Former Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, honored by Club's Communicator Team, sees positive U.S. future

Former Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, honored as a “Communicator Legend” by the National Press Club’s Communicator Team at a May 16 dinner at the Club, expressed optimism for a positive future the United States.

“America’s future is strong, he said in remarks upon receiving the tribute, “because of the great diversity of our people, which should be celebrated, and not demonized.”

Although not a communicator, Salazar was chosen for the Legend honor, the Communicator Team explained, because of the way as Interior chief he tackled complex situations with aplomb by forging bipartisan coalitions, never losing sight of his public service mission, and providing new platforms for such issues as diversity and immigration.

Salazar, a former Senator from Colorado who served in the Interior post from 2009-2013, told dinner guests that despite his sanguine outlook for the nation, “Americans feel left behind, especially in rural America and other marginalized communities.”

“As a United States Senator and Secretary of Interior,” he said, “I often referred to rural America as the ‘forgotten America,’ where jobs and health care are hard to come by. Until this emptiness among many Americans is addressed in a meaningful way, we will remain two divided Americas.”

In a lively, open discussion with dinner guests, Salazar said that the greatest achievements in the nation’s history were accomplished by bipartisan collaborations in Congress, in which legislators reached across the aisle to find common ground,
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He smiled as he recalled being introduced to tweeting by Sen. John McCain while they were on an assignment together.

As Interior Secretary, Salazar helped create the nation’s energy independence by opening public lands to renewable energy, which generated the equivalent power of 30 standard power plants. He managed the Deepwater Horizon oil spill crisis and led reform efforts in oil and gas exploration and development on America’s public lands. Salazar helped create 10 new national parks and 10 new national wildlife refuges and led the nation’s efforts to address long-standing injustices in Indian Country.

As a senator, Salazar led bipartisan efforts in passing comprehensive immigration reform, the 2005 Energy Policy Act, the 2006 Gulf of Mexico Security Act, the 2007 Farm Bill and the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act.