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Skriven 2006-10-17 23:31:18 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0610177) for Tue, 2006 Oct 17
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President Attends Swearing-In Ceremony for Mary Peters as Secretary of
Transportation
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
October 17, 2006

President Attends Swearing-In Ceremony for Mary Peters as Secretary of
Transportation
Department of Transportation
Washington, D.C.

President's Remarks view

˙˙˙˙˙ President's Cabinet

1:16 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. Good afternoon. We are here to
congratulate Mary Peters on becoming our nation's 15th Secretary of
Transportation.

Mary is a dedicated public servant, an experienced leader, and one of our
nation's most innovative thinkers on transportation issues. Mary brings
more than two decades of knowledge and skill to her new post. She also
brings to her position the love and support of her friends and her family.
I want to thank her family for being here, especially Mary's husband,
Terry.

I appreciate my Chief of Staff, Josh Bolten, who is here to administer the
oath. Presidents can't administer the oath. (Laughter.) So I tapped my man,
Josh. (Laughter.)

I want to thank Maria Cino, who is the Deputy Secretary, Acting Secretary.
I thank you for your service and your friendship.

I appreciate my friend, Secretary Norm Mineta. I got some other stuff to
say about you here in a minute. (Laughter.) I do want to thank Rodney
Slater for joining us, former Secretary of Transportation, as well as Jim
Burnley. Thank you both for coming. I'm proud you're here. And I know
Secretary Peters appreciates it, as well.

The job of Secretary of Transportation is one of the most important in our
federal government. The American people rely on the Department of
Transportation to maintain a safe, reliable and efficient transportation
system. And the future of our growing economy and changing infrastructure
depend on the decisions made by the Secretary that will be put into action
by this Department.

The Secretary of Transportation also plays an important role in our
nation's coordinated efforts to guard against terrorist threats to our
aircraft, seaports and infrastructure. For the past six years, these
responsibilities have been carried out by Norm Mineta, who served our
country with distinction, integrity and dedication. Norm is our nation's
longest serving Secretary of Transportation. And he's served at a time of
great consequence for our country.

I remember after the attacks of September the 11th, when Norm led the
successful effort to bring tens of thousands of passengers aboard
commercial aircraft to safe landings. He grounded quite a few planes,
including the ones my mom and dad were on. They've always thanked you for
that, Norm. (Laughter.)

After Hurricane Katrina, Norm and his team helped quickly repair and reopen
the major -- area's major highways, airports, seaports, and pipelines. He
offered incentive-based contracts and used other innovative ideas, and as a
result, the Department of Transportation was to get critical infrastructure
in place faster than usual. I want to thank you for your leadership, Norm,
and I want to thank you for your lifetime of service to our country, and I
wish you all the very best. (Applause.) And I want to remind you, Maria
made you look pretty good while you were in office. (Laughter.)

Mary Peters is the right person to succeed Norm as the Secretary of
Transportation. She worked for several years with Secretary Mineta, and she
understands the fine legacy she has to live up to. She also knows firsthand
the skills and dedication of the men and women who work here at the
Department of Transportation. She's going to be a fine boss. She
understands that to maintain our nation's competitiveness, and to sustain
our growing economy, we need a Secretary who can see the challenges and be
willing to confront them.

Mary Peters will provide strong leadership. She has spent a lifetime
working on transportation issues in both the private and public sectors.
Most recently, she has served as senior executive for transportation policy
at a major engineering firm. For four years before that, she led the
Federal Highway Administration. Before coming to Washington, she served in
the Arizona Department of Transportation. For more than 15 years, she rose
through the ranks to become director in 1998.

At both the state and federal level, Mary Peters has worked to improve
safety and security on roads and bridges. She's worked to reduce traffic
congestion and modernize America's transportation infrastructure. As
Secretary of Transportation, Mary will work closely with federal, state and
local leaders to ensure that America has a state-of-the-art transportation
system, so that we can meet the needs of our growing economy.

In her new position, she will face important challenges. Next year she will
lead the Department's efforts to reauthorize our nation's aviation
programs. Our nation is outgrowing our aviation capacity. More people are
flying every year, and so we must modernize our airports and our air
traffic control.

We also face the challenges of reducing congestion in our surface and
maritime transportation systems. To accomplish these tasks, America needs
creative thinking and innovative solutions, and I believe Mary Peters will
provide them.

As Mary works to build a better transportation system, she will be a
careful steward of the people's money. She brings to her new position a
reputation for fiscal discipline and integrity. As head of the Federal
Highway Administration, Mary introduced better fiscal oversight and
accountability. She improved management for the largest transportation
projects. She worked closely with her department's inspector general to
eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse. She's going to carry this kind of
diligence into her new job.

She understands the importance of a modern infrastructure and good
management. And I'm pleased she has agreed to serve her country once again.
As she takes on this important position, she has my full trust and my
confidence. Mary, I look forward to working with you as the new Secretary
of Transportation. Congratulations.

It's now my honor to witness the swearing-in of Mary Peters.

(The oath is administered.) (Applause.)

SECRETARY PETERS: Mr. President, I want to thank you so much. I am very
touched by your kind words, and absolutely honored to have the opportunity
to serve you and to serve the American people as the 15th Secretary of
Transportation.

Thank you also, Chief of Staff Bolten, for administering the oath of
office. And I want you to know that as I repeated those words after the
Chief of Staff, they were very meaningful to me. I don't take the
responsibilities that I have accepted lightly, nor do I underestimate the
many challenges that the duties of this office will entail. But I stand
here today ready and eager to take that opportunity on.

Mr. President, you and your team have worked very hard to make sure that
our economy is growing strong and creating new jobs. And, sir, I want you
to know that you have a partner that you can count on at the Department of
Transportation. We all know that America's continued economic vitality, our
ability to compete in a global economy, depends on dynamic and
well-performing transportation systems.

As I begin my service, I would like to recognize and thank those who are
most meaningful to me in my life: my husband Terry, my partner of over 40
years, and someone who has been wonderful to support me all of my marriage.
(Laughter and applause.) I'd like to thank my three children and their
family, Tammy, Terry and Tina, and their families are in the audience,
along with the most gorgeous grandchildren in the world, let me tell you.
My mother, Rose, as well as my brother, John, and my sister-in-law, Terry,
thank you so much for sharing this important day with me.

My life has also been blessed by very dear friends, many of whom I see in
the audience today, and I thank you all for being here with me today. I
couldn't be here without your support. And Maria, to echo the President's
words, thank you so much; you've kept this Department moving when Secretary
Mineta left. And as I've told you, Secretary Mineta, it is no small feat to
fill your shoes. But Maria and I will ably do everything we can to do so.
And I'm especially honored, sir, to succeed you, and thank you for being
here today, as well. Secretary Slater, also, we spoke about the challenges,
and thank you for your advice and your counsel.

And it's also a pleasure to welcome my new Cabinet colleague, Secretary of
Housing and Urban Development, Alphonso Jackson, who I believe is with us
here today. Thank you, sir, for being here, also.

And let me just add, it's great to be back. (Laughter.) Now the hardest
part about returning home to Arizona and being closer to family and
friends, and of course the great company, George Little, that I worked for,
was leaving behind a very dedicated and professional staff, the most that I
have been associated with in my professional career. The employees here at
the Department are the absolute soul of America's transportation network,
and we will need every bit of your talent as we work with our partners in
the public and private sectors to find the right way to tackle today's most
pressing transportation challenges.

And at the top of the list, always, is making travel safer. But we also
want to work to improve the system performance and reliability, and to find
21st century solutions for 21st century transportation challenges. Mr.
President, we are not going to shy away from these tough issues. We, like
you, are going to meet these issues head on.

But we can't assume that the methods of the past will work for the future.
Instead, we are going to recognize that our transportation challenges have
changed dramatically in the 40 years since this Department came into being,
and so must our approaches.

When DOT was formed, America was in the process of building major portions
of the transportation network we know today. Now much of this vital network
is showing its age, just like some of us, in fact. And at the very same
time, our growing economy is placing increasing demands on every one of our
systems, even while the funding sources we've relied on are less and less
able to keep pace with that demand.

If we're going to escape the forces of the perfect storm that are gathering
before us, we must find fresh angles and ways to improve the performance of
our transportation systems. Mr. President, I know that you demand
accountability and results, as you should, and I will do the same with the
U.S. Department of Transportation. I am committed to making sure that all
the resources at the Department are used to deliver; to make our roads
safer; to do everything we can to ensure that our skies, highways, ports
and rails are free of traffic congestion.

These are the outcomes that the American people will judge us by: the
results that they can see, in making their communities more prosperous, and
improving their quality of life. And I am confident that we, working as a
team, can succeed in making our transportation infrastructure safer,
easier, and more efficient for all Americans.

So thank you all, sincerely thank you all for being here today. Thank you
all for your good wishes. And I look forward to working with you to ensure
America has the best transportation network in the world. May God bless
each of you, and may God continue to bless America. Thank you. (Applause.)

END 1:29 P.M. EDT

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