Continuing her visits to various governmental departments, Michelle Obama stopped off at the Department of Ag today:
Building gardens at USDA facilities all over the world is "a very good thing," First Lady Michelle Obama said on a visit to the Department of Agriculture today, for the example it sets for communities around the world. And she had kind words for Secretary Tom Vilsack, who has been leading that effort.The long version:
She even brought a gift to help the garden at Agriculture's headquarters get started -- a seedling from the Jackson magnolia tree on the South Portico of the White House, planted by President Jackson in honor of his wife, Rachel, who passed right before they moved into the White House.
"I hope that this seedling brings years of joy and beauty to the garden that will be planted here, in the same way it has brought beauty to the White House for 180 years," she said.
Pool report
Michelle Obama USDA,
Thursday at 2 p.m.
Michelle Obama paid a visit to employees of the U.S. Department of Agriculture today in the auditorium of the agency's 14th Street building. She was introduced by newly appointed Sec. Tom Vilsack, who pronounced her holder of "probably the most difficult job of all."
She has to be someone the president can rely on so he can do his job, he said, and "That is an important job." The first lady thanked Vilsack for the "moving introduction."
The event was televised and the transcript is forthcoming, but here are some highlights: She recommended Vilsack to the employees who now work for him, saying "You all are blessed to have him." She praised the concept of "community gardens," and presented the agency with a seedling from the magnolia at the south portico of the White House, planted by President Andrew Jackson in honor of his wife Rachel. She also praised the veteran employees of the USDA who joined her on stage, all of whom have worked at least 38 years with the department. She thanked the workers in the audience for their service and told them "We're going to need you working hard for the next several years."
Mrs. Obama made brief reference to her husband's economic stimulus plan, which she said will help pay for clean energy technology, and also to the housing plan he unveiled yesterday, which she predicted will help homeowners deal with the home mortgage crisis. She shook hands with everyone on stage and then worked the crowd for a while.
From Larry Quinn, an agronomist who is acting as director of communications for the agency: The magnolia tree will be planted somewhere in the landscaping at the agency"s Whitten building facing the national mall, but they won"t decide where until they see exactly what species the plant belongs to. "We certainly want it to survive," said Quinn.
Christi Parsons
Chicago Tribune
cparsons@tribune.com
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the First Lady
_________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release February 19, 2009
REMARKS BY THE FIRST LADY
AT THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Washington, D.C.
2:19 P.M. EST
MRS. OBAMA: Thank you so much. Thank you. You all take a load off your feet. (Laughter.)
First of all, I want to thank Secretary Vilsack for that very moving introduction for me. It is an honor for me to serve in this capacity, and coming to these departments, like I've been doing, is probably one of the -- next to hanging out with Malia and Sasha -- (laughter) -- is probably one of the most valuable things that I think that I can do.
We're so lucky to have Secretary Vilsack. I got to know him on the campaign trail; spent a lot of time in Iowa. He brings to this job a lifetime of public service in one of the greatest states in this country, which has become one of my favorite states, Iowa. (Laughter.) You get to know Iowa. When you're running for President, you spend a lot of time in Iowa. And it is a good place with decent, hardworking people with some strong values.
And getting to know the state, as I've done, and getting to know Secretary Vilsack, as I have, over the past several years, I know that we are lucky and you all are blessed to have someone who is so committed and knows so much about so many things regarding agriculture. Working with family farms and rural communities, he's going to bring all of that experience to his work here at the Department of Agriculture. And we are grateful to have him onboard. So let's give him a round of applause. (Applause.)
I was also particularly pleased to hear that he's working on creating these wonderful gardens here at the USDA. Did you know that?
AUDIENCE: Yes.
MRS. OBAMA: That's a very good thing -- (laughter) -- and kicking off this effort to build these gardens all over the world in all of the facilities of the USDA, because I'm a big believer in community gardens, both because of their beauty and for their access to providing fresh fruits and vegetables to so many communities across this nation and the world.
So to help kick this effort off, I brought a little gift to get this garden going. It's right here in this pot. (Laughter.) It is a seedling. It will be beautiful one day. (Laughter.) But right now it's a seedling. And it's a special seedling because it comes from the Jackson magnolia tree. And the Jackson magnolia tree sits on the South Portico of the White House. And it's a special tree because it was planted by President Jackson in honor of his wife, Rachel, who passed right before they moved into the White House. So I hope that this seedling brings years of joy and beauty to the garden that will be planted here, in the same way it has brought beauty to the White House for 180 years. So please accept this gift from the White House. (Applause.)
So as you probably heard, I've been running around the District visiting departments. And as I've said, it's been one of the most fun things that I've done. My purpose is simple: It's to say thank you. You know, that's something that Barack and I talked about; talked about all the folks who have dedicated their lives, as the people on this stage have done for -- did I hear the youngest worker on here has worked for 38 years? See, I have staff on the back who gulp every time they hear that -- (laughter) -- because they're like 20. (Laughter.) So they can't imagine doing anything for longer than four years. (Laughter.)
But what is true and what America needs to remember is that this nation is built on the backs of you, workers who have dedicated their lifetimes to working on behalf of the issues that are so important to this nation. And before we do anything here in this town, in this country, we thought it is important to say thank you for the work that you've done, thank you for the work that you're going to do, because we're going to need you working so very hard over the next several years. So thank you.
It's important for people to know what happens here at the Department of Agriculture. As you begin moving the policies and programs of this administration forward, I wanted to come by and just remind people of the work that you do.
From supporting the farmers that produce the food that we eat, to managing the school meal programs that give students the energy and the nutrition they need to get through the day, to providing greater access to fresh fruits and vegetables, to giving struggling families the assistance they need to put food on their table, and to protecting our food supply, the work of this department touches the lives of all Americans on a daily basis in ways that sometimes we can't even imagine.
And like many parts of this country, rural America is hurting economically. The President is taking steps to turn our economy around and help struggling families. And the expansion of the Children's Health Insurance Program will insure more children, including those in rural communities, so that they get the health care that they need.
The new investments that will double the nation's renewable energy capacity is going to bring new jobs and economic opportunity to rural communities who will play a central role in creating America's clean energy future.
And the President's plan to address the home mortgage crisis is going to help rural families refinance their mortgages, modify loans and secure loans with more affordable monthly payments. And this effort is not going to just help keep families in their homes, it's going to help strengthen rural neighborhoods and communities across this country.
So there's a lot of work to do. And we have great leaders in Secretary Vilsack and President Obama that we can count on through the next several years. But it's, again, important to remember that these great leaders are only as great as the people who hold them up. And, again, that's where you all come in. They can only do the work that they do because there are thousands and thousands of dedicated federal workers like you who are willing to make the sacrifices in their own lives, with their own families, to devote the time and energy that is so needed to get the work done.
So, again, we are going to need you in the months and years to come. The challenges that we face are serious and real. And it's going to take quite a long time to get this country back on track. So your contributions are more important now than they have ever been.
So, again, on behalf of my husband, on behalf of the administration and the Obama family, I want to thank you for your energy, for your passion, and for your commitment. And let's get this thing planted. (Laughter.) Thank you. (Applause.)
