But
times are still tough. A lot of people out there are still looking for work. And I’ll be honest with you, not every manufacturing job that used to be here from the steel companies are going to come back -- because if you go to a steel plant now these days, it may take 10 workers to produce what it used to take 100 workers to produce, just because of automation and new technologies. But Jim’s story should give us hope. It should give us some idea of the promise of clean energy for our country.Let
me just say this one last thing and then I want to take some questions. None of this is going to be easy. When people -- when politicians tell you something’s going to be easy, they’re not telling you the truth. If it was easy, somebody would have already done it and taken credit for it, and had a photo op. Reducing our dependence on oil, doubling the clean energy we use, helping to grow our economy by securing our energy future -- that’s going to be a big challenge. And it’s going to require effort. It’s going to require ingenuity. It’s going to require us coming together. It’s going to require us getting past some of the petty politics that we play sometimes. But we can meet that challenge.
We’re not going to always agree with each other on everything. We live in a big country. We’ve got a robust（强健的） democracy, and that’s fine. But we should agree on some basic things. We should be able to agree on developing clean energy and reducing our dependence on foreign oil. We should be able to agree that we need to invest in things like our roads and our bridges and our infrastructure -- because we used to have the best infrastructure in the world, and we don’t right now; other countries have gone past us. And if we were investing in our infrastructure we’d be putting more people to work.
You know, I don’t expect everybody to always agree with me. But coming here today, I was reminded of what I said right here three years ago, back when it wasn’t sure that I was going to win the election. I mean, you guys couldn’t pronounce my name. (Laughter.) But here’s what I said. I said, “I am not a perfect man and I will not be a perfect president. But I can promise you this: I will always tell you where I stand. I will be honest with you about the challenges we face and how we can solve these problems. And I will take what I hear from you -- your voices, your struggles, your hopes, your dreams -- that’s what I’m going to be thinking about every single day when I’m in the White House.” And I have kept that promise. (Applause.) I have kept that promise. I’m thinking about you guys every single day when I’m in the White House. And I’m going to keep pushing, and I’m going to keep fighting for you.
With all that’s going on in the world, with all the challenges we’re facing, that’s what I think about every single day when I wake up -- what matters to you. I want to make sure everybody who wants a job can find one; everybody can pay their bills; everybody can raise their kids and give them a better life. And that’s what all of us should be thinking about. Some of you may have heard the latest argument in Washington -- the fight over last year’s budget. Keep in mind, we’re not arguing about this year’s budget, we’re arguing about last year’s budget. It makes it tough to win the future when you haven’t passed the budget from last year.
So I asked Congress to send me a budget that makes some serious spending cuts but still invests in things like clean energy; still invests in research; still invests in infrastructure; still invests in education -- investments that are critical for us to be able to compete with any country in the world. That’s what I asked for. I asked for it several months ago.
Now, after weeks of negotiations, we’ve now agreed to cut as much spending as the Republicans in Congress originally asked for. I’ve got some Democrats mad at me. But I said, you know what, let’s get past last year’s budget and let’s focus on the future. So we’ve agreed to a compromise, but somehow we still don’t have a deal, because some folks are trying to inject politics in what should be a simple debate about how to pay our bills. They’re stuffing all kinds of issues in there -- abortion and the environment and health care. And, you know, there are times to have those discussions, but that time is not now. Right now, we need to just make sure that we pay our bills and that the government stays open. And if we don’t reach common ground by Saturday, the federal government shuts down. And some of you may not be that sympathetic（同情的，共鸣的） . You may say, well, let it shut down, what do I care? But here’s the thing. When government shuts down, it means that that small business owner who’s waiting to get a loan, suddenly nobody’s there to process it. He may not get that loan and that business may not open. And whoever he was planning to hire, suddenly he may not have that job that he was counting on.
It may turn out that somebody who was trying to get a mortgage can’t have their paperwork processed by the FHA and now the person who was going to sell the house, what they were counting on, they can’t get it.
Folks who were planning a vacation to Yellowstone -- well, it turns out national parks, suddenly you’re closed, you’re out of luck. You may have to try to figure out if you can get your money back for that resort you were going to stay at.
I mean, these are things that affect ordinary families day in, day out, and it affects our economy right at the time when our economy is getting momentum. We had the best jobs report we had had in a very long time this past Friday. But you know what? Companies don’t like uncertainty and if they start seeing that suddenly we may have a shutdown of our government, that could halt momentum right when we need to build it up -- all because of politics.
I do not want to see Washington politics stand in the way of America’s progress. At a time when you’re struggling to pay your bills and meet your responsibilities, the least we can do is meet our responsibilities to produce a budget. That’s not too much to ask for. That’s what the American people expect of us. That’s what they deserve. You want everybody to act like adults, quit playing games, realize that it’s not just “my way or the highway.” How many folks are married here? When was the last time you just got your way? (Laughter.) That’s not how it works, right? He lifted his wife’s hand up -- (laughter) -- you know, no.
I mean, the fact is, is that you have to make compromises as a family. That’s what we are, the American family. So Democrats and Republicans need to get together, work through their differences, keep the government running so we can focus on keeping this economy growing, focus on things like clean energy, driving down gas prices. That’s our job. That’s what people want to see -- results. You deserve no less than that.
So this is a challenging time for America, and we’ve been through the worst recession since I was -- before I was born. A lot of folks are still hurting out there. But if we come together, if we listen to each other, if we remember that we’re one nation, that we’re one people, then I’m confident that we’re going to come out of this period stronger than we were before.
And what makes me confident is seeing all of you and seeing what I see all across America -- people who have drive and who have optimism and who are decent and do right by their families and do right by their communities. That’s what’s lifted us out of tough times before. That’s what’s going to carry forward America into the future.
So thank you, Gamesa, for the great work you’re doing. And with that, let me take some questions. Appreciate you. Thank you. Thank you. (Applause.)
All right. We’ve got these wonderful volunteers who are -- have their mics and they’re going to come up so that I can hear your question. This young man right here -- who had their hand up right -- right here, this gentleman. Introduce yourself, too.
Q Daniel Ream (ph), sir. In 2009, the Center for American Progress sponsored the National Clean Energy Project, in which they detailed the implementation of an efficient, high-voltage grid that would extend from coast to coast. Now our particular product can only apply to so many mountains, valleys, and regions before we run out of space. It’s critical that this grid be established so we can continue to grow these green-collar jobs and maintain this product within our American shores. What’s the current level of appropriations being provided for this particular endeavor, and how high a priority is it for your current Cabinet?
THE PRESIDENT: That was a good question there. (Laughter and applause.) I mean, is that how he talks all the time? (Laughter.) Man. I better take off my jacket. All right. (Laughter.) That was serious.
No, listen, it actually was a great question. I think a lot of you guys are aware, there are some places -- say, the Dakotas -- where it’s flat and you’ve just got a lot of wind, but you may not have a lot of customers. And so the question for wind power and solar power and a lot of these renewable energy industries is if we’re producing the energy one place, how do we get it to another place? And that’s why this whole concept of a smart grid is really important. And a smart grid is just a fancy name for a better electricity grid than what we’ve got right now. Because the way it works right now, we’ve got this patchwork of all these different electricity grids and connectors, and there’s all this leakage and a bunch of it was created decades ago so it’s not particularly efficient.
