Obama Presses Alternative-Energy Agenda,Unveils $2.4 Billion Program
March 19 2009 - 1:58PM
Dow Jones News
As his administration offered more aid to stabilize the ailing
U.S. auto sector, President Barack Obama touted a $2.4 billion
grant program to spark the development of plug-in hybrid cars.
"Show us that your idea or your company is best-suited to meet
America's challenges, and we will give you a chance to prove it,"
Obama told workers Thursday at Edison Electric Vehicle Technical
Center in Pomona, Calif.
The president toured the facility as part of a two-day swing
through the Golden State designed to sell the public on his budget
plans and spotlight early results of the $787 billion economic
recovery package. Later Thursday, Obama will participate in a town
hall meeting in Los Angeles and appear on NBC's Tonight Show with
Jay Leno.
In Pomona, Obama's short address to workers focused on the
administration's effort to lessen the U.S.'s dependence on oil.
"We have a choice to make," Obama said. "We can remain one of
the world's leading importers of foreign oil, or we can make the
investments that will allow us to become the world's leading
exporter of renewable energy."
Obama said his goal is to have one million plug-in hybrid
vehicles on the road by 2015.
The president's push for new vehicle technology comes as the
U.S. auto sector battles a severe sales slump prompted by the
recession. The Treasury Department is weighing requests by General
Motors Corp. (GM) and Chrysler LLC, for more government loans.
Earlier, the Treasury launched a $5 billion program to assist
struggling auto-parts suppliers, many of which are on the verge of
bankruptcy.
-By Henry J. Pulizzi, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9256;
henry.pulizzi@dowjones.com