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Skriven 2007-07-10 23:30:54 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0707104) for Tue, 2007 Jul 10
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Fact Sheet: A Day in Cleveland: President Bush Calls on Congress to Act to
Fund Vital Priorities
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For Immediate Release July 10, 2007

Fact Sheet: A Day in Cleveland: President Bush Calls on Congress to Act to
Fund Vital Priorities President Bush Discusses Energy, The Economy, Health
Care, And Iraq In Cleveland, Ohio

ÿÿWhite House News

ÿÿÿÿÿ President Bush Visits Cleveland, Ohio ÿÿÿÿÿ President Bush Discusses
Energy During Visit to GrafTech International, LTD

Today, President Bush Visited Cleveland, Ohio, And Called On Congress To
Meet Its Responsibilities And Pass The Individual Spending Bills Needed To
Keep The Federal Government Running. In the morning, President Bush toured
GrafTech International, Ltd., and discussed the importance of investing in
alternative energy research to reduce America's dependence on oil. He then
had lunch with Cleveland business and community leaders at Slyman's
Restaurant. In the afternoon, President Bush discussed his health care
initiatives at the Cleveland Clinic. Later, he made remarks to the Greater
Cleveland Partnership, the largest private-sector economic development
organization in Ohio.

  þ Congress Is Leaving Vital Priorities Unfunded. At their current pace,
    the President will not see any of the 12 must-pass bills before
    Congress leaves Washington for the month-long August recess. The fiscal
    year ends September 30th, and Congress must step forward now to pass
    these bills one at a time.

As Part Of His "Twenty In Ten" Plan, The President Is Asking Congress To
Take A Bolder Approach To Strengthen America's Energy Security And Confront
Climate Change

This Morning, During A Visit to GrafTech International, President Bush
Discussed His "Twenty In Ten" Plan To Reduce U.S. Gasoline Consumption.
GrafTech is a leader in manufacturing components for fuel cells, devices
that directly convert chemical energy in hydrogen to electricity, with pure
water and potentially useful heat as the only byproducts. This type of
technology will help promote the use of hydrogen fuel and alternative fuels
that are at the core of the President's "Twenty in Ten" plan to reduce
projected U.S. gasoline consumption by 20 percent over the next ten years

  þ The President Believes The Federal Government Should Foster Investment
    And Innovation In Alternative Technologies To Reduce America's
    Dependence On Oil And Decrease Greenhouse Gas Emissions. Including the
    2008 Budget, the Administration will have invested $15 billion to
    develop advanced energy sources since 2001.

  þ In 2006, The Energy Department Awarded A $2.3 Million Grant To GrafTech
    And Partner Businesses To Develop The Next Generation Of Fuel Cells.

The President Is Asking Congress To Develop An Aggressive Alternative Fuel
Standard And Improve Fuel Efficiency Standards Through CAFE Reform. The
Senate passed an energy bill at the end of June that includes some of the
President's "Twenty in Ten" ideas, but they need improvement. The House of
Representatives is considering energy legislation in July, and the
President urges them to include his "Twenty in Ten" proposals:

  þ A Broad And Bold Alternative Fuel Standard: The AFS would require the
    use of the equivalent of 35 billion gallons of renewable and other
    alternative fuels in 2017 with the goal of reducing projected gasoline
    use by 15 percent.

  þ Flexible CAFE Reform: CAFE reform would give the Secretary of
    Transportation flexible authority to increase current fuel efficiency
    standards for cars and would extend the current rule for light trucks
    with the goal of reducing projected gasoline use by up to 5 percent.

We Also Need Legislation That Will Increase Domestic Production Of Oil And
Gas, Increase Refinery Capacity, And Expand Our Strategic Petroleum
Reserve, Which Is Our Energy Supply Insurance Policy.

The President Urges Congress To Work To Complete Spending Bills
Independently And On Time

In The Afternoon, President Bush Had Lunch With Business And Community
Leaders At Slyman's Restaurant. Last week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics
announced that 132,000 new jobs were created in June, the 46th straight
month of job creation. Despite numerous challenges, including a recession,
corporate scandals, the 9/11 attacks, and the demands of the War on Terror,
our economy has recovered and has added more than 8.2 million new jobs
since August 2003.

  þ Strong Economic Growth Has Helped Produce Record Levels Of Tax Revenue,
    Which Are Helping Reduce The Federal Deficit And Meet The President's
    Goal Of A Balanced Budget. President Bush's FY 2008 budget lays out a
    detailed plan to balance the budget by 2012 while keeping taxes low. In
    contrast, the Democrats' budget includes $205 billion in new spending
    over five years and the largest tax increase in history.

  þ The President Urges Democrats in Congress To Step Forward Now And Pass
    The Individual Spending Bills Needed To Keep The Federal Government
    Running.

  þ Democrats Must Restrain Spending So We Can Sustain Our Growing Economy
    And Balance The Budget. Democratic leaders in Congress are working to
    bring back the failed tax-and-spend policies of the past, but the
    President will veto any attempt to take America down that road.

The President Calls On Congress To Make Basic Private Health Insurance More
Affordable By Reforming The Tax Code

During A Visit To Cleveland Clinic, The President Discussed The Importance
Of Empowering Consumers With Information And Using Technology To Improve
Health Care. The Cleveland Clinic has a number of programs to provide
consumers with better information about the value of their health care
services, including publishing annual reports on patient outcomes and using
information technology to provide doctors and patients access to complete
medical records online.

  þ In 2004, The Clinic Received Federal Grants Totaling $3 Million From
    The U.S. Department Of Health And Human Services (HHS) To Study How
    Adoption Of Health IT Can Reduce Medical Errors And Improve Chronic
    Disease Management.

  þ The Administration Is Implementing Policies To Ensure Americans Are
    Able To Obtain Easy-To-Understand Information About The Price And
    Quality Of Health Care.

    * The Hospital Compare website run by the Department of Health and
    Human Services (www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov ) and other initiatives are
    helping give Medicare beneficiaries the ability to compare costs and
    results between hospitals.
    * Beginning last month, HHS made publicly available two new ways to
    measure the mortality rate for Medicare cardiac patients.
    * The Administration continues working to expand the use of electronic
    health records, which will help reduce costs and improve the efficiency
    and effectiveness of medical services.

    America Has Reached A Decisive Moment In The Debate Over Health Care.
    Instead of encouraging people to drop private coverage for government
    programs, the President believes we should work to make basic private
    health insurance affordable for all Americans. The best way to do this
    is by reforming the tax code to level the playing field so those who
    buy health insurance on their own get the same tax advantage as those
    who get health insurance through their jobs.

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