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CNN Live Saturday
Bush Consulting with Canadian Prime Minister on Blackout
Aired August 16, 2003 - 12:34 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THOMAS ROBERTS, ANCHOR: We shift gears now, take you to Crawford, Texas. You know, the Bush administration team setting up a task force with the Canadians to figure out exactly what caused the blackout, perhaps more importantly how to keep it from happening again.
We want to check in now with White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux. She is at the president's ranch with more for us.
Hi, Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Thomas.
President Bush is back at the Crawford ranch after two days in California. That's where he did some fund raising. He also talked about his environmental policy. Something the president did talk about today in his weekly radio address.
But of course, over the last 48 hours he wanted to let Americans know that he is on top of the blackout situation. We've been told that late yesterday, President Bush aboard Air Force One made a phone call to Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien, that the two leaders talked about the affect of the blackout, also talked about this joint task force that's going to be chaired by the top energy officials of both countries. And also, of course, the need to modernize this grid system, this electrical grid system that both of the countries share. They want to make sure that they get to the bottom of the cause of this blackout as well as trying to prevent it in the future.
Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham last night on "LARRY KING LIVE."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SPENCER ABRAHAM, ENERGY SECRETARY: For my first year in office, we've been calling on Congress to pass energy legislation that would include modernization of our electricity laws.
I subscribe to the theory we do need to have enforceable reliability standards. We need to put incentives in place so that the transmission system is updated. And we also are continuing an effort within our department to research how to make the lines work more efficiently with super conductivity research that we're conducting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Now Thomas, as you realize, this has become a very hot political issue just within the last 24, 48 hours.
President Bush, again, calling on Congress to pass his comprehensive energy bill, which does include some broad provisions dealing with modernizing this power grid.
Democrats already criticizing the Bush administration. One in particular, Representative Dick Gephardt, a presidential hopeful, who said that that would not be helpful. This energy policy, in fact, that it would work against actually helping out the situation.
But President Bush as well as the energy secretary both yesterday saying that this is going to be priority number one when Congress gets back in session -- Thomas.
Topic du jour. Suzanne Malveaux, live for us in Crawford, Texas. Suzanne, thanks very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired August 16, 2003 - 12:34 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THOMAS ROBERTS, ANCHOR: We shift gears now, take you to Crawford, Texas. You know, the Bush administration team setting up a task force with the Canadians to figure out exactly what caused the blackout, perhaps more importantly how to keep it from happening again.
We want to check in now with White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux. She is at the president's ranch with more for us.
Hi, Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Thomas.
President Bush is back at the Crawford ranch after two days in California. That's where he did some fund raising. He also talked about his environmental policy. Something the president did talk about today in his weekly radio address.
But of course, over the last 48 hours he wanted to let Americans know that he is on top of the blackout situation. We've been told that late yesterday, President Bush aboard Air Force One made a phone call to Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien, that the two leaders talked about the affect of the blackout, also talked about this joint task force that's going to be chaired by the top energy officials of both countries. And also, of course, the need to modernize this grid system, this electrical grid system that both of the countries share. They want to make sure that they get to the bottom of the cause of this blackout as well as trying to prevent it in the future.
Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham last night on "LARRY KING LIVE."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SPENCER ABRAHAM, ENERGY SECRETARY: For my first year in office, we've been calling on Congress to pass energy legislation that would include modernization of our electricity laws.
I subscribe to the theory we do need to have enforceable reliability standards. We need to put incentives in place so that the transmission system is updated. And we also are continuing an effort within our department to research how to make the lines work more efficiently with super conductivity research that we're conducting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Now Thomas, as you realize, this has become a very hot political issue just within the last 24, 48 hours.
President Bush, again, calling on Congress to pass his comprehensive energy bill, which does include some broad provisions dealing with modernizing this power grid.
Democrats already criticizing the Bush administration. One in particular, Representative Dick Gephardt, a presidential hopeful, who said that that would not be helpful. This energy policy, in fact, that it would work against actually helping out the situation.
But President Bush as well as the energy secretary both yesterday saying that this is going to be priority number one when Congress gets back in session -- Thomas.
Topic du jour. Suzanne Malveaux, live for us in Crawford, Texas. Suzanne, thanks very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
