Ken Salazar

Let me say that we have over the last year been working hard to stand up renewable energy on our public lands.

We hope to have permitted 13 commercial scale solar energy projects which will have the capacity of producing 4,500 megawatts of power.

We believe that there are 23 million acres on our public lands which are highly suitable for solar energy production.

Those projects as they are built will, in our estimation, create over 40,000 jobs here in America.

We estimate that those 13 projects, permitted hopefully by December the 1st or before, will generate about 4,567 megawatts and will create over 40,000 jobs.

There are over 100 applications that we have for major commercial scale solar utility projects on our public lands.

I very much appreciate the men and women who work in the oil fields, because they are real people whose families very much rely on oil and gas development.

one of the priorities that I have for the Department of Interior is making sure that we address the problems that First Americans are facing all across our Country.

It truly has been a herculean effort to get to where we are today, and it truly is a historic effort.

I pledge to you that I want to try to find a way in these waning days to make this happen.

the plaintiffs and the United States did not come together under the leadership of Judge Robertson to get to this settlement if it hadn't been a fair and reasonable compromise.

I want to thank President Obama for his support of this effort, and Senator Murkowski, who actually came to the White House Tribal Conference with the President a few weeks ago.

We need to get our country to a point of greater energy independence.

We need to create millions of new energy jobs here at home.

This issue is an imperative issue of our time.

Our hope is that in fact, at the end of the day, as this U.S. Senate works its way, that there will be a way in which Democrats and Republicans can join in terms of getting a climate change and energy bill.

We need to make sure that we are protecting our children and our planet from the dangers of pollution.

President Obama has made it clear from day one that we will succeed on this effort.

I think it is important that we take a look at what is happening with our oceans.

I look forward to working with you and the Members of this Committee over the coming weeks as we continue a dialogue on this legislation.

It was important to invest it in land and water conservation and wildlife and habitat issues that this Committee is so familiar with.

I think the most important thing that this bill is doing for us right now is it is putting the spotlight on an issue that needed to have a spotlight put on it.

we have been living on a very failed energy policy; and that is why it is imperative that we move forward

And I appreciate the opportunity to work with the members of this Committee in so doing.

It is critical that reforms aimed at resolving these issues be allowed to take effect rather than creating new processes that do not address the underlying issues.