President Bush defended his choice of ethanol to help the nation meet its energy needs even though increased production of the corn-based biofuel has been blamed for contributing to sharp increases in food prices.
Bush gave his speech at World Wide Technology Inc., which he had planned to visit last October. He postponed the visit when he flew instead to Southern California to view wildfire damage. The company, in St. Louis, provides information technology to the government and private industry, particularly in the telecommunications field.
In 2006, according to the White House, World Wide became the first minority-owned company with more than $2 billion in sales, and it reported sales of more than $2.5 billion last year. In seven years it has added more than 500 employees.