    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 44, Number 32 (Monday, August 18, 2008)]
    [Pages 1128-1130]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Remarks to the Coalition for Affordable American Energy

    August 12, 2008

        I want to thank members of the Coalition for Affordable American
    Energy for joining me today. We just had a very interesting and
    informative discussion. I heard from businesses, large and small. They--
    these folks are representing a lot of workers, people who are really
    concerned about the energy situation here in America, a lot of people
    wondering why their Government is not doing something about the supply
    of crude oil.
        One of the things that came out in this discussion was, there's a
    lot of folks in our country who understand we could be doing something
    about the high price of gasoline, and we're not. Obviously, we need to
    be wise about conservation, but we've got to be wise about increasing
    the supply of oil here in America. If you're concerned about the price
    of gasoline, one way to affect that price of gasoline is to increase oil
    supplies.
        And one of these things these workers know that I fully understand
    as well, I'd rather our consumers be buying gasoline made from oil here
    in America than gasoline from oil being made overseas. We want our
    dollars, to the extent possible, to be here at home, staying here at
    home.

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        And so, we discussed a variety of strategies about how to affect the
    supply of oil, and one way that we can affect the supply of oil is to
    increase access to offshore exploration on the Outer Continental Shelf.
        Congress has restricted access to key parts of the Outer Continental
    Shelf since the early 1980s. Experts believe that these restricted areas
    could eventually produce nearly 10 years worth of America's current oil
    production. People have analyzed what's possible there, and they believe
    that it's--we can find a lot of oil, American-produced oil, oil that
    will mean our dollars are staying here and not going overseas. Advances
    in technology have made it possible to conduct oil exploration in the
    Outer Continental Shelf that is out of sight, that protects coral reefs,
    and protects against oil spills.
        Last month, I acted and I lifted an executive branch restriction on
    offshore oil exploration. And then I called on Congress to join me and
    to lift the legislative ban--to end the legislative ban. Unfortunately,
    the Democratic leadership in Congress decided to go on a 5-week
    vacation, a recess, rather than act on behalf of the American consumer,
    the American small-business owner.
        Members have now had an opportunity to hear from their constituents,
    and if they listen carefully, I think they'll hear what I heard today,
    and that is a lot of Americans from all walks of life wonder why we
    can't come together and get legislation necessary to end the ban on
    offshore drilling. And so, today I join House Republicans in urging the
    Speaker of the House to schedule a vote on offshore oil exploration as
    soon as possible.
        Now, the way ahead is this: The moratorium on offshore drilling is
    included in the provisions of the Interior appropriations bill. When
    Congress returns, they should immediately bring this bill to the House
    floor and schedule an up-or-down vote on whether to lift the moratorium
    on offshore drilling. Our goal should be to enact a law that reflects
    the will of the overwhelming majority of Americans who want to open up
    oil resources on the Outer Continental Shelf.
        And so, the Democratic leadership should bring up a clean bill, give
    the Members a chance to vote up or down on whether or not we should
    proceed with offshore drilling, and not insert any legislative poison
    pills. Those would be provisions that they know will never be enacted
    and are added only for the purpose of killing the effort to open up the
    off--the Outer Continental Shelf to drilling.
        Congress can do some more. Once they solve this problem, they can
    allow us to drill in northern Alaska, which we can do in environmentally
    friendly ways. They should allow us to tap into the extraordinary
    potential of oil shale. And we need to expand our refining capacity here
    in America. These are all steps that the Congress can take to show the
    American people that we can move forward in a positive way to affect the
    price of gasoline. And there's a lot of Members of Congress who want a
    up-or-down vote. And the Democratic leadership has got to listen to the
    people on this issue.
        Now, this is part of a comprehensive strategy. Everybody in this
    room understands that expanding oil and gas production is a part of a
    comprehensive strategy. Obviously, we need to expand conservation
    measures. We need to develop alternative energy technologies such as
    advanced batteries, plug-in hybrids, hydrogen fuel cells. We need to
    expand clean, safe, nuclear power, clean coal technology, solar, and
    wind power. There's not a single answer to our energy problems. But a
    part of solving the dilemma that our consumers are facing, that the
    hard-working Americans face, and that is high price of gasoline, we need
    to get after exploration here in America. And we can do it in a way that
    protects the environment.
        So, when Congress comes back, they need to act. And they don't need
    to gimmick up the legislation; they need to allow there to be an up-or-
    down vote, and let the Members express the will of their constituents.
        I appreciate the--your work on this issue. I appreciate you
    represent a lot of hard-working people, people who simply want to put
    food on the table and be able to make it to work; people who are
    concerned about the price of gasoline; people who have told you to tell
    me that they want to see more oil drilled, more exploration on the Outer
    Continental Shelf; people who told you to tell me they want to see us
    drilling in Alaska; people

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    who told you to tell me they want a commonsense energy policy right here
    in Washington, DC. And I agree with them.
        Thank you for your time. Thank you for our conversation. Appreciate
    it. Thank you all.

    Note: The President spoke at 1:57 p.m. in Room 350 of the Dwight D.
    Eisenhower Executive Office Building.