In this edition of West Wing Week, President Obama announced new programs to help veterans find work and raise fuel efficiency standards. He addressed the nation on the credit downgrade and also visited Holland, Michigan to tour an advanced battery company that is investing in cutting-edge technologies to create jobs by making products right here, in America.

Earlier today, President Obama announced new fuel efficiency standards that will save businesses roughly $50 billion between 2014 and 2018 by lowering fuel costs for commercial vehicles. Starting three years from now, work trucks, buses, and other medium- and heavy-duty vehicles will be required to meet these new standards for efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions.

This program is the first of its kind, and will impact a major contributor to gas consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

In close coordination with industry stakeholders, the administration established these standards as part of a growing consensus about the benefit of such a program. According to the EPA report by the Office of Transportation and Air Quality:

[These standards] have the potential to reduce GHG emissions by nearly 250 million metric tons and save approximately 500 million barrels of oil over the life of vehicles sold during 2014 to 2018, while providing an estimated $35 billion in net benefits to truckers, or $41 billion in net benefits when societal benefits are included.

The President today remarked on the organic development of this new program, which was initiated alongside efforts to increase fuel efficiency for other vehicles:

While we were working to improve the efficiency of cars and light-duty trucks, something interesting happened. We started getting letters asking that we do the same for medium and heavy-duty trucks. They were from the people who build, buy, and drive these trucks. And today, I’m proud to have the support of these companies as we announce the first-ever national policy to increase fuel efficiency and decrease greenhouse gas pollution from medium-and heavy-duty trucks.

As an added benefit, the administration expects that lower fuel costs for businesses will lead to lower costs for consumers because transporting goods will be cheaper. And, this program could “spur growth in the clean energy sector by fostering innovative technologies and providing regulatory certainty for manufacturers.”

For President Obama, clean energy isn’t merely a buzz-word or pipe dream. It’s a central part of his strategy to help our country recover from the Great Recession and remodel our economy as an energy and technology powerhouse.

Through the Recovery Act alone, the President has spearheaded the single greatest clean-energy investment in American history. The administration has helped redefine the types of jobs and industries that drive economic growth – and rebuild our country stronger and more technologically advanced than ever before.

Take, for example, tax credits and loan guarantees issued by the Obama administration through the Recovery Act. These incentives have enabled firms to develop and hire workers, and refocus their business model to be more competitive in the global economy.

A company that once manufactured transmissions for commercial trucks now leads the country in hybrid technology. A former steel industrial plant now designs, manufactures, and installs wind turbines. Once an industrial wasteland, the Brooklyn Navy Yard has transformed into a haven for businesses that design and manufacture wind-solar street lamps.

The scope of progress is also reflected by creative and non-obvious approaches to efficiency. For some, this means not only a shift in economic priorities, but a cultural shift that embraces these changes.

Even residential homes are reaping the benefits of these changes. Through Recovery Act investments, more than 350,000 homes have been weatherized to help lower-income Americans reduce their energy bills, an initiative that also saves money and creates jobs. On the commercial side, the administration’s Better Buildings Initiative will make office buildings 20 percent more energy efficient by 2021.

Additionally, President Obama has helped transform the efficiency and cost savings in American transportation. The administration established new fuel-economy standards, raising the average fuel economy to 35.5 miles per gallon for vehicles made between 2012 and 2016, and saving roughly $3,000 for the average consumer and 1.8 billion barrels of oil.

The U.S. is currently on the path to double the clean energy generated between 2008 and 2012 levels. And the President has set a nation-wide goal for the U.S. to generate 80 percent of our electricity from clean energy sources by 2035 – this includes renewable sources, nuclear power, efficient natural gas, and coal with carbon capture and sequestration.

President Obama’s clean-energy strategy connects businesses, resources, and knowledge with a 21^st century vision for America’s promise. It’s a plan that not only confronts the effects of climate change but also contributes to the long-term health and vitality of our country.

After years of inaction, President Obama’s efforts are unprecedented.

While there is still more that can be done by Congress and the administration, America has become an active participant in the fight to become more sustainable and energy efficient.

Speaking from a hybrid vehicle company in Indiana, President Obama explains how investments in clean energy will lower gas prices and help create a more stable economy over the long run.

Last Friday – just a few hours after the U.S. Labor Department released its April jobs report showing the largest increase in private-sector job growth in five years – President Obama addressed roughly 750 workers at Allison Transmission Headquarters in Indianapolis. The President spoke about the need to combat the escalating cost of gas and used Allison as an example of the type of company that will develop new technologies, reduce our country’s dependence on oil, and create jobs.

The President has committed to investments in innovation and 21st century clean-energy technologies as a means to reduce costs:

But if we can transition to new technologies, that's what’s going to make a difference over the long term. That's how we’re going to meet the goal that I’ve set of reducing the amount of oil that we import by one-third by the middle of the next decade. We can hit that target. We can hit that target.

Now, in the short term, we still need to do everything we can to encourage safe and responsible oil production here at home. In fact, last year, American oil production reached its highest level since 2003. So I want everybody to remember that if people ask -- because sometimes I get letters from constituencies saying, why aren’t we just drilling more here? We’re actually producing more oil here than ever. But the challenge is we’ve only got about 2 to 3 percent of the world’s oil reserves and we use 25 percent of the world’s oil. So we can’t just drill our way out of the problem.

And Allison Transmission is a perfect example of a company developing and commercializing those technologies:

We’re also promoting clean energy technologies in other ways, from investing in hybrid systems like the one Allison is developing for commercial trucks, to championing vehicles that run on clean-burning natural gas, to spurring the creation of next-generation batteries for electric vehicles.

You know, a few years ago, America only produced 2 percent of the world’s advanced batteries. Those are the batteries that are going into these new electric cars. Because of the investments that we made in the first two years that I was in office, we’re on track to produce 40 percent of the advanced batteries. That is going to be a huge boon to American manufacturing. That’s an example of a big new industry that we can create right here in the United States of America.

President Obama reiterated his call to eliminate subsidies for oil and gas companies:

Of course, these investments in clean energy do cost some money, and we’re going to need to find a way to pay for them. Part of the cost can be made up by putting an end to the unwarranted subsidies that we are giving oil companies right now through the tax code. I want everybody to listen here. Oil companies over the last five years, through a recession, through ups and downs, the top five oil companies, their profits have ranged between $75 billion and $125 billion. That's with a B -- not million; billion. And yet, they still have a tax loophole that is costing taxpayers $4 billion every year. Now, if you're already paying them at the pump, we don't need to pay them through the tax code. We do not need to do it. Especially at a time when we’re scouring every part of the budget to try to figure out how we bring down our deficit and our debt.

Read the President’s full remarks at Allison.

At a time when the cost of gas is reaching all time highs and the oil industry is seeing record profits, President Obama renews his call to end the $4 billion-per-year tax breaks for oil and gas companies – and, instead, invest that money to create a more sustainable energy future.

With gas prices continuing to rise, President Obama is taking a proactive approach to America’s energy needs, which includes making investments in clean and sustainable energy sources to break our country’s addiction to oil. Also part of that effort, the President is working to protect Americans from potential price gouging.

That’s why President Obama has directed Attorney General Eric Holder to monitor oil and gasoline markets to seek out potential manipulation that would harm American families and businesses fighting to meet their bottom line.

At a town hall in Reno today, the President discussed those efforts:

Last month, I asked my Attorney General to look into any cases of price gouging, so we can make sure no one’s being taken advantage of at the pump. Today, we’re going a step further. The Attorney General’s putting together a team whose job it will be to root out any cases of fraud or manipulation in the oil markets that might affect gas prices – and that includes the role of traders and speculators. We are going to make sure that no one is taking advantage of the American people for their own short-term gain.

In a memo to the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, Holder underscored the serious role played by the task force and the importance of protecting the American public: 

Together, we will continue to be vigilant in monitoring for any wrongdoing with respect to rising oil or gasoline prices, so that Americans can be confident that they are not paying a penny more than they should at the gas pump -and that there is no violation of federal or state law, collusion, or fraud with respect to the price of the gasoline upon which our economy so vitally depends.

There are many reasons why fuel prices are on the rise, but with actions like these, President Obama has made clear that unfair and illegal manipulation of oil and gas markets will not be tolerated.

With gas prices continuing to rise, President Obama is taking a proactive approach to America’s energy needs, which includes making investments in clean and sustainable energy sources to break our country’s addiction to oil. Also part of that effort, the President is working to protect Americans from potential price gouging.

That’s why President Obama has directed Attorney General Eric Holder to monitor oil and gasoline markets to seek out potential manipulation that would harm American families and businesses fighting to meet their bottom line.

At a town hall in Reno today, the President discussed those efforts:

Last month, I asked my Attorney General to look into any cases of price gouging, so we can make sure no one’s being taken advantage of at the pump. Today, we’re going a step further. The Attorney General’s putting together a team whose job it will be to root out any cases of fraud or manipulation in the oil markets that might affect gas prices – and that includes the role of traders and speculators. We are going to make sure that no one is taking advantage of the American people for their own short-term gain.

In a memo to the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, Holder underscored the serious role played by the task force and the importance of protecting the American public: 

Together, we will continue to be vigilant in monitoring for any wrongdoing with respect to rising oil or gasoline prices, so that Americans can be confident that they are not paying a penny more than they should at the gas pump -and that there is no violation of federal or state law, collusion, or fraud with respect to the price of the gasoline upon which our economy so vitally depends.

There are many reasons why fuel prices are on the rise, but with actions like these, President Obama has made clear that unfair and dubious manipulation of oil and gas markets will not be tolerated.