Obama Announces Cabinet Appointments

As our next secretary of agriculture, Tom will not only help ensure that rural America has a true partner in implementing the farm bill and pursuing agricultural research, but that Washington is looking out for everyone, from the small family farms that are feeding our communities to the large farms that are feeding the world.

When President Lincoln established the Department of Agriculture nearly a century and a half ago, he called it the "People's Department," for it meant -- it was meant to serve the interests of those who lived off the land. And I know it will be the people's department once more when Tom is at the helm.

With the appointments I announced earlier in the week and with those I'm announcing today, I am confident that we have the team that we need to make rural agenda America's agenda; to create millions of new green jobs; to free our nation from its dependence on oil; and to help preserve this planet for our children.

In the end, that's not only the responsibility of all Americans, it is our obligation as stewards of God's Earth.

And with that, what I'd like to do is first introduce my great friend, Senator Ken Salazar.

SALAZAR: I am humbled and honored to be nominated by President- elect Barack Obama to serve as secretary of interior.