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' |