The first memorandum ordered the Transportation Department to work out rules for automakers to improve fuel economy. It calls for the department to notify automakers by March 2009 to increase their fuel efficiency for 2011 model year cars and trucks.
The second memorandum ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to reconsider California's request for a waiver from the Clean Air Act -- a move that would allow California, the nation's most populous state, to set tougher tailpipe emission standards than apply nationally.
President Obama continued his reversal of Bush-era policies, issuing two memoranda on Monday that promote his clean-energy policy while having a far-reaching impact on the ailing U.S. auto industry.
Obama said the fix will help the auto industry produce a viable product.
"We must help them thrive by building the cars of tomorrow," he said in an announcement before a live audience in the East Room of the White House.
Obama said that Washington must help states on tougher fuel standards, not work against them, and yet year after year, special interests have overshadowed common sense and rhetoric has supplanted the hard work needed to yield results.
"America will not be held hostage to dwindling resources," he said. "The days of Washington dragging its heels are over. My administration will not deny facts. We will be guided by them. ... We cannot afford to pass the buck."
"Each step begins to move us in a new direction while giving us the tools that we need to change," Obama said.
He also encouraged Congress to pass the economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act, whose provisions he said will save $2 billion a year by making federal buildings more fuel efficient, among other items.
Obama said America's dependence on oil is one of the most serious threats the nation faces -- it bankrolls dictators, stifles innovation and sets back the ability to compete. He added that "these urgent dangers to our national security are compounded by the long-term threat of climate change.
"These are the facts and they are well known to the American people," he said.
