March 16, 2004 Washington, D.C. – President Bush today called on Congress to pass the energy bill during a speech made on the economy today at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. President Bush’s statement: We need an energy bill. If you're a manufacturer, it's hard to plan if you're worried about your -- either your energy costs or whether you're going to have energy at all. Congress needs to get us an energy bill. If they're interested in jobs staying here at home, if they're interested in creating an environment in which we're competitive, we need an energy bill, one that encourages reliability for electricity, and one that encourages conservation and helps us become less dependant on foreign sources of energy. The complete text of President Bush's remarks can be found on the White House website at www.whitehouse.gov. ###