Bush Plugs Alt-Vehicles in Address

President Bush at Hydrogen pump

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President George W. Bush offered support for new automotive technology during a wide-ranging pre-Christmas press conference in which he also discussed the need to expand the size of the U.S. Armed Services, the crisis in Iraq and the overall strength of the U.S. economy.

“The American people expect us to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and increase our use of alternative energy sources,” the President said during a White House press conference. “So we must step up our research and investment in hydrogen fuel cells, hybrid plug-in and battery-powered cars, renewable fuels like ethanol and cellulosic ethanol and biodiesel, clean coal technology and clean sources of electricity like nuclear, solar and wind power,” the President noted in his opening remarks.

Bush also came back to the issue of energy independence during the question and answer session in which he also discussed the problems in the Middle East and the need for bi-partisanship in the wake of the November election, which turned control of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate over to the Democrats.

Energy is one area where there is broad, general agreement between the Democrats and Republicans who control opposite ends of Pennsylvania Avenue.

“In my judgment, we’re going to have to get off oil as much as possible to remain a competitive economy,” Bush said. “And I’m looking forward to working with Congress to do just that. I’m optimistic about some of the…new battery technologies that will be coming to the market,” added the President, who said the “changes in automotive technology will help city dwellers use less gasoline every day.”

Critics of the President have said the administration could have trimmed the nation’s dependence on foreign oil, much of it from places such as the Middle East, by imposing tougher fuel economy standards and new vehicles. The tougher fuel-economy standards would have expedited the move towards smaller and lighter-weight vehicles, environmentalists have suggested.

Bush also offered a plug for nuclear power, which in his opinion will be an essential source of future electricity for the United States, and places like China and India.

“Nuclear power is renewable, and nuclear power does not emit one greenhouse gas. And it makes a lot of sense for us to share technologies that will enable people to feel confident that the nuclear power plants that are being built are safe, as well as technologies that will eventually come to fore that will enable us to reduce the wastes, the toxicity of the waste and the amount of the waste,” said Bush, who also touted the advantages of “clean coal.”

“My only point to you is we’ve got a comprehensive plan to achieve the objective that most Americans support, which is less dependency upon oil,” he said.

Bush also said it was essential to keep the economic expansion rolling forward by promoting free trade.

“It’s in our interest that nations treat our markets, our goods and services the way we treat theirs. And it’s in our interest that administrations continue to promote more opening up markets,” he said.

“So we’ve got a robust agenda moving forward with the Congress, and I’m looking forward to working with them. And there are a lot of places where we can find common ground on these important issues,” Bush said.

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