Nomination of Debra Anne Haaland

Floor Speech

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Mr. CARPER. Madam President, I rise today to support the historic nomination of Deb Haaland to be Secretary of the Interior.

If confirmed, Congresswoman Haaland will be the first Native American Cabinet Secretary. And how fitting it would be at the Department of the Interior. After all, American Indians and Alaska Natives were the first stewards of this land. I know Representative Haaland will carry on that commitment as Interior Secretary.

This nomination is important for all States, especially the State of Delaware, which I am privileged to represent in the U.S. Senate. The First State, as we are known, may be small, but the Department of the Interior's presence there is not. We are proud of our two National Wildlife Refugees and one of America's newest national parks, the First State National Historical Park, which helps tell the story of the founding of our Nation leading up to the ratification of the U.S. Constitution.

As I've gotten to know Deb Haaland this year convinced that she is the right person to lead the Department of the Interior. We are at a critical juncture in our quest to protect our public lands, wildlife, and environment for future generations. She has spent her career fighting for these things. As Interior Secretary, I know she will continue that fight with compassion and integrity. And, as Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works, I look forward to working with her and the team she will lead on restoring protections for migratory birds and our nation's most imperiled wildlife.

If confirmed, Deb Haaland will also take the bold steps needed to addres greatest threat we face--the climate crisis. I believe that under her leadership, we will see offshore wind turbines in federal waters from Massachusetts to North Carolina, dramatically reducing carbon emissions.

With that thought in mind, I look forward to working with her on advancing the Biden administration's renewable energy agenda. Deb has pledged to listen and work with all of us in her efforts to do so.

Put simply, Deb Haaland is what we want in our leaders. She is humble, not haughty, with the heart of a true public servant. She works to unite, not divide to build bridges, not walls.

So, I strongly support her nomination and encourage all my colleagues to do the same confirming. Deb Haaland will do great things for the American people. Let's make it happen.

Madam President, let me just speak from my heart. My friend who just preceded me knows Deb Haaland from years of experience. Tom Udall, who served here for years, a close friend to all of us, has known Deb Haaland forever.

I remember asking Tom Udall: What does she bring to the U.S. Department of the Interior? I will never forget what Tom said. He said: She will bring a good heart. She will bring a good mind. She has the heart of a servant. She is someone who is humble, not haughty. She will provide the leadership that is needed at the Department of the Interior after the years that we have been through.

She will put together a good team, and when her team does well, she will give them the credit, and when her team falls short, she will take the blame.

Those of us in the State of Delaware are proud to be the ``First State.'' We have two wonderful National Wildlife Refuges. We have a national park, one of the newest ones in the country, that really helps tell the story of the settlement of our country from the early days of colonial settlements, right up to the ratification of the Constitution.

The Constitution lays out what is expected of us serving here and in the administration and also what is expected of Cabinet Secretaries, and it is seen in the, really the forward, if you will, the beginning, of the Constitution, where it says: ``We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union. . . . ''

We can do better than what we are doing. We can do better than what we are doing with respect to protecting our National heritage, our wildlife, our migratory birds. We can do better in all of this. She will bring that commitment to doing better.

I will just close with this. I don't believe we have ever had, in the history of our country, a Native American who has been nominated to serve as a Cabinet Secretary. I think she is the first, and we are from the ``First State,'' Delaware. The idea that she will be the first Native American, how appropriate, how appropriate. When you think about it, who were the original stewards of this land, our air and our water, the birds and the animals and fish that all live here and populate this land of ours? Native Americans were the first stewards. Native Alaskans were the first stewards. And it is only appropriate that, finally, we picked one of them. We chose one of them.

She has been nominated by the President, gone through her confirmation hearing, and we have a chance, today, to complete the process by confirming the nomination of Deb Haaland to be the Secretary of the Interior. I hope we will do that, and I thank you very much for allowing me to give these remarks.

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