John Hoeven: “I rise today to urge my colleagues to support the confirmation of Governor Doug Burgum from my home State of North…”

“I rise today to urge my colleagues to support the confirmation of Governor Doug Burgum from my home State of North Dakota to serve as our Nation's 55th Secretary of the Interior. Whether it is energy, grazing, outdoor recreation, water supply, the National Park Service, or Tribal relations, Doug Burgum is an outstanding choice who fully understands the vast responsibilities under the Department of the Interior. I have had the pleasure to know Doug for over 30 years, and throughout his career, Doug has gained well-deserved national recognition as an innovative leader. Governor Burgum is a proud native of Arthur, ND, earning his bachelor's degree from North Dakota State University--home of the Bison--and his master's in business administration from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. After working as a consultant at McKinsey, he returned home to North Dakota, and he literally bet the family farm to purchase a nascent accounting software company, Great Plains Software. Over time, Doug hired thousands of North Dakotans to build and grow Great Plains Software, eventually launching a public offering in 1997. Then, ultimately, Great Plains Software was purchased by Microsoft in 2001, and it is now known as Microsoft Business Solutions. The vision of Microsoft actually goes back to the company that he built and to this day I think employs several thousand people in and around Fargo, ND. Great Plains Software, as I said, became Microsoft Business Solutions.…”