President Obama’s Weekly Address: Creating the Energy Security Trust
Published at
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza(ARGONNE, Ill.) — In his weekly address, President Obama touts his “all-of-the-above” energy strategy and calls for lawmakers to establish an Energy Security Trust to fund research into new technologies to reduce the nation’s dependence on oil.
Speaking from Argonne, Ill., where he toured an energy research facility Friday, the president says the only way to “break this cycle of spiking gas prices for good is to shift our cars and trucks off of oil for good.”
“That’s why, in my State of the Union Address,” President Obama says, “I called on Congress to set up an Energy Security Trust to fund research into new technologies that will help us reach that goal.”
Though the president notes “we’re making real progress,” he adds that over the last few weeks, Americans have been reminded that “we need to do more.”
“We went through another spike in gas prices, just like last year, and the year before that. It happens every year. It’s a serious blow to your budget — like getting hit with a new tax coming right out of your pocket,” he says.
The president proposes that some U.S. oil and gas revenues be taken from public lands and put toward research that would benefit the public. That way, he says, “we can support American ingenuity without adding a dime to our deficit.”
“We can support scientists who are designing new engines that are more energy efficient; developing cheaper batteries that go farther on a single charge; and devising new ways to fuel our cars and trucks with new sources of clean energy – like advanced biofuels and natural gas – so drivers can one day go coast-to-coast without using a drop of oil,” he says.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio