Obama picks Salazar for Interior
Posted: Wed Dec 17, 2008 11:10 am
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081217/ap_ ... r_wh/obama
Salazar will head a department that oversees oil and gas drilling on public lands and manages the nation's parks and wildlife refuges. He is expected to try to balance protection of natural resources with use of the nation's energy potential — an approach Obama said in the announcement that he wants.
"I will do all I can to help reduce America's dependence on foreign oil," Salazar said, wearing a cowboy hat and string tie. "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."
Salazar co-sponsored a bill in Congress to create a new land conservation system under the Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management for permanently protecting 26 million acres of national monuments, wilderness areas and wild and scenic rivers. The legislation died during the special session of Congress after the November election.
The Colorado senator opposed drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and objected to the Bush administration's efforts to lease Western lands for oil shale development. It will be up to the Obama administration whether to go ahead with leasing.
If Salazar is confirmed as interior secretary, Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter, a Democrat, will name a replacement to serve out the final two years of his term. Before being elected to the Senate in 2004, Salazar was Colorado's attorney general. He also headed the state's Natural Resources Department from 1990-1994.
Salazar will head a department that oversees oil and gas drilling on public lands and manages the nation's parks and wildlife refuges. He is expected to try to balance protection of natural resources with use of the nation's energy potential — an approach Obama said in the announcement that he wants.
"I will do all I can to help reduce America's dependence on foreign oil," Salazar said, wearing a cowboy hat and string tie. "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."
Salazar co-sponsored a bill in Congress to create a new land conservation system under the Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management for permanently protecting 26 million acres of national monuments, wilderness areas and wild and scenic rivers. The legislation died during the special session of Congress after the November election.
The Colorado senator opposed drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and objected to the Bush administration's efforts to lease Western lands for oil shale development. It will be up to the Obama administration whether to go ahead with leasing.
If Salazar is confirmed as interior secretary, Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter, a Democrat, will name a replacement to serve out the final two years of his term. Before being elected to the Senate in 2004, Salazar was Colorado's attorney general. He also headed the state's Natural Resources Department from 1990-1994.
