United States Secretary of the Interior

“ Such a change would place at the disposition of the Executive a corps of disciplined, intelligent officers, whose familiarity with the entire Indian country and the needs of the service would render them invaluable in an emergency such as has arisen during the present year, and such as is liable to arise at any time in the treatment of large bodies of wild Indians. ”

“ The soil over which they now roam is totally unfit for cultivation, the location of those agencies is so remote from the railroad and river that the cost of supplying them is greatly enhanced, and their isolated position gives them almost entire immunity from Government control whenever they are disposed to commit any outrages upon the person or property of neighboring settlers or more friendly tribes. ”

“ With regard to the question whether the government has any constitutional power to extend such investigations over the several States, it is urged that “from every analogy of past legislation, Congress has clearly assumed to possess the requisite authority;” that “if it can investigate agricultural industry and maintain a department to execute that branch of inquiry, it can investigate mineral industry; if it can make a coast and geodetic survey over the whole United States, it can make a geological survey.” ”

“ As to the injury done to business, if that business consists in wrongfully taking timber from the public lands of the United States and manufacturing it into lumber and selling it, it is just the business which it is the duty of this department to suppress for the protection of the public interest. ”

“ But in the United States we have no longer a dividing line. The “Indian frontier” has virtually disappeared. Our Indian population is scattered over a vast extent of country into which the agricultural settlers, as well as the adventurous element of our people in quest of rapid gain have pushed their skirmishers in all possible directions. Wherever in the far West the enterprise of the whites advances, whites and Indians come into immediate contact and are “in one another's way.” ”

“ I therefore recommend such new legislation as will authorize the employment of a number of surgeons, not exceeding sixty, at a liberal annual salary, who shall be selected from the most eminent medical men in the United States, and assigned to certain defined districts, into which the country shall be divided, subject to such changes as the interests of the service may demand. ”

“ During the past fiscal year the work of the Census Office has been confined to answering inquiries relating to the census of 1870 and those of previous years, and to the stating and restating, in some instances, of the accounts of the United States marshals and assistant marshals connected with the taking of the census, whose accounts have hitherto been unsettled or lost. ”

“ The Commissioner, therefore, recommends the entire reorganization of the division, upon a basis similar to the special-service of the Post-Office and Treasury Departments, and that authority be given by law for the appointment of a regular corps of special agents, at least 30 in number, who shall receive a fixed annual salary, and, when traveling on such duty, shall be entitled to per-diem allowance for subsistence and their actual traveling-expenses. ”

“ 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. ”

“ It is the policy of the executive branch to empower State and local law enforcement agencies across the country to perform the functions of an immigration officer in the interior of the United States to the maximum extent permitted by law. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Special Assistant to the Secretary The Secretary shall appoint a Special Assistant to the Secretary who shall be responsible for—
(1) creating and fostering strategic communications with the private sector to enhance the primary mission of the Department to protect the American homeland; (2) advising the Secretary on the impact of the Department’s policies, regulations, processes, and actions on the private sector; (3) interfacing with other relevant Federal agencies with homeland security missions to assess the impact of these agencies’ actions on the private sector ”

“ WASHINGTON – Today, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate key leadership for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; John Tien for Deputy Secretary, Jen Easterly for Director of Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency, Ur Jaddou for Director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, Chris Magnus for Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Jonathan Meyer for General Counsel, and Robert Silvers for Under Secretary for Strategy, Policy, and Plans. ”

“ Adjudication of asylum and refugee applications. (I) Adjudications performed at service centers. (J) All other adjudications performed by the Immigration and Naturalization Service. (c) Appointment and Evaluation.--The Under Secretary for Management shall-- (1) be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, from among persons who have-- (A) extensive executive level leadership and management experience in the public or private sector; (B) strong leadership skills; (C) a demonstrated ability to manage large and complex organizations ”

“ A new Department of Homeland Security will help us to protect our country, but only if it has the tools to get the job done. I urge the Senate to follow the House's lead and pass legislation that gives the department the flexibility and the authority it needs to protect the American people. ”

“ To guard against the loss of public assets of great worth along the estuary, the General Services Administration, in cooperation with the Department of the Interior, should give full consideration to recreation, fish and wildlife, scenic and other conservation values at the time any Federal installation becomes surplus to defense of other needs. ”

“ The measure of praise you have been kind enough to award to me for my administration of the Interior Department is—I say this without any affectation of modesty—perhaps too generous. I know better than any body else that my administration has not been perfect. The Interior Department is not only the most difficult, it is also the most dangerous, department of the Government. ”

“ Members of the House and Senate reached a crucial agreement to create a new department of homeland security. With Congress' vote on the final legislation, America will have a single agency with the full-time duty of protecting our people against attack. ”