February 5, 2009
President Obama visits DOE's headquarters at the Forrestal building and in remarks to DOE employees discusses energy and the need for swift passage of the economic recovery plan. "For the last few years, I've talked about [energy] issues with Americans from one end of this country to another," the President tells his audience. "And Washington may not be ready to get serious about energy independence, but I am. And so are you. And so are theAmerican people. Inaction is not an option that is acceptable to me and it's certainly not acceptable to the American people-not on energy, not on the economy, not at this critical moment." President Obama thanks DOE staffers for having "done so much on behalf of the country each and every day" and tells them their "mission is so important, and it's only going to grow as we transform the ways we produce energy and use energy for the sake of our environment, for the sake of our security, and for the sake of our economy." The President also announces that he has signed a presidential memorandum requesting that the Department set new efficiency standards for common household appliances.