
strengthen national security, and protect the environment.
    To help achieve all these priorities, I set an ambitious goal in my 
State of the Union: to cut America's gasoline usage by 20 percent over 
the next 10 years. I call this goal 20-in-10, and I have said--sent to 
Congress a proposal that would meet it in two steps. First, this 
proposal will set a mandatory fuel standard that requires 35 billion 
gallons of renewable and other alternative fuels by 2017. That's nearly 
five times the current target. Second, the proposal would continue our 
efforts to increase fuel efficiency. My administration has twice 
increased fuel economy standards for light trucks. Together, these 
reforms would save billions of gallons of fuel and reduce net greenhouse 
gas emissions, without compromising jobs or safety.
    My proposal at the State of the Union will further improve standards 
for light trucks and take a similar approach to automobiles. With good 
legislation, we could save up to 8.5 billion gallons of gasoline per 
year by 2017 and further reduce greenhouse gas emissions from cars and 
trucks.
    Last month, the Supreme Court ruled that the EPA must take action 
under the Clean Air Act regarding greenhouse gas emissions from motor 
vehicles. So today I'm directing the EPA and the Department of 
Transportation, Energy, and Agriculture to take the first steps toward 
regulations that would cut gasoline consumption and greenhouse gas 
emissions from motor vehicles, using my 20-in-10 plan as a starting 
point.
    Developing these regulations will require coordination across many 
different areas of expertise. Today I signed an Executive order 
directing all our agencies represented here today to work together on 
this proposal. I've also asked them to listen to public input, to 
carefully consider safety, science, and available technologies, and 
evaluate the benefits and costs before they put forth the new 
regulation.
    This is a complicated legal and technical matter, and it's going to 
take time to fully resolve. Yet it is important to move forward, so I 
have directed members of my administration to complete the process by 
the end of 2008. The steps I announced today are not a substitute for 
effective legislation. So my--members of my Cabinet, as they begin the 
process toward new regulations, will work with the White House, to work 
with Congress, to pass the 20-in-10 bill.

[[Page 631]]

    When it comes to energy and the environment, the American people 
expect common sense and they expect action. The policies I've laid out 
have got a lot of common sense to them. It makes sense to do what I 
proposed, and we're taking action, by taking the first steps toward 
rules that will make our economy stronger, our environment cleaner, and 
our Nation more secure for generations to come.
    Thank you for your attention.

Note: The President spoke at 1:21 p.m. in the Rose Garden at the White 
House.