20110423奥巴马每周讲话：制止石油市场欺诈，开创清洁能源的未来

Weekly Address: Stopping Oil Market Fraud,

Beginning a Clean Energy Future

This is a time of year when people get together with family and friends to

observe Passover and to celebrate Easter. It’s a chance to give thanks for our

blessings and reaffirm our faith, while spending time with the people we love.

We all know how importa

nt that is

– especially in hard times. And that’s what

a lot of people are facing these days.

Even though the economy is growing again and we’ve seen businesses adding

jobs over the past year, many are still looking for work. And even if you

haven’t faced

a job loss, it’s still not easy out there. Your paycheck isn’t

getting bigger, while the cost of everything from college for your kids to gas

for your car keeps rising. That’s something on a lot of people’s minds right

now, with gas prices at $4 a gallon.

It’s just another burden when things were

already pretty tough.

Now, whenever gas prices shoot up, like clockwork, you see politicians racing

to the cameras, waving three

-point plans for two dollar gas. You see people

trying to grab headlines or score a fe

w points. The truth is, there’s no silver

bullet that can bring down gas prices right away.

But there are a few things we can do. This includes safe and responsible

production of oil at home, which we are pursuing. In fact, last year, American

oil producti

on reached its highest level since 2003. On Thursday, my Attorney

General also launched a task force with just one job: rooting out cases of

fraud or manipulation in the oil markets that might affect gas prices, including

any illegal activity by traders an

d speculators. We’re going to make sure that

no one is taking advantage of the American people for their own short-

term

gain. And another step we need to take is to finally end the $4 billion in

taxpayer subsidies we give to the oil and gas companies each

year. That’s $4

billion of your money going to these companies when they’re making record

profits and you’re paying near record prices at the pump. It has to stop.

Instead of subsidizing yesterday’s energy sources, we need to invest in

tomorrow’s. We need

to invest in clean, renewable energy. In the long term,

that’s the answer. That’s the key to helping families at the pump and

reducing our dependence on foreign oil. We can see that promise already.

Thanks to an historic agreement we secured with all the major auto

companies, we’re raising the fuel economy of cars and trucks in America,

using hybrid technology and other advances. As a result, if you buy a new car

in the next few years, the better gas mileage is going to save you about

$3,000 at the pump.

But we need to do more. We need to harness the potential I’ve seen at

promising start

-ups and innovative clean energy companies across America.

And that’s at the heart of a debate we’re having right now in Washington

about the budget.

Both Democrats and Repu

blicans believe we need to reduce the deficit. That’s

where we agree. The question we’re debating is how we do it. I’ve proposed a

balanced approach that cuts spending while still investing in things like

education and clean energy that are so critical to

creating jobs and

opportunities for the middle class. It’s a simple idea: we need to live within

our means while at the same time investing in our future.

That’s why I disagree so strongly with a proposal in Congress that cuts our

investments in clean ener

gy by 70 percent. Yes, we have to get rid of

wasteful spending

– and make no mistake, we’re going through every line of

the budget scouring for savings. But we can do that without sacrificing our

future. We can do that while still investing in the technolo

gies that will create

jobs and allow the United States to lead the world in new industries. That’s

how we’ll not only reduce the deficit, but also lower our dependence on

foreign oil, grow the economy, and leave for our children a safer planet. And

that’s

what our mission has to be.

Thanks for listening, and have a great weekend.