Excerpts from Obama's Energy Town Hall in Youngstown, Ohio
Excerpts, as prepared for delivery, from Barack Obama's remarks to be delivered in Youngstown, Ohio this morning:
“Unfortunately, in this election, Senator McCain has proposed an energy plan that's nothing but four years more of the same.
“He's offering a plan with no significant investments in alternative energy. He's offering a gas tax holiday that will pad oil company profits and save you – at best – half a tank of gas over the course of an entire summer. And he's offering $4 billion more in tax breaks to the biggest oil companies in America – including $1.2 billion to Exxon-Mobil, a company that just recorded the largest profit in the history of the United States. A company that, last quarter, made the same amount of money in 30 seconds that a typical Ohio worker makes in a year. All while here in Ohio, you're paying nearly $3.70 a gallon for gas – two and a half times what it cost when President Bush took office. Senator McCain not only wants oil companies to keep every dime of that money, he wants to give them more. Well, I don't know about you, but I don't think that's the change we need…”
“And while Senator McCain's plan won't save you at the pump anytime soon, it sure has done a lot to raise campaign dollars. Senator McCain raised more than one million dollars from the oil industry just last month, most of which came after he announced his plan for offshore drilling to a room full of cheering oil executives.
“So to sum up, under Senator McCain's plan, the oil companies get billions more, we don't pay any less at the pump, and we stay in the same cycle of dependence on oil that got us into this crisis. The oil companies have placed their bet on Senator McCain, and if he wins, they will continue to cash in while our families and our economy suffer and our future is put in jeopardy.
“That's the choice we face in this election. We can choose four years more of the same failed policies that have gotten us where we are. Four years more of oil companies calling the shots while hard working families are struggling. That's what Senator McCain is offering.
“Or we can choose a new, clean energy future that gets us where we need to be. We can make a different bet – a bet on the ingenuity, industry and determination of the American people. That's what I'm offering.
“Because after one president in the pocket of the oil companies – we can't afford another. For the sake of our economy, our security, and the future of our planet, we must end the age of oil in our time…”
“We all know that this is the great challenge of our time. If we fail to act, there the implications will be grave for our economy, for our security, for our planet.
“But if we seize this moment, and meet the challenge, we can open to door to a new economy for the 21st century that will bring new energy, new jobs and new hope to Youngstown and communities across Ohio and this nation…”
“The payoff from these investments in renewable energy sources will be renewable energy jobs across Ohio and across America. Now, I know that over the past eight years, you've lost 236,000 manufacturing jobs in this state. But I also know that Ohio has the second highest potential of all fifty states to create new wind energy manufacturing jobs – and investing in wind power could increase workers' wages in Ohio by more than $3.5 billion through the year 2020. I also know that with the right investments, this state could save $24 billion a year that you spend importing energy, and instead, power two million homes using wind power.
“Finally, I will call on businesses, government, and the American people to meet the goal of reducing our demand for electricity 15% by the end of the next decade. This is by far the fastest, easiest, and cheapest way to reduce our energy consumption – and it will save us $130 billion on our energy bills. One report found that right here in Ohio, improvements in energy efficiency can help save homes and businesses $1.5 billion in energy costs by 2020…”
