WASHINGTON, Jan. 22 (UPI) -- President George W. Bush on Tuesday traveled to the coal-producing state of West Virginia to build support for the tax-relief package and national energy policy he said would help create jobs in an economy stalled in recession.
"My economic plan is based upon this word: jobs. I want to ask that question all around the country, what do we do to create work?" Bush told supporters at the Yeagar Airport in Charleston. "There's a lot of good people who want to work, and we've got to help them find work. And so I'm asking Congress, when they come back, to keep in mind one word: jobs."
Bush left Washington early in the day, making a stop in Charleston to meet workers at the Cecil I. Walker Machinery Co., where he pushed for public support for his energy and trade initiatives stalled in the U.S. Senate.
The president also asked that Congress act on his request for oil exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and grant him trade promotion authority. Congress is set to return to session Wednesday, with Bush prepared to present lawmakers with his 2003 federal budget proposal on Feb. 4.
At Walker Machinery, Bush walked the assembly lines where the transmissions and engines of Caterpillar mining equipment are repaired and reconstructed. Then, led by company President Steve Walker, Bush chatted with workers and signed autographs before heading off to the rally.
"Every job begins with one decision, and that is the decision by somebody to say, I want to hire you," he said. "It comes as a surprise to some in Washington, though, when you think about that, that most of the hiring does not take place at the government level."
Bush said the government's job was not to create wealth, but create conditions in which more workers could be hired.
On the energy plan, the Senate has yet to pass Bush's proposal recommending the use of clean-coal technology and nuclear power. Bush has called the lack of a coherent energy strategy a "national security issue." The president called conservation and development of new energy sources important, but stressed the need for an increased energy supply.
"We are dependent on energy from some parts of the world where sometimes they like us and sometimes they don't. And we need to do something about it. We need an energy bill," Bush said. "We passed one out of the House of Representatives and it's time for the U.S. Senate to pass a good bill."
Bush recalled his meeting with Teamsters Union President James Hoffa, saying they both agreed that exploration for natural gas in Alaska would help create jobs. Conservationists have vehemently opposed drilling in ANWR despite Bush's assertions it can be done in an environmentally sensitive way.
"Listen, finding oil and gas and coal in our own hemisphere, and nuclear power, for that matter, in our own hemisphere is in our national security interest," Bush said. "And I ask the Senate to put aside all the politics and get me a good energy bill. It's in the best interests for people trying to find work and it's in the best interests of the United States of America."
On trade, Bush said America has the world's most productive work force and it should open up markets to international trade. Bush has pushed aggressively for trade promotion authority -- the ability to broker trade deals with foreign nations with only a thumbs-up or thumbs-down assessment from Congress.
"It is so important for America to understand that we're good at what we do. We can compete with anybody in the world. We've got the most productive work force on the face of the Earth; therefore, let's open up markets to sell our products," he said. "The Senate has got to give me the ability to do that. It came out of the House; it's bottled up in the Senate. I ask them to pass that bill."
The House approved the measure last month by a one-vote margin, but Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., is expected to delay a vote on the measure in the Senate.
Bush also defended his 10-year, $1.35 trillion tax relief package that Democrats have criticized as responsible for the dwindling federal surplus. Last week, Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., called for a delay or rollback of those tax cuts to help pay for education, unemployment benefits and Social Security.
Also under debate is the economic stimulus package. The White House aggressively courted Democratic moderates in the Senate in hopes they would pressure Daschle to bring the stimulus bill to a floor vote and accused him of being "obstructionist" by failing to do so.
