Secretary Salazar holds Media Roundtable to Discuss Rapid,
Responsible Implementation of Interior's $3 Billion in
Economic Recovery Plan
February 20, 2009
Music/Announcer: This is a podcast from the U.S. Department of the Interior
Ron Tull: On Friday, February 20, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, held a media round table at the Department of the Interior Headquarters in Washington, D.C. to discuss how the department will swiftly and responsibly implement President Barack Obama’s economic recovery and reinvestment plan in order to help create jobs, generate economic activity in local communities and renew our national parks, national wildlife refuges and other public lands and resources. Here are his opening remarks from the round table.
Ken Salazar: Over the last several days, we’ve met with every unit of the Department of Interior to begin the process to move forward to finalize the plan for the investment for this funds which will be in its formal and completed form by May 1.
To help determine which projects across the department should be funded, I am announcing today that, first of all, I have created a Recovery Act Task Force within the Department of the Interior that includes the senior leadership from me to the affected bureaus within the Department of Interior.
That Recovery Act Task Force will help me in making the final decisions on how we invest the over $3 Billion in this Act and what we estimate will be the creation of up to 100,000 jobs for the United States of America.
Two, I will soon be naming a stimulus czar with the department to the Interior. That person will be responsible to ensure that the money under the Act is spent wisely in full view of the public and that it fulfills the goals of the law. Three, later today, we will launch the first version of the Department of Interior’s Recovery website which will allow the public to follow the implementation of the plan and to hold us accountable. As we proceed with implementing the recovery plan, this page will be linked with Recovery.gov and it will have detailed information on the projects we will carry out, the progress we are making on each of those of projects, and the number of jobs that are being created with each of those projects. Finally, we have a process that we have already kicked off and the timeline for how we will move forward is as follows: On March 3rd, we will have our first weekly report that will be submitted to OMB and Recovery.gov, and between now and then over the next two weeks, we will finalize the plan for the department. We will then, on May the 8th, begin monthly financial reporting that we’ll begin and we will make sure that we manage the project in the way that has the confidence of the American people.
Let me also say that I believe that this $3 Billion plus investment in the Department of Interior is very important because we will be able to move forward in a manner that creates the largest number of jobs in the shortest period of time and, hopefully, projects that create lasting value for the American public. The investments we will make in our American landscapes and icons are the nations’ most significant since Franklin Roosevelt in the midst of the Great Depression.
And during the actions that were taken during that time, Americans were put back to work building the trails, roads, and water systems, and other public lands, infrastructure that we still enjoy today. Indeed, the building that we sit in today and the art that is around this building was a product of FDRs’ vision through the Works Progress Administration funded by Congress in 1935. I see today’s challenges as an opportunity to create the same type of lasting legacy for our children and grandchildren that FDR created for us.
Much of our legacy, I believe, will be in three areas. First, many of the investments we make through the Recovery Bill will help us build a clean energy economy. We will improve energy efficiency and increase the use of renewable energy in our facilities and on public lands throughout our country. Our public lands, it is my hope and vision, will be an engine for the clean energy economy but also an example of how we can use clean energy and efficiency.
Secondly, we will enter a new era in the protection of our national icons and landscapes from Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty to the wildlife refuges and communities across the country. We will get to work in projects that will restore our landscapes, our national icons, and how visitors experience our history and our culture and protect our crown jewels for generations to come.
And third part of what we will do with the stimulus package is mobilize our young people around this vision. Interior will engage and encourage the participation of young adults in these projects throughout the nations. For example, Job Corps and youth recruited by partners including the Student Conservation Association will assist us in restoring trails for visitors and in controlling invasive species.
We will, though this effort, begin the inspiration of a new generation of natural resources professionals. As President Obama has said, the Recovery Plan is an opportunity to rebuild and make America, and it also is a challenge to each and every one of us in public service.
I’m committed to making sure that the Department of the Interior responsibly implements this recovery plan with accountability and transparency.