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President-elect Obama announces Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture Wednesday, December 17, 2008 08:22pm EST / Posted by Dave Rochelson In announcing Colorado Senator Ken Salazar as his choice for Secretary of the Interior and Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack for Secretary of Agriculture, President-elect Barack Obama made clear he considers both Secretaries-designate to be key members of his energy and environment team. “It’s time for a new kind of leadership in Washington that’s committed to using our lands in a responsible way to benefit all our families,” President-elect Obama said. “That is the kind of leadership embodied by Ken Salazar and Tom Vilsack.” In their remarks, Secretaries-designate Salazar and Vilsack both emphasized their commitment to focusing on energy issues. “I look forward to working directly with President-elect Obama as an integral part of his team as we take the moon shot on energy independence,” Secretary-designate Salazar said. “That energy imperative will create jobs here in America, protect our national security, and confront the dangers of global warming.”
Secretary-designate Vilsack spoke of his commitment to “promote American leadership in response to global climate change,” and declared his intent to “place nutrition at the center of all food programs administered by the Department.” Asked by a reporter to describe how he views a new role for the Department of the Interior, President-elect Obama referred to an editorial in today’s New York Times laying out the problems that have plagued the department, and expressed faith in Secretary-designate Salazar’s ability to fix them. “I want a more proactive Interior Department,” President-elect Obama said. “I also want an Interior Department that very frankly cleans up its act. There have been too many problems and too much emphasis on big time lobbyists in Washington…That’s going to change under Ken Salazar.” |
