Barack Obama

“ Tom Vilsack has been a leader among governors when it comes to clean energy. When it comes to agriculture, obviously, if you don't know agriculture, you're not going to be the governor of Iowa. And one of the things that has struck me about Tom, though, is, as fiercely protective of family farms and the farm economy as he has been, he's also been forward-looking in thinking about, you know, how can we move towards cellulosic ethanol; how can we harness wind and solar power to give a boost to our rural economies? ”

“ And part of what I want to put an end to is an Interior Department that sees its job as simply sitting back, waiting for whoever has most access in Washington to extract what they want. I want a proactive vision of getting out, talking to people, talking to farmers, talking to ranchers, being at the cutting edge of environmental and energy policy so that commercial interests are just one group among many groups that are being listened to and being brought together to craft the kind of policies that we want to see. ”

“ Now, one of the great blessings bestowed upon us as Americans is the bounty of our natural environment, from the mountains and parks where we go hiking to the rivers and streams where we go fishing to the forests and fields where the proud tradition of hunting is passed on through the generations. ”

“ If I'm having a debate about windpower, with my various -- the various members of my energy team, having somebody like Ken at the table -- who can say, here's our experience in Colorado; here's what we're seeing; here's how we can drive down unit costs; here's what we'd do to set up an electricity grid that will be able to get the power from wind farms to population centers that use it -- that's going to be extraordinarily important. ”

“ As our next secretary of Agriculture, Tom will not only help ensure that rural America has a true partner in implementing the farm bill and pursuing agricultural research, but that Washington is looking out for everyone, from the small family farms that are feeding our communities to the large farms that are feeding the world. ”

“ As a water lawyer for a decade, Ken was also chosen to lead Colorado's Department of Natural Resources. In that role, he promoted responsible water management, balanced use of our energy resources, and built one of the most successful land conservation efforts in our nation.
Few are better equipped to meet the energy and natural resource challenges we face in the 21st century. Among the many responsibilities Ken will bear as our next secretary of the Interior is helping ensure that we finally live up to the treaty obligations that are owed to the first Americans. ”

“ It must aggressively promote policies and programs that support sustainable practices, to conserve and preserve our precious natural resources: our land, our water and our forests.
It must work in concert with other federal departments, state and local governments and the private sector to promote American leadership in response to global climate change. And it must place nutrition at the center of all food assistance programs administered by the department. It must be innovative and creative in all its work during a time of economic anxiety and limited resources. ”

“ With the appointments I announced earlier in the week and with those I'm announcing today, I am confident that we have the team that we need to make the rural agenda America's agenda, to create millions of new green jobs, to free our nation from its dependence on oil and to help preserve this planet for our children. ”

“ There was an editorial today in The New York Times that, I think, pointed out that the Interior Department too often has been seen as an appendage of commercial interests as opposed to a place where the values and interests of the American people are served. ”

“ When President Lincoln established the Department of Agriculture nearly a century and a half ago, he called it the people's department, for it meant -- it was meant to serve the interests of those who lived off the land. ”

“ And one of Ken's critical roles as well is going to be working with our energy team to make sure that we are using our natural resources in a sustainable way and developing the kind of energy independence that is so vital to our economy. ”

“ These two gentlemen are as accomplished a pair of public servants as we have in America.
When it comes to Ken, I don't know anybody who's got a better set of qualifications for serving as Interior secretary. He comes from a state that is as beautiful as any in the country, a western state that understands the importance of natural resources. ”

“ We need more than just a government-to-government relationship; we need a nation-to-nation relationship. And Ken and I will work together to make sure that tribal nations have a voice in this administration. ”