President Obama to visit Argonne National Lab to propose 'energy security trust'

Today, President Obama will travel to Argonne National Laboratory in Argonne, Illinois, for an event focused on American energy. President Obama will deliver a major speech on "energy."

The President is expected to arrive at O'Hare on Air Force One just before noon Chicago time. During the president's State of the Union address, the proposed the idea of an "energy security trust," which emanates from a proposal from a group called Securing America's Future Energy (SAFE).

FedEx Corp. Chairman and CEO Frederick W. Smith and retired Marine Corps Gen. P.X. Kelley head the group which released the report recently.

The cost of the program would be $500 million each year and that the research would be paid for with revenues from federal oil and gas leases on offshore drilling, adding with emphasis that the funding would not add to the deficit. The money would fund research on "breakthrough" technologies such as batteries for electric cars and biofuels made from switch grass or other materials. Researchers also would look to improve use of natural gas as a fuel for cars and trucks. SAFE is seeking alternatives such as electric cars and heavy-duty trucks fueled by natural gas. SAFE had proposed a much larger $3 billion annual investment. However, the plan must be approved by Congress.

Argonne National Lab is one of the Energy Department's largest national laboratories for scientific and engineering research, staffed by more than 1,250 scientists and engineers. White House officials said it was chosen as the site of the president's speech because of its tradition of research into vehicle technologies, such as battery technology.

Send John Presta an email and your story ideas or suggestions, johnpresta@att.net.

John is the author of an award-winning book, the 2010 Winner of the USA National Best Book award for African American studies, published by The Elevator Group, Mr. and Mrs. Grassroots. Also available an eBook on Amazon. John is also a member of the Society of Midland Authors and is a book reviewer of political books for the New York Journal of Books . John has volunteered for many political campaigns.

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, White House Press Examiner

John Presta is the author of an award-winning book titled, "Mr. & Mrs. Grassroots: How Barack Obama, two Bookstore Owners and 300 Volunteers did it," released on January 20, 2010 by the Elevator Group. John is a writer, author, columnist, book reviewer, political analyst, political commentator,...

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