Promising to "put aside the bumper-sticker slogans," Pesident Obama called Saturday for an "all-of-the-above" energy strategy including the development of more fuel-efficient engines.
In his weekly address, which was taped at a Virginia jet engine plant, the president said fuel efficiency was one part of controlling gas prices.
"Because whether you’re paying for a plane ticket, or filling up your gas tank, technology that helps us get more miles to the gallon is one of the easiest ways to save money and reduce our dependence on foreign oil," Obama said.
Obama has made energy speeches in election-year battleground states for the past three weeks, touting White House efforts to boost deployment of electric-powered and natural gas vehicles.
"Over the last few years, the annual number of miles driven by Americans has stayed roughly the same, but the total amount of gas we use has been going down," he said Saturday. "In other words, we’re getting more bang for our buck."
Obama noted his administration's decision to raise fuel-efficiency standards after "30 years of inaction."
"This wasn’t easy: we had to bring together auto companies, and unions, and folks who don’t ordinarily see eye to eye," he said. "But it was worth it. Because these cars aren’t some pie in the sky solution that’s years away."
In the GOP weekly address, North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple argued that the Obama administration is “killing energy development” by not focusing on domestic energy exploration and, specifically, for not approving the Keystone oil pipeline.
"Well, my response is, we have been drilling," Obama said. "Under my administration, oil production in America is at an eight-year high. We’ve quadrupled the number of operating oil rigs, and opened up millions of acres for drilling."
