Text 609, 304 rader
Skriven 2005-03-09 23:33:20 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0503098) for Wed, 2005 Mar 9
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Press Gaggle with Scott McClellan
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For Immediate Release
March 9, 2005

Press Gaggle with Scott McClellan
Aboard Air Force One En Route Columbus, Ohio



12:38 P.M. EST

MR. McCLELLAN: Good afternoon. Let me begin with going over the President's
day. This morning the President spoke with Prime Minister Koizumi. They had
a good discussion about a range of issues, including the freedom agenda,
North Korea, the Middle East peace process, Iraq, and beef exports. And the
call was about 15 minutes in length.

Then the President had his usual briefings. He had the meeting with
President Basescu, and the two leaders spoke at the end of that meeting,
and took some questions. So you all have a transcript of that.

And when we arrive in Columbus, the President is -- and I'm going to come
back to this in a minute, and let somebody else talk to you about the tour
we're going to take of the Battelle Memorial Institute. Following that,
we'll go to the Veterans Memorial, where the President will make remarks on
energy policy. And I expect in his remarks he will talk about the
importance of Congress acting on the comprehensive energy strategy that he
has outlined. There are really four key areas of that: promoting
conservation and energy efficiency, diversifying our energy supply,
increasing domestic exploration and making sure we have a modernized
electricity grid. I also expect the President to talk about the importance
of acting on his Clear Skies legislation that we have proposed to reduce
power plant emissions by 70 percent.

Then this afternoon, when he returns, the President has also got -- and
this is stills at the top -- will participate in a brief meeting with the
ministers of women's affairs from Afghanistan and Iraq. They were in town
to participate in the International Women's Days events that were going on
at the State Department yesterday that Mrs. Bush attended, as well. And
they have been instrumental in making sure that women have been able to
participate in elections and in the democratic societies emerging in those
two countries. And so the President looks forward to that meeting, as well.

And with that, let me turn it over to -- I've got Jim Connaughton here,
head of our Council on Environmental Quality, to give you a little bit of
-- more color on the tour that the President will be taking when we get
there. And then he'll take whatever questions, and I'll take whatever
questions. He's still a little bit upset with me for taking Dana from his
shop, but we're on talking terms again. (Laughter.)

CHAIRMAN CONNAUGHTON: Thanks, Scott. Today the President is going to do an
energy technology tour at Battelle Memorial Institute, which is one of the
nation's largest research and development institutes for doing especially
energy technologies. A little bit about the lab. It manages or co-manages
over 19,000 staff members, conducting $3 billion annually in research and
development. The laboratories work with more than 800 federal, state and
local government agencies to provide cost-effective science and
technologies in a variety of areas -- national security, homeland defense,
health and life sciences, and then today what we'll see is in energy and
the environment.

The main theme of the tour is to understand how technology is making our
energy system more secure, more affordable, more reliable and more
environmentally protective. The President will see a series of different
demonstrations and speak with the scientists who are actually leading and
conducting the research. He'll see in particular five presentations: one on
advanced nuclear energy, one on clean-coal technologies, one on electric
grid reliability, another one on pipeline safety, and then preview some
efficient appliances.

In addition to those five demonstrations, the President is going to preview
a mock fuel cell laboratory where they are creating a fuel cell package
intended for use in the Bradley A3 Fighting Vehicle. By using a fuel cell,
the Department of Defense is going to be able to put that into the vehicle
and enable silent watch applications. That's, "silent watch."

Q What's that?

MR. CONNAUGHTON: It's where the military wants to run electronics and
surveillance without producing the heat and exhaust of normal fuel use. So
it's a stealth fighting vehicle, much like a stealth bomber. It has almost
no signature that opponents would be able to detect. That's one of the
great advantages of the fuel cell approach.

Let me just give you a little bit more on the specifics under each of
these. In advanced nuclear energy, he's going to take a look at a prototype
for the next-generation nuclear power plant that will not only produce
electricity, but also produce hydrogen that has no emissions. He'll also
talk about and view a demonstration on the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor, and
that's a next-generation nuclear design that's highly effective.

In the area of clean coal, he'll take a look at this new advanced
technology called Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle. That is the next
step on the road to a zero-emission coal fired power plant that enables us
also to capture and store CO2. As part of that, he's going to take a look
at a vial of nano-materials that specifically absorb carbon dioxide. And
the nano-materials in that vial contain as much surface area as the entire
exterior surface area of the White House.

On electric grid reliability, he'll look at some advanced superconducting
transmission technologies, and that's transmitting electricity over much
thinner and smaller wires, as well as smart control systems that's going to
help with the reliability of the grid, to prevent blackouts.

On pipeline safety, he'll look at corrosion-resistant material and sensors
to minimize the effects of pipeline sabotage. So we'll be able to detect
and prevent potential sabotage events. And then he'll also view what's
called a "pig", which is a unit that they put inside of the pipeline to
assure -- to monitor and assure its long and ongoing safety.

Finally, on the efficiency side, for appliances --

Q So that's not a real pig, though.

CHAIRMAN CONNAUGHTON: They call it a pig, but it's about the size of a pig.
That's why they call it a pig. (Laughter.) No, it's all technology, all
technology.

The President is going to get a presentation on our effort -- it's a DOE
project with the lab -- to build an affordable zero-energy home. And by
affordable, we're talking about a home that can be used in the context of
Habitat for Humanity, less than $100,000 to build, as well as a
super-efficient refrigerator that runs on the energy it takes to power just
one 75 watt lightbulb, and then a new prototype for an efficient heat pump
water heater, again, that could be broadly commercially applicable.

And I'll end there.

MR. McCLELLAN: Any questions for Jim?

Q You know, you're under some criticism of not pursuing appliance standards
fast enough at DOE. How do you connect what you're saying here to that
criticism? I think there's some advocacy groups that are filing lawsuits,
and there's some Democrats on the Hill that say there are a lot of
appliance standards that are way behind schedule.

CHAIRMAN CONNAUGHTON: DOE actually has moved forward with a number of
appliance standards, and are in the middle of their process for setting new
ones. The criticism that are leveled at appliance standards often focuses
on the fact the appliance standard, when it's set, is always the second
generation technology. The criticism is actually misguided, because by
setting the standard at the second best technology, that's typically the
most affordable technology, which means that more people will buy it and
actually use it.

So from an environmental perspective, the way we set the standard is to
promote the maximum purchase and use of the most effecient technology that
will produce the environmental outcome we want. Typically, if you set it at
the highest standard, few people buy it, and therefore you don't achieve
your goal of actually having greater efficiency in the marketplace. And
that plays out again and again. That's the way the standards work. And with
the new standards coming up, you'll see the same philosophy applied. We
want to set the standard where it will have its maximum environmental
benefit.

Q Is the President bringing back his call for ANWR exploration today?

CHAIRMAN CONNAUGHTON: You will hear the President talk about the full range
of measures that are needed in a comprehensive energy package. One of those
themes is increasing our domestic supply. And the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge, the area that was specifically set aside for future development, is
a key part of that effort to increase our domestic supply.

Q Has the dynamics of the argument changed from last year? Do you see any
better chance for progress this year?

CHAIRMAN CONNAUGHTON: We are more hopeful this year than ever before.

Q Why?

CHAIRMAN CONNAUGHTON: We think there are more votes that will be lined up
in favor of this, especially in the face of high gasoline prices, in the
face of high natural gas prices, and the face of unprecedentedly-high coal
prices.

MR. McCLELLAN: It's an important part of the President's comprehensive
strategy when it comes to energy. So the President remains committed to it.
And we're hopeful we can get it passed this year.

CHAIRMAN CONNAUGHTON: I just returned from a tour this past weekend up to
ANWR. The technology by which they do both exploration and production is
truly amazing. It has virtually no footprint, and has virtually no impact
on the environment -- up in Alaska.

MR. McCLELLAN: And the President will probably touch on that aspect of it
in his remarks, as well. He'll talk about how it will have a minimal impact
on the land.

Anything else?

Q Can I ask you about Koizumi?

MR. McCLELLAN: Okay.

Q On the beef exports, what did they talk about, specifically?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, it's an important issue. Obviously, we would like to
see the market opened up. And it's something that we're continuing to
discuss with the Japanese government. I think Secretary Rice is going to be
traveling in the region soon, and I'm sure that she will talk about the
issue, as well, with Japanese officials.

Q No progress today?

MR. McCLELLAN: Like I said, they had a good discussion, and that's where it
stands.

Q The issue of SPRO, Strategic Petroleum Reserve, is always going to come
up. Again Senator Schumer is having a press conference, saying you should
do something about it.

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think the most constructive step we can take right
now to address the issue of rising energy prices is to work together to
finally pass a comprehensive energy strategy. In terms of -- we need
comprehensive solutions, not patchwork crisis management.

In terms of the SPRO, we've made it very clear that we do not believe it
should be tapped for political purposes or to manipulate prices. It is
there for -- in the event of severe disruption of supply or other
emergencies. I mean, if we came to that situation, we would not hesitate to
act to use it. But it's there for that purpose, and for national security
purposes, in the event that there's a natural disaster or a terrorist
attack or a disruption of supply at home. That's our view.

Q So just to reiterate, in your view, high gasoline prices don't constitute
the kind of emergency -- you don't think that high gas prices at the pump
constitute the kind of national emergency that would require --

MR. McCLELLAN: The Strategic Petroleum Reserve was created so that we -- in
the case of severe disruption of supply or an emergency situation -- and
those emergency situations would be something like a terrorist attack or a
natural disaster or a major disruption of supply within our country. And
that's why we need to make sure it's there for those -- in the event of a
situation like that. And we do not believe it should be used to try to
manipulate prices, or for political purposes.

There are national security reasons why we have the Strategic Petroleum
Reserve. And the best step we can take now to address these issues is for
Congress to act on the President's comprehensive energy strategy. This is
an issue that continues to come up, year after year. And that's why the
President has called on Congress to act on the energy plan that he has
outlined.

We've taken a number of steps -- and the President is going to talk about
that in his remarks -- a number of steps to implement parts of that
comprehensive energy strategy. We call on Congress to act on this proposal
this year, so that we can have a comprehensive solution. The American
people want us to solve these problems, and that's why the President will
call on the Congress to continue to act.

Anything else?

Q Well, do you want to respond to -- Lindsey Graham says that retirement
accounts are a sideshow and it was a strategic mistake to emphasize them.

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, you've heard the President talk about the importance
of making the Social Security system permanently sound and making sure that
we strengthen it for our children and grandchildren. Personal accounts are
a part of a comprehensive solution to strengthen Social Security. And what
personal accounts -- why personal accounts are important is that they will
give younger workers the option of realizing a greater rater of return on
their benefits and realizing something that is closer to what the system
promises. The system cannot deliver what it has promised. It is an empty
promise right now.

And that's why it's an important part of strengthening Social Security. But
the President has made it very clear that we need to make sure that -- the
safety net of Social Security has a big whole in it, and we need to make
sure that that safety net is there for our children and grandchildren. And
that's why we need to act now to permanently fix Social Security.

There was an effort in 1983, where people from both parties came together.
This was an effort that Chairman Greenspan was very involved in. And they
worked to come up with a solution, but it did not permanently fix the
system. And here we are, just a couple of decades later, and we see that
Social Security is still on a -- is on an unsustainable course. And that's
why we need to act now to address it.

So the President will continue to emphasize the importance of making --
permanently fixing Social Security and the importance of personal accounts
to strengthening it. And that's what I go back to, is when you look at the
system today, it is promising things -- it is making a promise to our
children and grandchildren that it cannot meet. And that's why personal
accounts are important, because if you model it under something similar to
the Thrift Savings Plan, they will realize a significant amount of return
on their own retirement savings, and it will let them own some of their own
money. Right now the Social Security system -- and you're looking at a, I
believe it's like a 1.8 percent return on your investment. We want to see
younger workers have the voluntary option of being able to realize a
greater rater of return. I think some of the Social Security actuaries
estimate it could be in the 7 percent range. So that would help them build
a nest egg that would be there own. And that's why it's important.

Q Okay, thanks, Scott.

END 12:55 P.M. EST
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