ndndndndndndndndndndndndndndndn. momomomomomomomomomoyssssssssssr so, agagagagagagagagagagagagaga think the longer view on these issues rather than the simplistic snapshots.

you also can't simplify this issue of unemployment that we're facing today. you know, workers in our economy are not simply cogs in some sort of giant machine. you know, they are not interchangeable in that kind of way. they have very different skillsets. they live in different regions. they are different ages and have different levels of experience and different places in their careers. you y so the problems that an unemployed worker in detroit, whether it's a welder or autoworker, the problem that unemployed worker faces can't be resolved by removing an immigrant laborer in central california who's engaejed in agricultural work or is a landscaper. just those kinds of things don't mix. we have a complicated series problem when it comes to unemployment but we need to be serious about addressing those things.

confusing the issue of p immigration in a simplistic way is not only a distortion of reality but i think a distraction from the real challenges that we face in terms of those issues. you know, and a final point on this issue because it came up in the context of some responses to this it report in particular, you you you know, this notion that, you know, we're just talking about people who are -- who have low levels of education, we're talking about the undocumenteded population and their arrival here has somehow dragged our economy down. the fact of the matter is, over the last 30 years, the share of our work force that has less than a high school diploma has gone down every year. we should be proud of the fact that we have a domestic labor force that is better educated. but we can't ignore the economic implications of that. we can't ignore the fact that we are an economy that is driven a lot by consumerism. that means a lot of service jobs that don't require a lot of education and training. so, i mean, i think it's

important to go into this reform effort with our eyes open and a willingness hopefully on the part of our legislators to get past the process of how to jockey for a better position in their particular elections and get to the business of confronting difficult issues that are complex but deserve real leadership and a broader view. >> thank you very much. we'll now move to the question and answer period of the program. let me start with the gentleman in the front. if you wouldn't mind please identifying yourself. >> jose lopez of the mexican news agency. i'd like to ask the professor, given the concern of unemployment in the u.s. right now with 15 million americans without jobs i'm wondering if your with analysis has studied how will the formal legalization of millions of undocumented workers play in the overall employment picture in the u.s. and to the panel, given this circumstance and also the political problems that democrats seem to be facing in

november, to what extent do you think this circumstances will play a role in president obama's decision whether or not to spend political capital on immigration reform in 2010? >> well, i completely agree with ben. i think that the real danger at this point is that we basically get it wrong in terms of the relationship between with immigration reform and unemployment. i think two things that are really significant from the way we did this study because we did go back and specifically look at that question about, what happens legalization under a context of economic stress. and again i make the point, look at what happened under erca. unemployment was growing in this country. it grew by over 50% during that period of time. not because of illegalization but because of another real estate crisis that we had during the 1980s and savings and loans

crisis primarily driving the macroeconomy. what legalization did is create a stimulus for economic recovery. it immediately, as heather was pointing out, in terms of the consumption and i like this positive reverberating effect notion, that that has, which is exactly by the way what the doctor will will order at this moment of slack, economy is the ability for people to be more confident and want to spend and really commit themselves more to the economy. that's exactly the type of shot in the arm that legalization would have. second is this very important impact in terms of a long-term productivity that begins now. this effect that we had in the 1980s of immigrants turning towards their own education, their own ged, english language, paying for their own skill, it grew by 200% of their own resourc resources, not the government

resources, paid off immediately and much omore over the long term. so i think that we have to confront the know-nothings that are going to try to stick their head in the sand and make a simplistic relationship between imand unemployment. this is exactly what we have to 0 be doing at this moment where we're beginning to see some types of signs of life in an economy which i think we may see even a more positive recovery in terms of the impact of legalization that it could have at this stage as it probably would happen about a year from now, when unemployment is going to start going down at a faster pace. so the political issue i'll let other people address. >> first i want to offer a comment on immigration and unblowment. it does make it politically more difficult when you have a 10% unemployment rate. there is no correlation over time in increased immigration and increased unemployment.

immigration is a sa safety valve for the labor market. if there aren't jobs, the immigrants don't come or they go home. that's why you've seen the number of imgranlts decline over the last couple of years. i think now is a perfectly fine time to institute comprehensive immigration reform. one of the findings of our study at cato is that as you move up the skill ladder, the structural unemployment rate tends to decline. so if you get this occupation mix effect with more low-skilled imgranlts coming into the country, the actual structural unemployment rate of native-born american workers will decline. a word about the politics, i think this is an opportunity for the democrats on their watch to fix this problem that has been vexing americans for decades. that is what to do about illegal immigration. through comprehensive immigration reform, through the three-legged stool of more effective enforcement, legalization of those who are here, and a temporary worker

program to provide for future flows, i think the democratic party, president obama working with republicans, and there are republicans who will work positively on this issue, can fix this problem. they just have to do it right. the challenge to democrats i think is to hold off, let's be frank. labor unions tend to be hostile to government worker programs. republicans have their problem where they're nativist conservative wing i. think this is a call for leadership and bipartisanship. it can be done. whether it will be remains to be seen. >> heather? >> couple of comments on the data on unemployment. first, you are seeing folks simply going back to home countries at this point because there are no jobs here. so there's that issue. but then second, the unemployment rate does include nonlegal workers. it's a household survey. there's an undercounting, but those workers are already included in the data. there's no reason to think that

legalization would somehow effect the unemployment rate from one day to the next. if anything, it would likely lower it because you have hundreds of thousands of -- i don't know exactly how many people, but somewhere in the tens thousands of work hes who because they are unemployed and unauthorized to work are looking at a much smaller job market than other workers. so they may be out of work and searching for work for a much longer time than workers who could apply for any job. so you've really closed off opportunities for them and they've been in some of the jobs that have been hitteardest by t recession, in particular the construction. >> i think the final thought on the political question is, it's really the con fluns of a political argument and policy stream. the policy argument is clear, that this is an economic winner. we gain $1.5 trillion over ten years if we legalize the undocumented population. the political argument is also clear. this herb is like the big

pothole that when congress is driving its legislative bus it smacks into each and every time. it's come up in health care. it will come up you in every economic effort that this congress and administration naik makes. it's completely shortsighted to not lean into the issue because we've got expanding hispanic legal voters who will look at this issue very carefully. what happens with it or doesn't happen with it going to the 2010 elections. we've got an issue where we know that we can do a checkmark in terms of helping the economy and frankly these folks were with elected to solve problems. and if they go back to voters, particularly latino voters but al voters who want to see it taken off the table add and it's not resolved, i think a lot of people will stay home in november 2010, not an outcome any politician wants. i'll take another question. >> charlie ericson with hispanic

link news service here in washington. welcome to washington. hope you're enjoying the weather. two questions. one directed at raul which generally, what do you you see the role of unions playing in your assessment that would work? once with you say the words guest workers, you're also talking about some of the programs in the past. what should be the role of unions in your mind? and, secondly, for anybody, what about what you you just mentioned, angela, the definite divide between democrats and republicans and all the other issues that have come up you so far, do you you you see any change in that immigration issue? thank you. >> okay. short answers. i know a lot of people have

questions. >> good to see you you, charlie. actually, i don't see this dichotomy between unions and guest workers as the fundamental thing of what i'm talking about in this paper. actually, in fact, i -- one with of the boast experiences we've ever had from legalization is spanish immigration to europe when they opened -- created much more flexible legal system. many workers decided to do it temporarily. i think that's part of the reality of what we should try to encourage, that type of condition. i'm just -- i just think it's not a good idea as a matter of policy to recreate a separate class of workers that can only be brought in under a definite period of time and will not be able to be potentially fully contributing to the u.s. economy. i don't think that's necessarily an issue of being prounion in any particular way. i mean, i think the issue is

more, we want to create a condition i think in this type of flexibility in the labor market where we want to encourage people to have their own strategic decisions and their families to make good for themselves. in that sense, that should be the basis by which we allow for immigration to be really maintained and structured over time rather than imposing a very select i think set of time lines and rights to those workers. that's just because i've seen it work a lot better in alternative ways. and i've seen some temporary programs not work as well. >> if i could just follow up on that one. have you seen any possibility or hope for unionization of guest worker programs in some way where unions could play a role in dealing with those who come here temporarily? >> not really the subject. >> it's not really -- i mean,

that was tried in the '40s, one of the things that didn't work. so i don't think that's probably what's going to drive the debate at this point. >> any comments on bipartisanship? ben johnson. >> again, i think to your with point, angie, this is about electing leaders, you know. hopefully neither party has a monopoly on that issue. i think there are republicans who understand the importance of. this you know, there are divides. i think everybody recognizes that in washington here today. but i think there is room, plenty of room, quite frankly, for bipartisanship on this issue. if you get past the sound bites, to issues of i think as raul says, the point of the temporary potential conflict on the temporary issue is whether we let folks provide them an opportunity to set down roots, which i think is important. and i think if we again get beyond sound bites there's plenty of room for bipartis bipartisanship on this issue.

>> all right. >> lewis here at the center. heather, you did a really nice job of explaining how comprehensive immigration reform helps increase the wages well-being of those who gain status and are able to il prove themselves, invest in themselves. but the report also says one of the impact is it would raise the wages of native workers and indeed raise wages for high-skilled workers. could you illuminate why that is so? >> yes, although i would want to

. beeshe took on the notion of environmental conversation -- conservation. she did that at a time when women really did not raise a voice on these issues. she was standing on the shoulders of other women. then other women stood on her shoulders. they were able to emerge as a leading advocate for the environment and for protecting them. rachel carson has a room named in her honor at epa

headquarters. she was a transformative figure in our country's moment of turning to address the importance of environmental challenges. and yet think it is a coincidence that a book that came out in the 1960's, by the 1970's there was such a thing as the environmental protection agency. they played an important role in epa's life and in mine. you need to know a little bit about me. this is the thing i hate doing demos. i started at epa over 20 years ago. i thought i would just go. as a young professional women, the federal government remained a place to have a career. i thought i would go for a few years and punch my ticket and then go make a lot of money. i did. i started as a staff level

engineer. you did not see a lot of women engineers in general. i think there were two women engineers in my entire graduate school class. that is a shock. i had come from an all girls high school. i moved into the field with almost no women and very few people of color. i felt, as many women do, a call to service. i think it is one of the things that distinguishes us at all times, a call to use my degree for the world around him. at epa, i worked my way up the ranks to do that. the time it took me to do that, i have seen the environmental movement change. i have seen many changes in it. some good, some bad.

one that has become good is the number of women in the field of conservation. in many places, women outnumber men in their caring for the earth and their work on issues that are about the legacy and stewardship of clean air and clean water for children and for our families and for the future generations. i feel personally that i look -- i owe a lot of women that came before me, what did they are female or mothers or women business leaders are educational leaders from the they all gave it away. i drove in new orleans. -- i grew up in new orleans. my family owned a house there. i have been struck a lot by how often the first voices after a crisis start to deal with environmental health issues mothers or sisters who are on

the front line of worrying about air contamination or soil contamination. in new orleans, some of the poorest neighborhoods where you expect the rhetoric goes something like "we cannot afford to worry about soil contamination, how about media placed to live up " women are standing up for clean and healthy places for their families to live. that takes strength it cannot be underestimated. i am touched and i think about the strength of the women in our main cabinet and a growing number of women leaders in congress and what i am hopeful about our future. you ask me here to talk about change. i am happy to do that. i will talk about change in my little world, which is not so

little. or the course of the last two months, we had one very simple desire. that used to show the american people that there was a real difference in the obama epa from the last eight years, to show them that the election really did matter. with the places it matters most is that the only agency across federal government entrusted with protecting human health and the environment, is an independent agency. the job is to implement some of the most fundamental laws and our country coming clean air, clean water. these are laws that are really foundational to what has made this country a world leader in environmental protection. we have had a change in direction. when i write to my first day, there were 18,000 dedicated employees at epa ready to turn

the agency around and get to work. i told the first lady that it was 99.9% for the president during the election. that is not by accident. the environment has become a polarized issue when it comes to a partisan politics. it should that be. it does make me proud as a democrat to know that we are the party that carries the idealism of an environmental movement. through the hard work and non- partisan efforts that the epa employees, 2009 was a very busy year. we reaffirmed our core mission. we talked about our return to science, the best i into can muster. it is a return to the law. we as seen a decade of rules and regulations are most commonly turnout by the court. when they with their them out, they would issue scathing

opinions about how it was a fairy tales. there were moments when we all looked at it and thought, it is kind of funny. anything about what that means on the streets and in my home town, with children who are battling as much, for seniors who are already trying to go outside or enjoy the quality of life and realize that everyone in the decisions was over to end -- overturned four years. if it is a non improvement on clean air. there was a creeping believe that the inaction was some hon necessary -- some on necessary for growth and vitality. what have we done? we have spent a lot of money on the american recovery and reinvestment act, almost $7 billion. most of it is on the street and under contract.

$6 billion of that goes into waste projects across the country. we are approaching 70% of the contract. we have a statutory deadline of february 17 to get 100% of the money under contract. that means work will start, jobs will be created, because congress saw fit to entrust epa and state with investing in our water infrastructure. it is a great message for us. it is a great message for president obama. there is not a need to choose between jobs and the environment. in the recovery act, we see the perfect marriage of both, how you can invest in clean water and invest in health and economic recovery. you cannot have economic growth without adequate and reliable supplies of clean water. we put forward new principles to address safety.

chemicals are present in our environment and our bodies in increasing numbers. it was a call to action. i believe epa had injured that call to action to set -- with a set of principles for the obama administration to use as a work with congress to hopefully revise the 30-year-old law that governs a chemical management. we were happy to support president obama by proposing a clean car program. those rules are not lit for fuel efficiencies, and there the nation's first ever propose rules to cover greenhouse gases in any [unintelligible] it came after years of almost unabated warfare between states and automobile industries and the federal government over what cars should be built in this country president obama did something that in all my years i

never thought i would see. he made it all sit down at the table and come out with one road map. it made the unions have a. it made the business community happy. those rules are to be finalized this spring. if finalized feel efficiency and reduce emissions. we are already starting to talk about 2016 and 2017. we put in place quietly a greenhouse gas reporting structure. we finalized last year. we announce its finding on greenhouse gases and sent it to the white house.

finally, 2009 marked the year officially when the united states government began recognizing and taking action -- and taken action on threat of climate change. i want to leave time for questions and answers. i also want to talk a bit about change in direction. as much as one change may impact the american people, it is really about a direction that i think we are about at epa. what makes epa valuable to the american people and it is what we plan to continue i will outline the big priorities for

the future. at this but a memo out this week. each one of these is in no particular order. my staff for all eager to see what we were going to do. the first is taking action on climate change and putting the president clean energy agenda first and foremost in our mind. we have to continue the work we did. we have to continue it. i believe we can continue to reduce greenhouse gases with the compliance with existing law and tell transition our economy to a more sustainable way. i think we can do that while working with the senate but otoe comprehensive legislation. we have an opportunity to continue our one energy -- one of energy star program.

it started at epa, which most people do not know. officials the or not able to regulate greenhouse gases realize the american people would do a lot to do save money. that whole brand has saved the american people millions and millions of dollars and has saved us millions and millions of unused energy. that means greenhouse gas as well. next is improving air quality. pollution in the air remains a critical concern. bp announced stronger proposed standards for ozone. ozone is the main ingredient in smog. that single measure alone will save lives. it will sit hospitals.

it will save doctor visits. it will make it easier for americans to breed. we want to build on the. we want to set up and find a stronger enforcement system. we need to turn our attention to the air toxic, the contentments -- the stuff that has a tendency to build up in neighborhoods. the when you have probably heard most of that is mercury. -- the one you have probably heard most about is a victormer. it is becoming ubiquitous. we need a clean air bill of health. number three was assuring the safety of chemicals every few weeks.

they have such long names that we appreciate it. it has been linked to obesity and cancer and is found in baby bottles. it has led to reproductive developments. we see a list that seems endless. i believe the epa has an opportunity to meet again long- term progress. lester, i announced principles for how we could reform our toxic substance control. this year is the year to accelerate our work. another priority is cleaning up our community. that includes enforcement and compliance. we have to make a dent in the back lot. we must also understand the importance of addressing the smaller side -- syed said that

in the communities for ever that improbably move toward -- that can probably move toward cleanup. we need to protect america's waters. i cannot believe i am standing here in 2010 saying that. that is precisely what i am saying. although we have made tremendous progress on the contamination that comes out the pipes, we have to address what happens when it rains, when rain water flows over our lawns and streets and parking lots and agricultural operations and animal feeding operations. it ends up in the train. sometimes that contaminate our drinking water. sometimes it does a heck of a job on their surface water. it is meant to hold us all

accountable to short-term ^ ability we will focus on expanding our conversation on environmental justice. it is always interesting to hear how all the issues that we fought for come down to simply ensuring a level playing field in this country. no one set ous out to to pollute any one group, but because people are poor and cannot afford to move away, that does not mean they should be subject to a lesser standard of environmental protection. there are two pieces to that. first of the conversation. we need to make sure the voices are at the table. the need to understand that even in the midst of an economic downturn, we also need to make sure that as we grow, we protect

the house. we must. it must be willing to listen and understand that communities can sometimes be priorities that are different than those who but i'll -- those who are looking out. this can be crucial. we are going to work hard and building stronger and better partnerships with our government. state employment the vast majority of environmental programs. i know because i just came from six years. as much as epa can set policy and direction, we can talk a lot. what really happened on the ground will be work that is done by their state government. those are our priorities. the last is to remember that 2010 will mark the 40th

anniversary of existence. it is my expectation that people will be watching. the actual anniversary happened in december. was to the epa started on earth day. i did. [laughter] it did not. the actual documents were signed in december. it is not a celebration of epa per say, but the recognition of the vital role that epa should play on our american landscape. it is saying to ourselves, what shall we be. how can we make sure we are under the [unintelligible] i look forward to working with all of you on that and to delivering more change for our country. thank you. [applause]

>> if you'll please write your questions out. there are cards provided on the table. i'm going to dive right into one. can you please explain mountaintop mining? is this an oxymoron? >> mountaintop mining -- i do not think any to explain it any more than to say surface mining that happens literally buried close to the peak of a mountain. you did not do it in the rockies. it is in the appellations. we see it primarily -- the appalachian mountains. we mean the state in west virginia and kentucky.

what has been set for a long time is that the practice should end. i am quite proud of the work we have done on mountaintop mining so far. the work is not dumb. we have tried to bring science back into the equation. we had years and years of linking and nodding giving to mountaintop permits. the comments were puts in a button. the permits were issued. the first thing we did was make it clear we burgoyne to review the comments and if necessary to exercise our legal right to veto any permit we believe really threatens water quality that was unacceptable. we are not vetoed a permit. -- we have not vetoed a permit.

there is little attention for the 78 others that have not been issued. the question about call is for day coal -- coal is that we must transition to a different form. what is difficult is realizing that a lot of the animosity is just people being afraid. they are afraid of the economic time when people are trying to figure out how to make ends meet. i do believe that epa -- in the emissions -- epa has literally driven the frontier of technology in controlling that. we will probably drive mere curry -- mercury as well.

the technology is not there right now. there is expected in the amendment will be used to curtail the co2 as a pollutant? is the political action that will help maintain -- is their political action that will help maintain the cleanest air possible? >> the only thing i'm allowed to do by law and by you to become educated on issues. i cannot lobby. there is nothing i could even lobbied you if i were going to. there is nothing yet. next tuesday, there is a possibility that there will be a vote on an amendment to the clean air act. we have not seen the amendment. the some rakowski has been

talking about whether -- lisa m. rakowski has been talking about it. [unintelligible] we have not seen it. i will not comment on it. they are trying to move for the issue of climate change. i am quite proud of the actions epa has taken on co2 under the clean air act. i believe that there are more common-sense actions that can be taken that will not harm our economy, but will actually help move us along in the transition to clean energy. americans want a transition to clean energy. they also want to transition to more homegrown energy. we are all worried about our national security. we also want jobs. the president has said that jobs in the future will come around clean energy technology.

at the epa can move forward. -- i think the epa can move forward. but are there any circumstances where [unintelligible] or consumption waste is justified? can you share your thinking and offer details? >> yes yes to the first question. we are in the middle of working on a rule making. it will come out and you have the opportunity to comment on any proposed rules. i have to be a little careful. there seems to be general agreement that the use of coal ash in concrete light products is in the health and the environment. it is from the fact that it is religious cult that has been burned.

if you put the ash in the ground in large quantities, and you will see an increase in metal and things that are sncc and your water. there is general agreement on that -- like arsenic in your water. there is a general agreement on that. some of the folks on the industry's side have not taken the time to let us try to craft rulemaking. i think we agreed that it can be reused. you love to incentivize it. -- we would lead to incentivize it. >> [inaudible] it may john out -- drawn out smaller companies. >> anything is possible. right now, nuclear companies

would argue that there are limits. they need lots and lots of money to -. that is one in the issue that is a robust debate. a robust they would help them. when they say whitey one legislation, it is because there are some big -- -- when they say why do you want legislation, it is because there are some big issues. it moves us from where we are now to a place where the injured she says, that costs money to do that and therefore i'm going to find ways to get it down. that is what we like to see.

>> can you comment on the difficulties about being transparent about science when the public and media are not scientific? why are so many epa political appointees not scientists despite the emphasis on a return to science? >> we have quite a few political ones that are scientists. let's start with me. we have a chemical engineer and a lawyer by training. steve owens is an attorney. the head of our office of research and development is widely considered the father of green chemistry. we have the engineer that is the head of our dallas office. we have a nice mix. we do feel -- we have the legacy

of attorneys. we talk about a return to the law. that is extremely important. it is difficult. the issues we are dealing with are very complex ones. the more we learn, and the more we know about the interrelationship between water and air pollution. there is also a willingness on the part of the public, because they hear scientific experts from all sides saying opposite things. you need to know who is paying for the research. organizations will put out some steady that reports to speak but is about science on the toxicity of any particular chemical.

i think you want to know who pays for that. i think that is extremely important. when it is epa, and we are rigorous in our conflict of interest screening for scientific boards that we use. we continue to be. i am very proud of it. the second major tool we have is peer review. i am never afraid appear reviewing, except when people want it just to delay. at some point, it becomes our jobs to round up all the head and decides if the delay is causing more of a house -- haphazard then a determination. >> can you give an example of how epa is pushing science back into the environment? let'>> the ozone decision was a tough one.

what happened on the ozone decision is a under the clean air act there is a sign to the board that is supposed to render a decision every five years on what level of any party. priorities are there. -- on what level of the priorities are there. on the board years ago, it recommended a range between 60 and 70. after that, it said 75. it was such a hard moment. what we are saying to the country is something we do not enjoy something critics saying. it is, the numbers we appeal to in the past, 84, 75, are not good enough. we are going to have to get to even lower numbers.

we cannot tell people that, but began as a to listen as a country here is what we have to get to -- it is the best science behalf. we cannot have that conversation. [unintelligible] we have to be honest. that is signed and it -- that is scientific integrity. that is out for comment. i would urge you to look at the interests. then we have to move into how you get down to a 50 or a 70. then we have to look at cost. you have to look at cost when it comes to how to get there.

i think we have moved toward transparency in terms of moving information out of the public. >> i have been told we only have time for one question. outside of their own territory. the united states does, britain, france, a few others. the soviet union did, and russia now did and they withdrew from those in the 1990's, but it really becomes a question of --

a question for the larger powers in the world and so inherently you are going to have a already stacked deck against anyone who is trying to create equitable international law we are around basing issues. there is also the issue of the dominance of the bilateral law in this regard. every country that agrees to post military forces has signed some sort of status of forces agreement with the country whose military is coming on to their territory unless of course they've been conquered. but let's say the majority of countries are in this category so the philippines until 1991 was home to the bay or clark air force base or field coming enormous facilities. when the u.s. pulled out it was discovered that we had over the course of several decades lead to enormous environmental waste to the countryside.

there was never a working sources and at the bases and so the result was just decades and decades of human and animal waste accumulating in the ground and in the water around there. however, for what it's worth the philippines -- the government after world war ii sidey status of forces agreement and said it would take care of any of the side effects of u.s. action. the u.s. also said look when we are pulling out in the 1990's and we are cognizant of these problems, these environmental problems we can't hold ourselves responsible for actions that were begun at a time no one in the world really considered the environmental consequences of this kind of activity, so we are not going to put ourselves in the position where we are suddenly responsible for actions taken under a different sort of paradigm or different mind set. ultimately it comes down to a

question of cost. this is a few were to require the united states or any country to clean up after its military activity overseas there would be no end to what can be required of them. the u.s. recently paid 100 million -- about ten years ago paid not $100 million to canada to clean up to relatively minor facilities that we had up in the northern part of that country, and that is an instance where the impacts and amount of damages were ultimately minor and we don't want to get into a situation where we are having to -- we i mean the u.s. military, not obviously myself -- where the military is having to check itself and spend an inordinate amount of time keeping its

activities limited or somehow above board environment and therefore possibly do that, possibly not doing as much as it can to fulfill its mission. that is its perspective and the perspective of people in the government i spoke with for the article. now, all of that being said -- and you have the

.

it's time for us to ensure both. [applause] so i will send you a package of bills this session to hold offenders accountable, to increase the sentencing tools to prosecutors and give more weight to mental health and criminal history when making commitment decisions. recently, we have all been shocked by the tragic loss of our law enforcement officers. leaders of our criminal justice community have come together and with them i propose improvement to communications throughout the justice system. how bail is administered in our state and how the interstate

system can better provide public safety to washingtonians. surviving spouse must be entitled to retirement benefits regardless of a fallen officer's length of service and for the children it is our duty to make available to them a college education. these proposals have been carefully crafted with the help and expertise of the law enforcement community. they are measured and they are thoughtful and they ensure from tragedies we learn and take action and do the right thing. let us get to work for our fallen officers, for their families and for our entire law enforcement community. thank you. [applause]

somebody once asked dr. martin luther king jr. when he thought the best time was to take serious action. dr. king had an answer. the time is always right to do the right thing. to each of you sitting here, i ask you, let us work together to do what is right for our people, all of our people. we are all good people. we all have values. our work is complicated and sometimes values collide. what we do about that is called governing so let's leave the partisan politics to elections. washingtonians hate how

bipartisan things have become. they just want us to solve the problems. so i will tell you right now, if you have better ideas on how the create jobs, reform government, balance our budget, improve our schools, provide quality, affordable health care, i am ready, i am willing to listen to every idea. these are serious days ahead. too many families today are getting layoff notices. watching unpaid bills pile up at home. losing health care for their family. telling their kids they can't attend college. standing in line at a food bank or dipping into a savings account just to get by. let's not waste their time or

this crisis. our time is here to encourage them to keep the faith in the great promise that this state has to offer. our time to help them pro-vide them with a bright economic future. it is not going to be easy. the decisions that we have to make might not always be popular but we have a duty to our struggling family and businesses to help build a bright future for washington. the time is now, it is our time. let's provide the decisive, compassionate leadership our people want and deserve. god bless all of you and god bless the great state of washington. [applause] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] [captioning performed by national captioning institute]

>> on c-span today, interior secretary ken salazar speaks at a meeting for employees. a political debate between candidates for texas governor followed by today's live "washington journal." on this morning's "washington journal" we'll talk with greg ip of the economist magazine, larry birns will discuss haiti and we'll look at c.i.a. operations in afghanistan and pakistan with mark mazzetti.

"washington journal" is live each morning beginning at 7:00 eastern time here on c-span. >> middle and high school students, just a few days left to enter c stan's student cam contest. -- c-span's student cam contest. get it to c-span for your chance to wind a grand prize of $5,000. don't delay. enter today. make sure to upload your project by midnight wednesday at studentcam.org. >> interior secretary ken salazar spoke to employees yesterday where he discussed management and goals. this lasts about aven hour. -- an hour. >> i'm laura davis, the associate deputy secretary of the interior and it is really great to see all of you here.

this is a really wonderful occasion for us as we gather here to talk about the work that the interior has done in the last year and the agenda that president obama and secretary salazar have for the year ahead. having had the privilege of coming here with the secretary on day one of last year, i can tell you that i'm amazed at what the secretary has accomplished in a short 12 months. he has an incredible work ethic and a passion for all of the issues that matter to all of us. i remember on that very first day, he told us that he would work for more pro active and balanced stewardship to protect our national parks and open spaces, restore our nation's rivers, resolve our water supply challenges and address the challenges faced by our native

american communities. is he true to his word or what? [applause] he also told us that our department, the department of america, would be leading the world for a change for the better. under his guidens and very gentle prodding we are doing just that . it is an inspiration for me to do this and it is an inspiration and honor every day to work for secretary salazar and serve the president. thank you mr. secretary for the opportunity to be here with you. [applause]

>> thank you, laura. thank you, laura. we've had a great 2009 and we're fired up and ready to go for 2010. i'm fired up. are you? [applause] our work truly has just begun but i want to say just at the outset it would not have been possible to do the great things that we did in 2009 had it not been for the 70,000 men and women who make up the department of interior. many of you know that last week, there was some scuttlebutt in the media that i would leave to go be governor of the state of colorado or run for that position. i said no because i wanted to be right here with you. [applause] because this is -- this department, as the custodian of america's natural resources and

the custodian of america's history really does so much for the 300 million americans i'm very proud to be at the helm. i wanted to thank everyone who is here and everyone who is watching us around the country. before i begin, i want to briefly recognize everyone in the department, particularly those people who are in the united states geological survey who have been helping to respond to the tragic earthquake in haiti. our thoughts and our prayers are with them today and with the people of haiti and we will do everything we can to support the administration's rescue efforts as that country struggles with the natural catastrophe that has hit it. today, looking out at all of you, i want you to know that i am very proud to serve as your secretary. at this moment, in history. and with this president and with

the agenda that we have developed together. i would rather be secretary of the interior than doing anything else professionally anywhere in the world. almost one year ago, nearly two million americans gathered together here in the national mall of washington, d.c.. you remember that day was cold and there were tremendous crowds. it is a time to witness the swearing in of a new president, barack obama, who believed then and who believes now and we have always believed in our ability as a people to rise to the tests that we confront, to change what must be changed and to work together as a people to form a more perfect union. the belief that we can leave our world better than we found it is why we here are all called to public service.

it is why all of us are here at the interior. i know this because i have traveled many miles over the last year and met many of you across this country. in albuquerque and the apostle islands, in billings and bismarck and pelican island and in palm springs and although i have not met every one of you in this department in person, i do hear from you. and i know you hear from me. i know you get my emails. and i appreciate those of you who respond to my e-mails. every day i hear incredible stories of interior's public servants who go above and beyond to help deliver change. they are employees like kim, a fish and wildlife services biologist who for 13 years has poured herself and her heart into this historic restoration

project in southwest florida in the everglades. her hard work has paid off. last thursday assistant secretary and chief of staff tom strickland joined with her to break ground on the 55,000 acre restoration project. a cornertone of our efforts to restore the river of grass, the everglades here in america. let's hear it for kim and let's hear it for all. [applause] not only for kim, because that round of applause goes to all of the scientists who work within the department of interior, thank you for recognizing her. we have had had many stars at interior this year, including all of you who have been working with chris henderson, the bureau of directors and all of the rest of our employees in the recovery act.

that is a major responsibility and we need to make sure that it is implemented in the right way based on the directives that we have from president obama and our responsibilities to make sure that we're taking care of the $3 billion that were brought to this department through the recovery act. the people who have worked on this effort are many throughout the department. people like fay winters in florida. santa fe the project manager of four recovery act projects -- fay is the project manager of four recovery act projects. she assumed her responsibilities on top of doing everything else she is doing. she knows people are counting on her to get promise underway so that people can get to work and bring home a paycheck. she knows she is working on projects that will have a long-term sustainability effect on the area that she works.

they have done a great job and her work made for an extraordinary 150th anniversary for juniper inland lighthouse last week. let's hear it for fay and everyone working on the recovery act. [applause] >> we also have many other people who work historically throughout this department all the time. when the record floods hit the dakotas last spring, it was interior employees from the fish and wildlife service and other agencies and people like duane and mike, they were all on the spot. for example, duane and mike worked on the on site area. they were there for 40 days straight. 40 days straight without rest. 40 days straight without rest.

it was the two of them and their team that saved countless lives and property and we are grateful to them. let's give them a round of applause. [applause] and when those horrific fires hit crar last year, it seemed like all of california was ablaze. people like sue canon, a usgs landslide scientist was there to help. sue and her team was there for nine major fires to deliver the information on the hazards to them emergency land managers and the weather service plan and react and recover. kim, fay, sue, duane, mike and countless others, thank you for doing your work and being proud of the work that you do. thank you for delivering for the american people.

give them another round of applause. [applause] we do work from sea to shining sea and all over this planet. it is in places like american samoa where we are making a difference where the office is helping with the tsunami recovery efforts and in haiti where the u.s. geoscientists continue to supply the critical data on that earthquake there and near washington, d.c. with the remarkable service of our united states parks and police. they are all my heroes. they are servants of the people. they are servants of the american people and i am very proud of them. so let's hope that they all and pray that they all stay safe. they are doing what they have to do and i just very much appreciate them. let me talk little bit about interior in 2009. 2009 was a tremendous year.

it was a tremendous year of accomplishment for all of us. it was also a year of great challenge on both personal and professional fronts. the recession has been a very difficult recession under country. it is a recession that has a deep and personal effect on the people wolfe of this country including many this people including who work near the interior. some lost their jobs. two incomes in some families shrank from two to one. college tuition and retirement may be looking more difficult for many of the families here at interior. as fathers, mothers, sons and daughters, we must toned the needs of family first. i hope that your career at interior is a source of strength and security for your families but our jobs, of course, are far more than a paycheck earned or

the hours that we work. it is at times when our nation is tested that we feel greatest urge to help others and it is in these moments when our service feels most rewarding. president obama is counting on each of us and even more importantly, the people are -- of america are counting on each of us to give our best. and the agenda gives us each a role toll play the the american recovery and in the american renewal. with the president's leadership wand the terrific team we now have in place we are pulling the orders together and steering our nation out of the storm that we have been in. today after just one year we are moving just one department of interior as one family in a new direction. i have assembled a report that summarizes our first year of work under the obama administration.

the vort being -- report is being circulated. it hits on highlights for our department. in my work as your secretary, i see the department as the custodian of our natural resources and the custodian of america's history. that report, you can find as you leave the auditorium or you can go online. i hope you will spend a few minutes reading it. first fighting to protect the places that americans love. second, building a clean energy economy and tackling the impacts of climate change. third working to do right by indian nations supporting the island communities. fourth connecting the young people with the outdoors so that they too can fall in love with the land and our water and our

wildlife. if finding solutions to water challenges that vets our country from many places around the nation and finally changing how we do business and strengthen ethics standards and improve our service to the american piedmont we are making progress in -- -- american people. protecting america's great outdoors. it is important to pause just for a second and for us here at interior to recognize that in that act, it was one of the first major bills signed by president obama into law. and with the stroke of a pen, the president on that day, in the white house, in front of the national conservation leadership and the leadership of congress, created two million acres of wilderness, added more than 1,000 miles in the national wild and scenic river system and

authorized three national parks, four new national conservation areas, one new national monument and created into law the lanscape conservation system for the land management which covers over 25 million acres. that legislation was a terrific starlet for president obama and for the conservation legacy which we want to build here ate interior and with this country. to build on that we have taken the $3 billion that came to us with the recovery act and we have invested it into america's landscapes. we have also reopened the crown of the statue of liberty. we have broken ground on flight 93 as a memory oirm to the heroes on that flight. we made great strides on restoring the everglades.

i'm proud that we have restored the role of science in decision making, that section seven consultations are back in the way they should have been. and so too are the pelican which is back in the kind of numbers that it should be and we have declared it to be recovered. the polar bear has a proposed critical habitat now. 200,000 square miles of critical habitat in alaska. we have laid out a plan to restore herds ch. we've also begun to rewrite the mining rules to better protect the appalachian streams and communities. we have engaged with the state

of california to tack it will drought and -- tackle the drought and complex water crisis and with the colorado river we have established a new protocol for water flows. there is a lot that we have talked about. but we must do more and we will do more in 2010. i'm also proud that in 2009, we made progress in our efforts to honor the federal government's commitment and responsibility to the indian nations. in november, the president of the united states was here at this place hosting a white house tribal nations with more than 400 leaders of the federally recognized tribes in america. we today are working the department of justice to strengthen law enforcement and with the department of education to improve the 183 schools that serve the 44,000 children over

which we have responsibility to provide an education. and after 13 long years of litigation that strangled this department, we have reached a settlement of the litigation that nobody thought that we could do it. [applause] and on the energy front, we have been hard at work to change how we do bids and build a conference hence -- business and build a comprehensive energy plan for the country. last year we have offered new areas for oil and gas development and ips constituted reforms to offer reforms in the right leases. we have opened up a new energy frontier that will help power our clean energy economy into the future. for the first time ever,

renewable energy development is a priority for this department. long-awaited offshore renewable energy rules are now in place with other federal agencies we have cleared out -- on renewable energy and transmission sighting. we have mapped out over 1,000 square miles of and in the southwest for solar energy development. we are fast tracking solar and wind projects thag get up and running quickly. we expect the projects currently proposed that more than 5300 megawatts of new capacity could be ready for construction by the end of 2010. that is enough power for almost 1.6 million homesened that project construction will create almost 50,000 jobs. let me pause for a minute.

the department of the interior, taking lead role, will be in a position where by december of this year, 2010, we will have permitted facilities that will have a capacity of generating in excess of 5,000 megawatts of power. a difficult coal firepower plant will produce about 350 megawatts of power. therefore 5,000 would be the equivalent of more than 15 coal firepower plants. i'm proud to say that is the department of the interior, the bureau of land management and the department of the interior for bringing about this renewable energy revolution to america. we should be proud of what the men and win of this department are doing. give them a round of applause. [applause] some people -- some people have

to see things before they can believe them. some people say that when we try to capture the power of the sun or the power of the wind or the power of the earth to geothermal energy that it can't be done. that people have been talking about this forever to the 1970's when president nixon announced and pronounced the words energy independence for the first time and president carter stood in frontor a nation and said that we would move forward to energy interdependence for and yet nothing has happened and what we're doing here turned leadership of president obama is we will make believers out of the skeptics. when you can see a solar power plant that will be generating hundreds of megawatts it will

make believers of people. we can capture the power of the town is power our homes and cars. that we can capture the power of the wind off the atlantic, you will see how it is that the united states will not be left behind denmark or the united kingdom or other places around the world which are moving fast forward on that agenda. i'm proud to say that the department of the interior is at the point on that effort. we have accomplished many things in one year. but more work is underway and to get it all done, we have restored budgets that have been in sharp decline since 2001. thanks to pat hayes and the many people who do the work for this department on our budget year after year. it is a very difficult and a very long process. and just as the budget takes great deal of time to develop, we must recognize that each

milestone we reach in the last year is a culmination of months and often years of work. we have reason to be proud of each and every milestone but our work in the first year of the obama administration is more than just some a sum of the parts. it is about a new approach. it is about a practical approach. it is about solving problems for the american people. aner into issues, there is rarely and easy issue. there is almost never one answer. and that's the way in which it has worked and that is the reality that we confront every day. and that's why we must always be open to new ideas. we must adapt our thinking and we must engage the public and we must study and learn and apply the best science.

this respect for science is back at all levels of this department. it reflects a new way of doing business. it also reflects the set of values that americans want us to uphold, but which have too often been forgotten in recent times. as custodians of our nation's natural, cultural and historic reresources, we, you and i have the responsibility to help all americans connect with their land, history and heritage and while icons like yellowstone and yosemite are in great hands, many special places beyond our boundaries are quickly disappearing. every year -- every year in 2009, it has happened in 2005, when you look back, we americans are losing three million acres

of land. an area the size of connecticut as our nation's lands are transformed to development. and as the places we love disappear, so do the -- so do disappear the connections that we have to the land. they are the places that we americans knew as children. the places we hunt. the places we hike. the places we bike. the places we picnic as families. the places we unplug and unwind. today half as many kids get outside as they did 10 years ago. 60% of americans do not get the recommended amount of exercise and 1/3 of adults are not physically active at all. our job at interior is not merely to wisely manage the public's resources, to ensure, for example, that solar wind, oil and gas development happen

in the right places and at the right time in our public lands, but our job sls to help americans reconnect with what they knew. that is why we are engainling and expanding youth. it is why we need to reach out to audience who is have never visited their public lands but to connect them with the land we must tie the american landscape back together. we can no longer think of a national park as isolated from the lands around it. the reality of it is that we need to think about the ecological system. we need to recognize that climate change and habitat fragmentation require us to break old habits and think

beyond our usual boundaries. that's why we must seek now relationships with private land owners. we must inspire. we must encourage and we must seek the support of the citizens of america as we move forward in creating our 21st century conservation agenda and we must listen. we must listen. we must remember this, because in the end, stewardship can be deeply personal. it is not just about the beauty of the world around us. but about our relationship with the world around us. it is about the places that you and i know. the places that we know and the experiences that connect us up to a sense of place to a sense of lace. -- place. each of you has those places. i have those places. for me, the place i love the most is my family's ranch.

it is the mountains which are over to the east of the san luis valley and the san juan mountains where the sun sets every night to the west and the rios san antonio and the river which goes through our ranches. those are the places that i love. the birsd and the wildlife that go through that ranch and around that ranch. those are the places that i love. we each have those places and we all care deeply about them. all americans do as well. our challenge is to inspire people. to rediscover the lands they love and to engage them in their stewardship. and americans, i believe are eager to respond. americans want more trails. they want more parks and more open spaces. they want more time to gather with their families.

they want more chances to connect up with one another. ralph waldo emerson once said "he who knows what sweet virtues are in the ground, the waters, the plants, the heavens and how to come at these enchantments is the rich and royal matter." yes, the american renewal is about jobs and a return to economic growth buts the -- but it is also about how we refuel the american spirit. it is about reconnecting with the places and stories that set america apart. i'm excited about the year ahead because of you and i get to work with you. i know interior is well suited to lead our country in these times. with your work, with the leadership of president obama, and the passion that the people

of this department share for what we do, we can change the world together. thank you very much. [applause] i am told i have time for questions, so i would be happy to take questions. i think there are some mics out in the audience. nate and kelly have the mic. if you have a question, please don't hesitate. >> thank you, mr. secretary for the opportunity to address you. my name is arthur nelson. i work for the c.i.o. currently.

been here 11 years. specifically what i would like for you to answer, a little background. next smont black history month. -- month is black history month. your recent comments, harry reid, that situation, i applaud you for that. however, being here 11 years, what specifically have you done to promote diversity in this department and what do you plan to do over the next year to do that process. thank you. >> thank you very much, mr. nelson. it is a very important and very appropriate question. you know, the president and i very much share the view that we need to have a government that is an inclusive government and one that is reflective of the face of america and within this department, you will look at the diversity of the 100 or so people that i have hired in

political leadership team and you will find that diversity there. if you look at the what the departments are doing in terms of performance plans, we are including diversity there as a performance factor to make sure that we do move to having a department that is reflective of the face of america. let me say two other things about the importance of that. we will be relevant as a department of the interior if we keep up with the demographic changes that we see in america and for me, that means that we are reaching out and we are including all people, bob staton is spending a good deal of time, for example, going out and trying to recruit people from backgrounds where they have not been coming to the department of the interior to work and letting them know the door is open. the opportunity is there. . we think about the youth

programs that we started in this department. the fact of the matter is over the next seven years, 48% of our workforce will change because they will retire. it is a great opportunity for us to recruit and to make sure that we have an inclives workforce and that will be a -- inclives workforce and that will be a high priority of mine. for me this is an issue that is personal. i recognize with where our history as a nation has got us and i realize in moving towards a more perfect union there was at many times many places for improvement. this morning as i was coming in, i made an unscheduled stop at one of the great places moving forward with as part of our job here in this department to tell america's story, the history of the department, at the martin

luther king memorial where i signed the permit after 10 years of long delays. construction is on the way. people are building a memorial to recognize martin luther king here on the national mall. i spent time with dr. king's older sister, not only near washington but also in atlanta. we visited the birth home of dr. king. it is an agenda that is important for me. it is an agenda where tom strickland and john jarvis and i have often had conversations about how important it is that we tell all of america's story. for sure it is important that we make sure we are taking care of the national wonders that we have. the yellowstone and the landscape scale and we will get that done but as important as

that agenda is, it is equally as important an agenda to make sure that as we, the custodians of history, the custodians of telling america's story, that we tell all of america's story and that includes the stories of the japanese internment camp or the story of our newest national park in california which essentially tells a story of discrimination against african-american soldiers in world war ii. that is very much a part of the responsibility of this department so i would say to you and all peopleñi who are listeng to this statement from me, when i speak about diversity, i speak about diversity in its completeness and that means no one gets left behind. no one. not white males, ok? not african-american females, not first americans, nobody gets

left behind. [applause] come on, it's 2010. who has questions. comments? you know i do this -- if people don't start asking some questions, i'm going to start picking on you. jordan? >> hi. i think we kind of forget about the smaller groups and we need to involve everyone. i was wondering what your opinion was how we can -- stake holder groups and even state and

local governments to sort of spread the department's message and really get all of those individuals involved and understand what we're doing because i feel like sometimes people don't know what interior is. i was wondering what you thought we could best do in using those external groups in state and local government? >> that's a good question. let me just say that i do think frankly there are not many people who understand what we do here at the department of the interior and as many of you have heard me say before when i was going through my senate confirmation, many people only thought we were the department of the west because that's where we have a huge presence through the bureau of land management. also recognize that we have 150 wildlife refuges and the states with the most refuges are north dakota and florida and we have climate change responsibility

where we monitor the carbon content of the icecaps for the u.s. geological survey and that we have relationships with great world heritage areas on both borders of the united states as well as all around this world. so it is important, i think that we as a family in this department do tell the story of this department to all of america and do that as much as i can. we have two things that i think are going to be very helpful for us to do that. the first is through the efforts of our communications theme, to connect up to people all across america, the things that we are doing here in this department. and we, for example, just the fact that i am now able to email employees of this department. by the way, those who are wondering if they are my emails, they are my emails, not somebody

doing them for me. we have an ability to communicate today that we did not have five or 10 years ago and we are going to maximize those new tools that we have available to us. secondly, in the months ahead we will engage in a series of town hall meetings on conservation agenda around the country. that will take us throughout the united states of america and as we do that, we'll have more opportunities to educate the american people about what it is that we do with this department. a great friend of mine is senator danny inue. his story is remarkable as i hear him recount what happened to him after the japanese bombed pearl harbor in hawaii. he and a group of hawaiian

americans of japanese descent decided that they would join the army to help defend the united states against the horrific attacks that happened on that december 7. they were told that they could not join because they were japanese. he went on the form what became a battalion and that battalion was finally recognized by president roosevelt in an executive order that allowed them to defend the united states of america. he, loo n leading or being a member of that battalion received a medal of honor. even today it is the unit of the american military that has received more medal of honors than any other single unit. started out with several,000 people and by the end of the war they were down to less than 400

people. last year, those of you who know the senator, he still -- he doesn't have an arm because it was blown off during the war but his mind is very sharp and as an elder statesman of america, when he reflects on this department, what he says this is the best department of america because he says you in this department are the custodians of the natural resources and the history of this country. when you hear it coming from someone like him, who has watched this department now over some 50 years, it means a lot to me and it should mean a lot to you. it is the kind of story that we will tell around the country so people understand the importance of the department. i in my first week here as secretary, tom strickland suggests i should go to the statue of liberty and we went

and we reopened the statue of liberty because i wanted to send a strong message to the people of america that we were a department of america and not just a department of the west. question over here somewhere? right here in the front. and then i want that person who is in the very back where you're standing. person in the very back row, the tallest person in the very back row in the middle to stand up. you're behind. right there. you're going to have quea after i take this one. go ahead. >> you asked for comments as well, mr. secretary. since we're here to celebrate our achievements over the past year, i'm ted cook. i work for secretary strickland and i wanted to thank you for how you made my year better. about 30 people in my family

went on a camping trip in the mountains in southwestied including families whos' children otherwise never got to go camping. over half a million acres of wilderness. we found the secret canyon and tracks and hummingbirds and had a wonderful time. i just want to say thank you for enriching my life this year. [applause] >> thank you very much. thank you. i'll be in idaho sometime in the next several months. the back. >> mr. secretary, it is an honor to serve you and i guess a question that i want to have for you is looking out on 2010, what do you most hope to achieve and how can we help you to get there?

>> is that brent? what's your name? ok. i thought i recognized you. you know, we have some enormous challenges but i will tell you we won't know what the president's budget will look like for the department but there are some tough times ahead. we have been standing up the department from the years of erosion that it suffered in the last decade and so we will move ahead with a budget that i think, in fact, i know will be reflective of the priorities which we have established and hope to be able to move forward with a continued effort on new energy and climate change, moving forward with conservation cooperatives around 18 regions around the country hoping to move forward in the creation of

climate change science centers and specified areas around the country and we hope to watch what will be theñr creation of 21st conservation dialogue and march for conservation around the country, the specifics of that will unfold here in the next several months. we hope to significantly expand our outreach effort to young people and to have a huge additional number of young people who'll be working with us here in this department in 2010 and in every specific area of the department, there are many other things that we have to do, our responsibilities for first americans, litigation is a huge achievement for every one who has worked on that so hard. it also means that there is a whole other agenda that we have to work on very hard.

law enforcement in countries where sometimes the possibility of being a victim of crime on an indian reservation is six times higher than for anybody else in america. where one in three women will be raped on an indian reservation at some point in their life. so we have a huge law enforcement challenge that we are working on very closely with my colleague eric holder and others to address those issues in indian country. we have economic development issues in the country and we have to move forward with what hopefully will be a revolution with respect to education for the 44,000 young people who we educate in indian education schools. lots of different pieces to -- our plans are for 2010. there is a document frankly that will outline what we are

planning to do for 2010. it hasn't been shared with you but we will be sharing it with you very, very soon. yes? >> one of the things that is going to be hang in 2010 and people will know about it -- happening in 2010 and people will know about it relatively soon, at the department of interior we're having an accessibility summit meeting in april and it's basically updating what we did back in the year 2000, which was a terrible time. it was the end of the clinton era and our summit was the april before and now we're very encouraged that revisiting this we will measure what we have done since year 2000 and now that all the politicals are in place or just about, we are in a good place and time to actually move forward and the issues that

we're going to be dealing with, you have mentioned employment, i haven't heard anything about accessible facilities, problematic issues, and one of our big new areas is emergency preparedness. so we're going to be rolling this out and i would like for the whole department to know that this is a group that really wants to have a bigger profile because you know, we're only .8% of the population in the department of the interior. which really is way too small. so i would like to know if you have any thoughts about increasing accessibility at the department? >> let me say i would very much look forward to meeting with you and those of you who have been working on the effort and on the report and hearing your ideas.

sue and others that have been working with me on many of these fronts also will be happy to listen to what it is that we can do. there are many things that are going on relative to even how we are portraying ourselves frankly. many of you have been waiting for the cafeteria. i think we will have a new cafeteria open on may 1. [applause] i think there are -- we want our building to be secure and we want it to be more welcoming and so there are things that we're doing to try to change some of those things. the auditorium that you're in now today has been completely rehabilitated just this last year so those historic seats that you are sitting in are new ones. we have made some investments. as part of us looking at those issues, let me make sure that accessibility is also a part of that agenda.

one more question. all the way to the back. >> thank you, mr. secretary. quick question. i'm with the office of law enforcement and security. one priority being protection of native american communities and my personal view of president obama being so technically oriented oriented, do you have a vision of how the office of law enforcement and security can apply information technology to provide support to you? >> let me say that with respect to law enforcement and our efforts in native american communities, systems secretary and his people working with our task force have actually developed a number of different initiatives that range from

training and law enforcement academies to having very specific goals and their reduction of crime in reservations and so those efforts will be implemented in the days ahead. i'm not sure i understood your technology question, the fact is the president is very technologically oriented. i'm probably not as much as he is even though i know how to email you but let me say i think technology is a modern -- it is a fact of our existence today and we use technology in a major way in this department. we have about a $1. 3 billion budget which we spend on information technology. frankly in my view it was not managed very well in past. we did not keep up with the communications or the technological revolution that occurred in the last 10 years in

america so the information technology team working are making that happen. they are helping us move forward into the 21st century technology platform here for the department of the interior. let me -- it is 3:00 so let me just wind up by concluding in this way and saying to all of you, thank you all very much for your work. someone asked me the other day about this department and whether or not i would rather be the secretary of transportation or the attorney general and i said no. i said if you look at the world that i get to work on it is a wonderful world. it is the world to have united states of america. the world that takes me from arcadia national park in maine to yellowstone and yosemite to the grand canyon to the islands and the 550 wildlife refuges to and the 550 wildlife refuges to our 564 reservations.