Interior Secretary Salazar declares intent to stay in Washington DC

Thursday, January 27, 2011  

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar may have sat out the State of the Union but he fully intends to continue serving the Obama administration.

Salazar was the "designated survivor" for President Barack Obama's speech on Tuesday. The next day, he went over some of the Interior Department's accomplishments in remarks to employees.

"In Indian Country, this Department made proud strides over the past year," Salazar said, according to a transcript.

"In 2010, we saw the historic passage of the Cobell settlement which honorably and responsibly addresses long-standing injustices regarding the U.S. government’s trust management," he continued "The President also signed into law four Indian water rights settlements, totaling more than $1 billion, that will help deliver clean drinking water to Indian communities and provide certainty to water users across the west."

"And we hosted the second White House Tribal Nations Conference and together renewed our pledge to carry out our agenda of reconciliation and empowerment for Indian nations," Salazar concluded.

During the speech, Salazar announced some major goals of the department's five-year strategic plan. Within 24 months, he hopes to reduce crime in Indian Country by at least five percent.

"We will continue to work with Native Americans to build stronger economies and safer communities. We will implement a tribal consultation policy that will provide the framework for an open and transparent nation-to-nation dialogue," Salazar said.

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Interior Secretary Ken Salazar says he's staying (Politico 1/27)