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Skriven 2005-04-21 23:33:00 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0504214) for Thu, 2005 Apr 21
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President Honors Environmental Youth Award Recipients
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
April 21, 2005

President Honors Environmental Youth Award Recipients
The East Room

President's Remarks
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3:27 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. Please be seated. Welcome to the White House.
I'm sorry we're not out in the gardens today, but a pretty good place to
have a visit, anyway, isn't it? The East Room. We're glad you're here. I
want to welcome you as we honor some fine young stewards of our
environment, and to recognize their achievements.

All of you have given your time and energy to preserving our natural
spaces. You're setting such a fine example, and we appreciate the example.
And today is our chance to tell you how proud we are of your good work.

I want to thank Steve Johnson, who is the Acting Administrator of the
Environmental Protection Agency. I put this good man's nomination in front
of the United States Senate for a reason -- because he's plenty capable of
doing the job, and now is the time for the United States Senate to confirm
him. (Applause.) I'm proud that his wife, Debbie, is here, and Matt.

I want to thank my friend, Congressman Vito Fossella, who has joined us.
Congressman, thank you for being here. (Applause.) We welcome all the EPA
regional administrators, particularly those administrators from the great
state of Texas. (Laughter.)

This week is National Volunteer Week, and we honor the 64 million Americans
who volunteer, and encourage others to join them. Since taking office, I
have asked Americans to take an active role in serving their communities by
dedicating 4,000 hours, or two years, over the course of their lives to
helping others. In order to encourage people to help, I started the USA
Freedom Corps, and that's a website to match potential volunteers with
opportunities to volunteer at the local level. And if you want to find out
more about the website, the USA Freedom Corps website, go to
www.usafreedomcorps.gov.

The 30 young men and women we honor here today in the White House answered
the call to service. They know they have a responsibility to be citizens,
not spectators, and that by serving a cause larger than themselves,
communities grow stronger. One of the greatest responsibilities in a free
society is responsible stewardship of our natural environment. All of you
have taken that duty seriously. You have set a clear and strong example,
and you're inspiring others to do their part.

Tomorrow I'm going to Tennessee, in honor of Earth Day, to help volunteers
restore the trails at Cades Cove. I'm looking forward to getting my hands
dirty. (Laughter.) Looking forward to getting outside of Washington.
(Laughter.)

As volunteers, you've put your talents to good use. In Cairo, Georgia, you
set up a science camp to promote recycling. In St. Paul, Virginia, you
helped restore a newly-named wetland and made it an outdoor classroom. In
Oklahoma and California, you cleaned up debris around local creeks. You
built nesting boxes to protect local birds in Staten Island, New York. You
improved trout habitats in Hyrum, Utah. You started a project for the
Fender's blue butterfly in Salem, Oregon. You spearheaded a public
education program to protect a stream near Cleveland, Ohio. You planted a
beech tree at an elementary school in Middletown, Rhode Island. And you
taught schoolchildren about groundwaters in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Each of these acts touched a community, and together they are improving our
nation. All of you are meeting your responsibility to our country's natural
spaces, and our government is doing the same. America's air and water are
cleaner today than they were in 2001. My budget for the coming year
fulfills my commitment in 2001 to spend $4.9 billion over five years to
improve our national parks, and to make our parks more inviting and
accessible to all Americans.

We're implementing the Clear Skies rule to cut power plant emissions by 70
percent. Under the farm bill I signed in 2002, we will provide $40 billion
over 10 years to help our farmers and ranchers protect wetlands, water
quality, and wildlife habitats. I've pledged to restore, improve, and
protect 3 millions of wetlands over the next five years. To safeguard our
forests and woodlands against fire damage, I've signed the Healthy Forest
Restoration Act. And since I took office, the Departments of Interior and
Agriculture have removed hazardous fuels from more than 10 million acres of
federal land.

Across America, we're working with state and local governments to
accelerate the cleanup and redevelopment of old industrial sites. We're
working hard to improve our environment, and so are you. Each of you here
today has worked hard. You've been idealistic in the right way, and you've
been dedicated. I know your parents are proud of you, your communities are
proud of you, and so is your President. (Applause.)

So it is now my great honor to welcome the 2005 winners of the President's
Environmental Youth Awards. The Acting Administrator will do the duties.

(The awards are presented.) (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT: Listen, thank you all for coming. We're proud to have you
here in the White House. I want to welcome and congratulate our students
again. I really want to welcome your parents, too. You've done a good job.
And I want to thank your teachers. Teaching is a noble profession.
(Applause.) We hope you enjoy the White House as much as Laura and I do.

God bless you all. Welcome. (Applause.)

END 3:43 P.M. EDT

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