Gas prices columbus ohio

March 9, 2005

Thanks for the warm welcome. Thank you all. Thanks very much. It's great to be back in the capital of Ohio. I have spent some quality time here. I have a history in Columbus; my grandfather, Prescott Bush, was raised right here. And down the road, my maternal grandfather, Marvin Pierce, was raised in Dayton, Ohio. I had to bring that up, otherwise Mother would call me. [Laughter]

I appreciate many of the great qualities of Columbus, Ohio. I appreciate the fact that you take your sports seriously. [Laughter] You've got the mighty Buckeye football team--understand there's going to be an interesting interstate clash next September, mighty Longhorns will be coming up. Make sure you treat them as hospitably as you treated me. Looks like the basketball team can play pretty well.

And this auditorium has its own sports tradition. Last weekend you hosted Arnold Schwarzenegger's international bodybuilding competition. When the Vice President heard I was coming, he asked me to pick up an application form for next year's competition. [Laughter] Matter of fact, the last time I was in Columbus, I was introduced by Arnold. [Applause] Yes. My, have times changed. [Laughter] Now I get introduced by Bodman, who is going to make a great Secretary of Energy but not such a good bodybuilder. [Laughter] But I appreciate your willingness to serve, Sam. We've got a lot to do.

And that's what I'm here to talk about, the importance of a sound national energy policy. Today I visited a fascinating company called Battelle--really interesting place. The workers there have a motto. They call it "the business of innovation." Pretty interesting, isn't it? "The business of innovation"--to me, it defines the entrepreneurial spirit which exists in that building. The spirit says there's nothing we can't do by working together. That's what it says. There are important problems to solve in America, and why don't we just put our minds to it, to use our skills and our talents to come up with innovative ways to deal with the energy challenges of today and tomorrow. That's what I saw at Battelle.

People in Washington can learn from that example. We need to work together in Washington. We have had 4 years of debate about a national energy bill. Now is the time to get the job done.

I want to thank the Members of Congress who have joined us today. Pat Tiberi, appreciate you coming, Congressman--and Dave Hobson. Very nice of them to take the afternoon off. They flew down on Air Force One, and they're flying back on Air Force One. It's a convenient way to travel, isn't it, guys? [Laughter] I look forward to continuing to talk to you about Ohio and its needs and issues.

I'm proud my friend the Governor is here. Governor Taft, thanks for coming. It's good to see you again. Appreciate you being here.

I know the speaker is here. And I had the honor--Speaker, good to see you. I had the honor of meeting the leader of the senate out at Air Force One. I want to thank all the house folks who are here. I want to thank the local and the local officials who are here. I want to thank the industry and business leaders who are here. This is a subject that should interest you, whether or not we've got the capability of working together to come up with a national energy plan.

I want to thank the good folks at Battelle, Carl Kohrt and Mort Collins, Bill Madia. I want to thank all the employees who were so gracious to me and Sam. I want to thank Greg Frank. I want to thank you all for coming. I appreciate your interest in your country and its future.

Today when I landed, I met Betty Cheney. Betty is a volunteer with a local Big Brothers Big Sisters program. She mentors a fifth grade girl. She takes time out of her life to make America a better place by lending her talent and love to help somebody.

The reason I bring that up, there's a lot of talk about the might of the United States of America. And we are mighty, and we are influential. We'll keep using our influence to spread freedom and peace. We'll use our influence to protect the homeland. We'll continue to work to grow our economy, which is what I'm here to talk about. But the true might of America is not the size of our military or the size of our wallet. It is the size of our hearts. The fact that Betty Cheney has heard a call to love a neighbor like she would like to be loved herself is indicative of the true strength of America. Betty, I want to thank you for setting a great example by serving in Big Brothers and Big Sisters, by mentoring a child. If you want to serve your Nation, if you want to be a part of a hopeful America, feed the hungry, find shelter for the homeless, love somebody who hurts, and together, we can change America one heart and one soul at a time.

As the people of Ohio know too well, our economy has faced historic challenges. Over the past 4 years, we've had a stock market decline. We faced a recession. We had a terrorist attack. We've had ongoing war. But we've confronted those challenges head on with good economic policy. And today, our economy is the fastest growing of any major industrialized nation. Last Friday we got more hopeful news about the American economy. America created more than 260,000 new jobs in February. We have now added 3 million jobs over the last 21 months, and more Americans are working today than at any time in our Nation's history.

I want to assure you that we will not rest. We know there are parts of the country which still struggle; parts of Ohio still struggle. Manufacturing communities were hit hard here in this State. I listened very carefully to the workers and small-business owners and local officials as I traveled your State last fall. And we're making--I know you're working hard to recover. And there are some positive signs when it comes to manufacturing. Factory output grew at its fastest rate in 5 years. That's positive for workers here in Ohio, but there's more to do.

This country must be the best place in the world to do business, to make sure that people can find work. We need legal reforms. The scales of justice must be balanced and fair, and we're making progress. I signed a class-action reform bill which will help make sure that people aren't driven out of work. I'm hopeful we'll get an asbestos bill that will make sure those folks who have been harmed by asbestos actually get paid, without driving good employers out of work.

One of the messages I heard here in Ohio is you're losing too many ob-gyns because of frivolous and junk lawsuits. We need national medical liability reform now, and Congress must deliver. We'll continue to open up markets for Ohio products but make sure the playing field is level. We'll make sure tax policy is reasonable and fair on our entrepreneurs. We don't need to be raising taxes. Taxes need to remain low so people feel comfortable about investing.

I'm going to continue to work on Social Security. Social Security is an important issue. It's an important issue because we've got unfunded liabilities that run in the trillions. This is debt to future generations of Americans. Unless we do something about it, we're not going to be able to pay for it without wrecking the economy. I want all seniors here and seniors listening to know that nothing will change for you. You will get your Social Security check. The Government will keep its promise. I don't care about the political rhetoric. I don't care what the fliers may tell you or the TV ads. You're going to get your check.

But because baby boomers like me will start retiring in 2008--[laughter]--when I'm 62 years old, and because there's a lot of us and because we're living longer than a previous generation and because we have been promised more benefits than the previous generation and because there are fewer workers paying into the system to pay for people like me, younger workers need to be worried about whether or not they're going to be able to have a retirement safety net of their own. Grandmothers and grandfathers need to be worried about their grandchildren when it comes to Social Security. I have put the issue on the table because I believe the President must confront problems and not pass them on to future Presidents and future generations.

And I'm going to talk about this issue a lot. And I welcome Republican ideas, and I welcome Democrat ideas. It is time for us to set aside the partisan bitterness of Washington, DC, and come together and make sure there's a Social Security system for young Americans.

In order to make sure we have a growing economy, in order to make sure people can find work, in order to make sure the entrepreneurial spirit is strong in America, we need affordable, reliable, secure supplies of energy. And that's what I want to talk about today.