President Obama delivers remarks about innovation and jobs

President Obama delivers remarks about innovation and jobs(Via The

Washington Post)PRESIDENT OBAMA: Good afternoon, everybody.I just held a meeting with the CEOs of some of the most innovative energy

companies in America to talk about growth and progress of a sector that

represents a big piece of America's economic future.As our economy adapts to the challenges of a new century, new ways of

producing and saving and distributing energy offer a unique opportunity to

create millions of jobs for the American people.And obviously, this is a timely discussion on a day of sobering news.The job figures released this morning show that we lost 467,000 jobs last

month. And while the average loss of about 4,000 jobs (sic) per month this

quarter is less devastating than the 700,000 per month that we lost in the

previous quarter, and while there are continuing signs that the recession

is slowing, obviously this is little comfort to all those Americans who

have lost their jobs.And we've taken some extraordinary measures to blunt the hard edges of the

worst recession of our lifetime and to offer assistance to those who've

borne the brunt of this economic storm.But, as I've said from the moment that I walked into the door of this White

House, it took years for us to get into this mess, and it will take us more

than a few months to turn it around.And that's why the discussion that we had today is so important.It's men and women like these who will help lead us out of this recession

and into a better future. My job -- and our job as a government -- is to do

whatever we can to unleash the great generative powers of the American

economy by encouraging their efforts.And I'm absolutely confident that we can, at this period of difficulty,

prove, once again, what this nation can achieve, when challenged. And I'm

confident that we're not only going to recover from this recession in the

short term, but we're going to prosper in the long term.To do that, we have to act now to build a new foundation for lasting growth.And energy is one of the pillars of this new foundation, essential both to

our recovery and our long-term prosperity.I'm pleased to say that we've achieved more in the last few months to

create a new clean energy economy than we had achieved in many decades

before. The recovery plan will double our country's supply of renewable

energy and is already creating new clean energy jobs.Thanks to a remarkable partnership between automakers, auto workers,

environmental advocates and states, we also set in motion a new national

policy to increase gas mileage and decrease carbon pollution for all new

cars and trucks sold in this country, which is going to save us 1.8 billion

barrels of oil.And last Friday, the House of Representatives passed an extraordinary piece

of legislation that would make renewable energy the profitable kind of

energy in America. It will reduce our dependence on foreign oil, it will

prevent the worst consequences of climate change, and above all it holds

the promise of millions of new jobs; jobs, by the way, that can't be

outsourced.The CEOs standing behind me know a lot about these kinds of companies.

These are folks who -- whose companies are helping to lead the

transformation towards a clean energy future. Even as we face tough

economic times, even as we continue to lose jobs, the CEOs here told me

that they're looking to hire new people; in some cases to double or even

triple in size over the next few years. They are making money and they are

helping their customers save money on the energy front.So these companies are vivid examples of the kind of future we can create.

But it's now up to the Senate to continue the work that was begun in the

House to forge this more prosperous future.We're going to need to set aside the posturing and the politics, and when

we put aside the old ideological debates, then our choice is clear.It's a choice between slow decline and renewed prosperity. It'