Ken Salazar Quotations

It's a new day at the Department of Interior, and we need to examine what makes the most sense for the American people. These are American resources and American treasures, and we need to make sure we're providing the right kind of protection, oversight and stewardship of these resources for the American people.

The way Americans most understand the history of Latinos in this country, a lot of it is being told now through the lens of what's happening with the immigration debate. While that's an important debate that has security and moral implications, in my view, there's also a huge history of Latinos in the United States that's never been told.

Growing up in a very rural and remote area in Colorado's San Luis Valley - one of the poorest counties in the United States - essentially created the framework of values from which I operate. I stand up for the little guy. I fight discrimination at all levels. I fight for an inclusive America.

Each and every Notary Public plays a crucial role in combating identity theft. They serve as our front line of defense and the public is safer because of the job they do.

For some in Washington, it's become sport to pick on the federal workforce. I think they do so unjustly. The very foundation of a stable America is having a government that functions well. Many countries have dysfunctional governments, because they don't have a good government workforce.

Barack Obama was not born into wealth or privilege, yet today his is president of these United States of America. Barack Obama has lived the American Dream. He has walked in our shoes.

I work hard and I have a standard of excellence - and I expect everyone at the Interior Department to meet that same standard. I delegate a lot. I might appear to be doing a lot of different things, but there's a strong team helping me. I believe we're going to have the strongest team of any agency in the Obama administration.

I don't believe that the American dream should be reserved for those who are born into the elite or somehow have been given an advantage over others. My growing-up experience is probably the most important thing that guides my priorities and my work today.

Liability does apply with respect to the amount of the oil spill.

I think the future for solar energy is bright.

People who are running for office mislead the American people by saying that there's a three-point plan or a bumper sticker kind of way of bringing down gasoline prices. The fact of the matter is that nobody can do that. The price of oil is set on the global economy. People who have looked at this closely and hard know that's the case.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is one of my personal heroes.

Nothing in life and nothing that we do is risk-free.

On the Native American front, we have turned a new page in the 400-year history of the interface between the American settlers of this country and the nation's first Americans. That's included a new relationship where the sovereignty of tribes is in fact recognized.

Shale gas has provided the United States the opportunity to have 100 years of supply that is domestically produced. If we are going to develop natural gas from shale, it has to be done in a safe and responsible manner.

My family has spent 400 years farming on the banks of the Rio Grande. We know the value of hard work, love of the community, love for water and land.

Hydraulic fracking is very much a necessary part of the future of natural gas.

We are talking about institutionalizing a program on solar development that will outlast the Obama administration.

Meth is a major problem not only in our urban areas, but in most of the rural areas of Colorado. No region has been immune from this scourge and it is getting larger.

President Obama and our all-of-the-above energy strategy is the real deal. We are proud of the fact that we are importing less oil than at any time in modern history, and it has been because of the president's vision and courage.

I don't think anyone can speculate what will happen with respect to oil prices and gas prices because they are set on the global economy.

While it is important to maintain a balanced approach to solving our nation's energy problems, we must commit ourselves to recognize some areas as 'off limits,' and the Artic National Wildlife Reserve is a national symbol of that commitment.

Americans pay up to 1,000 percent more to fill their prescriptions than consumers in other countries - that is an alarming statistic.

I think Gov. Romney and Congressman Ryan are living in a fairly tale land on their energy policy.

I'm proud that Colorado delivered a victory to Barack Obama in 2008 and we will do so again in 2012.

In the West, you take people at their word.

There are two strong factors happening right now, ... Supply and demand are those factors. We have to really deal with the demand side of the issue, and I strongly encourage Americans to conserve more by driving less.

My concern is that he will appoint somebody who is a right-wing ideologue, ... If in fact he does that, I will be leading the fight against the confirmation, even if that means being at the point of the spear.

On principle, I am not opposed to selling U.S. Forest Service parcels, but I am troubled by the idea of doing it to fill a budgetary need.

I have heard from one Colorado farmer in Kit Carson County who has estimated that in order to harvest this year, he will need an additional $46,000 to cover fuel costs alone,

I am sorry that it has been interpreted as going beyond that point,

Frankly, we don't understand what the true motivation was,

I don't think he would vote to overturn Roe vs. Wade,

He has great professional credentials to start with, so I think that's a positive indicator for him, ... He doesn't have the baggage of other judicial nominees that have been highly controversial.

He does not foresee a situation in which he would run for governor at this time,

Here's how I put it to them, ... I said, 'I have no intention to run for governor. There are other candidates out there who can do a great job as governor of Colorado.'

Having received such information, Mr. Brown should have acted more quickly than he did - and should not have suggested to the American public that he was given contrary information.

I think it is paramount that we take proper steps to ensure the safety of our food supply and domestic livestock herd.

I think that the law will strike the right balance between protecting Americans from terrorism and giving law enforcement the tools they need to protect us, and on the other hand, protecting Americans' freedom. For me, the protection of both was essential.

Our first priority must be to get the troops, our veterans and their families the health care and support they have earned.

That would make me a completely absent father and that's unacceptable,

I would hope that you join me in making sure that organizations like those that you are a member of commit to making sure no one, including senators, is attacked because of his or her faith,

the president appoints someone who brings a right-wing ideology and is going to use the court to advance their views.

At the end of the day, the president should know if he sends someone who is an ideologue or somebody who is an extremist right winger, that person is going to have a very, very difficult time getting through the Senate, ... I think you'll find unity among the Democratic caucus in opposing someone like that.

During harvest, agricultural producers are some of the largest fuel consumers in the United States,

Farmers need to work together with their community to try and develop measures of relief, ... Nothing specifically can be done yet, but there is much concern.

Rural Americans and ranchers are on the brink of existence, ... The rising fuel costs will put family farmers and ranchers out of business if they continue to go up, and this is just one of the horrible consequences of rising oil prices.

Specifically, Mr. Brown represented to the public that he could not have imagined the levees being breached in New Orleans, even though he had been briefed by federal government experts nearly a day and a half before Hurricane Katrina made landfall that those levees could indeed be breached by the hurricane surge,

A year ago, the Energy Department forecast that gasoline would be selling for $1.80 a gallon, not the $3.12 a gallon that it was in Colorado yesterday, ... These continuing high prices will create economic havoc in Colorado's economy and across the country.

This episode where the White House consulted with powerful interests in the Republican Party but not sufficiently with the Senate is troubling and disappointing, ... I renew my call that the President provide sufficient and necessary information about his nominee for the United States Supreme Court to the Senate so we can perform our Constitutional duty of advice and consent.

Americans pay up to 1,000 percent more to fill their prescriptions than consumers in other countries - that is an alarming statistic.

At first glance, the President's mix of spending and spending cuts presents a fiscally tight budget. But, this proposal is ultimately what's wrong with Washington. The President is not being forthcoming about his budget or the booming deficit.

allow the clock of progress for our country, and in particular for women, to be turned back by diminishing the number of women on the court.

For me, I find the attack disrespectful with regard to the fundamental constitutional principle of the separation of church and state,

It's more intense than holding a statewide office,

It may include some Republicans as well as Democrats, ... America deserves better than what we got here.

Everywhere I've gone in Colorado, the farmers are telling me they're about ready to go into bankruptcy because they can't borrow any more money, ... The money they're having to spend on fuel prices I think is going to put a number of our farmers over the brink.

the faith of a person should not be a consideration on their nomination or confirmation for any judicial position in the United States.

If I were to add a statewide campaign for governor, I think it would be too much.

I'm very pleased that progress is being made, ... I know the legislative process, and there's still a long way to go before we get to a final conclusion to this saga. But this is a significant step forward.

I have repeatedly been in touch with the administration and the Japanese ambassador, and still no progress has been made. Now we must toughen our stance to encourage the Japanese government to open its markets or face consequences,

In my time in the U.S. Senate, I tried to craft an energy policy... I will be part of President Obama's efforts to achieve energy independence and enhance the landscape. I am also part of his reform agenda.

I didn't learn much about her, ... In terms of whether she has the qualifications, I'm still not sure.

Colorado has tightened, I'll give you that one,

I would say to everybody that hydraulic fracking is safe,

Frankly that's what makes such a big difference between President Obama on one hand and Mitt Romney on the other. Gov. Romney has not walked in those shoes of the ordinary Americans and frankly I don't think he has the capacity to quite understand the struggle that the 98 percent of Americans go through every single day.

In my time in the U.S. Senate, I tried to craft an energy policy... I will be part of President Obama's efforts to achieve energy independence and enhance the landscape. I am also part of his reform agenda.

Our country has suffered from an on-again, off-again energy policy that has failed to get us to energy independence. As President Obama has said, we need a comprehensive energy plan for the country that includes conventional resources like oil and gas, but that also takes advantage of wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, and other renewable resources.

With leading research universities, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and private companies like Blue Sun working on developing alternative fuels, Colorado is poised to become an international leader in clean energy.

I want all the interested parties to come together and develop a solution that provides additional water and helps the lower Arkansas River communities thrive again.

Too often in Washington special interests urge us to fight one another just because we belong to different parties. It is time for this to stop and for Washington to focus on what needs to be done.