Opinion: Weekly Remarks: Schwarzenegger, Barrasso and Obama

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Usually in this space at this time every week, we have the remarks of President Obama and a designated representative of the Republican Party. We still do.

But this week we’re also starting off with a special Memorial Day video message from California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who took time out from not yet balancing the state’s stricken budget with legislative leaders to usefully remind folks about the real point of this particular holiday.

Not surprisingly, at least to start, it seems like everybody has the same speech writer. It’s all Memorial Day on this Memorial Day weekend, a tradition that began after the Civil War when mothers of the fallen on both sides began placing floral tributes on the battlefields.

-- Andrew Malcolm

Hi, I’m Sen. John Barrasso from Wyoming.

Many Americans spend their Memorial Day weekend traveling with family to visit relatives and friends. It’s a weekend of ceremonies, parades and cookouts.

Memorial Day is a time to remember America’s fallen heroes -- men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for the safety and prosperity of our great country. This weekend we pay tribute to their courage.

Today I’d like to visit with you about the energy we use to power our nation. Republicans support ....

... a comprehensive energy plan. A plan that puts Americans to work. A plan that harnesses American resources.

You may have heard that Democrats in Washington are looking to limit our country’s energy options. It’s true. They want to put a new tax on American energy. A new tax every time you turn on a light switch. American families already spend more than $2,000 a year on home energy costs alone.

No one wants to pay higher energy costs. We must produce more American energy and use less.

We need to make America’s energy as clean as we can, as fast as we can, without raising energy prices for American families. That means developing renewable energy and alternative energy. It means doubling our investment in energy research.

It also means responsibly exploring and developing American oil and gas resources, and promoting clean coal and nuclear power. The Republican plan will strengthen our economy, protect our environment and enhance our national security.

Democrats have focused solely on what they call green jobs. Those are jobs from alternative energy.

I support green jobs, but why discriminate? American energy means American jobs, which is why I support red, white and blue jobs.

We should harness the strong work ethic and the creativity of the American people. We are a nation that sent men to the moon and safely returned them to Earth. Surely we have the creativity and the knowledge to use our nation’s energy resources to power our country.

And with the continued global instability, using American energy seems more important than ever before. Energy use around the world continues to increase. It will increase 50% in the next 20 years.

Wind and solar power are very important. We must continue to develop these resources. Right now they only count for roughly 1% of U.S. electricity. I’m a strong supporter of renewable energy. In Wyoming we have world-class wind resources. But even if we double our nation’s wind and solar energy, and then double it again, it won’t be enough to meet our energy needs.

We need more energy. And we need it even at times when the wind isn’t blowing and the sun isn’t shining.

There remains a large gap -- an energy gap between the reliable energy that we need -- and the renewable energy that we want. There is plenty of American energy, which the Democrats say that we should not use.

There are billions of barrels of oil in the Outer Continental Shelf. There’s even more in Alaska. There’s enough oil shale in the Rocky Mountain West alone to power America for the next hundred years.

The Democrats say all this American energy is off-limits. When we limit our use of American energy, we become more dependent on foreign oil.

As a nation, we need to be more energy independent. It is a matter of energy security, as well as national security. My home state of Wyoming is the largest net supplier of energy in the country.

Visitors from around the world come to Wyoming because of our national parks and our beautiful wide-open landscapes. In Wyoming, we have found the right balance between protecting our environment and developing our energy resources.

Americans need more energy. More from our American sources -- all of our sources -- all of our American sources. And importantly, we must do more to promote conservation, boost the efficient use of energy, and double our nation’s investment in energy research.

Each of these pieces is an essential part of creating American jobs, reducing our reliance on foreign oil, and keeping our energy affordable.

As we approach this Memorial Day, it is my hope that the Democrats can work with us to develop solutions to make our energy supply clean, affordable and reliable. Thank you for listening. ###

Weekly remarks by President Obama

This Memorial Day weekend, Americans will gather on lawns and porches, fire up the grill, and enjoy the company of family, friends and neighbors. But this is not only a time for celebration; it is also a time to reflect on what this holiday is all about; to pay tribute to our fallen heroes; and to remember the servicemen and -women who cannot be with us this year because they are standing post far from home -- in Iraq, Afghanistan and around the world.

On Friday, I traveled to Annapolis, where I spoke at the commencement of the United States Naval Academy. It was an honor to address some of America’s newest sailors and Marines as their commander in chief. Looking out at all of those young men and women, I was reminded of the extraordinary service that they are rendering to our country. And I was reminded, too, of all of the sacrifices that their parents, siblings and loved ones make each day on their behalf and on our behalf.

Our fighting men and women -- and the military families who love them -- embody what is best in America. And we have a responsibility to serve all of them as well as they serve all of us.

And yet, all too often in recent years and decades, we, as a nation, have failed to live up to that responsibility. We have failed to give them the support they need or pay them the respect they deserve. That is a betrayal of the sacred trust that America has with all who wear -- and all who have worn -- the proud uniform of our country.

And that is a sacred trust I am committed to keeping as president of the United States. That is why I will send our servicemen and women into harm’s way only when it is necessary, and ensure that they have the training and equipment they need when they enter the theater of war.

That is why we are building a 21st century Department of Veterans Affairs with the largest single-year funding increase in three decades. It’s a commitment that will help us provide our veterans with the support and benefits they have earned, and expand quality healthcare to a half-million more veterans.

That is why, this week, I signed a bill that will eliminate some of the waste and inefficiency in our defense projects -- reform that will better protect our nation, better protect our troops, and save taxpayers tens of billions of dollars.

And that is why we are laying a new foundation for our economy so that when our troops return home and take off the uniform, they can find a good job, provide for their families, and earn a college degree on a Post-9/11 GI Bill that will offer them the same opportunity to live out their dreams that was afforded our greatest generation.

These are some of the ways we can, must, and will honor the service of our troops and the sacrifice of their families. But we must also do our part, not only as a nation, but as individuals for those Americans who are bearing the burden of wars being fought on our behalf.

That can mean sending a letter or a care package to our troops overseas. It can mean volunteering at a clinic where a wounded warrior is being treated or bringing supplies to a homeless veterans center. Or it can mean something as simple as saying “thank you” to a veteran you pass on the street.

That is what Memorial Day is all about. It is about doing all we can to repay the debt we owe to those men and women who have answered our nation’s call by fighting under its flag. It is about recognizing that we, as a people, did not get here by accident or good fortune alone. It’s about remembering the hard winter of 1776, when our fragile American experiment seemed doomed to fail; and the early battles of 1861, when a Union victory was anything but certain; and the summer of 1944, when the fate of a world rested on a perilous landing unlike any ever attempted.

It’s about remembering each and every one of those moments when our survival as a nation came down not simply to the wisdom of our leaders or the resilience of our people, but to the courage and valor of our fighting men and women. For it is only by remembering these moments that we can truly appreciate a simple lesson of American life -- that what makes all we are and all we aspire to be possible are the sacrifices of an unbroken line of Americans that stretches back to our nation’s founding.

That is the meaning of this holiday. That is a truth at the heart of our history. And that is a lesson I hope all Americans will carry with them this Memorial Day weekend and beyond. Thank you. ###

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Photo credits: Ron Edmonds / Associated Press; Office of Sen. Barrasso.