tom vilsack

Last week, I visited the Port of Miami to see firsthand how job creators in this country are making, innovating and exporting ‘Made in America’ goods.

The port was busy with container ships on-loading goods for export.  But if the Port doesn’t make some changes to their infrastructure, they risk losing out on business from the new, larger container ships that will start flowing through the Panama Canal in 2014.

So they are beginning work on a major transportation tunnel and a deep-dredge project that will provide jobs for construction workers today, and keep the Port of Miami among the busiest in the nation.

Cross posted from the White House blog:

On Saturday, I visited the Port of Miami to see firsthand the success story of American agriculture and the jobs it is creating. Despite historic natural disasters, our agriculture business is booming.

There is no doubt that these have been tough times.  And it’s very tough for the many Americans who are looking for work.  So we’ve got to keep finding ways to help the unemployed in the short term and rebuild the middle class over the long term.

President Obama has focused on that challenge since his first day in office.  And it’s why he spoke to Congress to lay out the way forward to grow the economy and create jobs.

The American Jobs Act he proposed will have an immediate impact.  It contains common sense proposals that will create jobs now.  And it is based on bipartisan ideas that both Democrats and Republicans have supported in the past.  

I just went to the Capitol to hear the President address Congress about the way forward to grow the economy and create jobs.

There is no doubt that these have been tough times.  And it's very tough for the many Americans who are looking for work.  So we’ve got to keep finding ways to help the unemployed in the short term and rebuild the middle class over the long term.

The American Jobs Act that President Obama laid out this evening will have an immediate impact.  It will create jobs now.  And it is based on bipartisan ideas that both Democrats and Republicans have supported in the past.

With food, agriculture, and natural resources at the center of many of the biggest challenges we face today, nothing is more critical than making sure our agricultural system is based on sound science.  As USDA’s Chief Scientist one of my responsibilities is making sure our Department’s research system maintains the highest standards of what is known as “scientific integrity.”  Scientific integrity includes making sure that scientific research proceeds free of outside influence or coercion, and that scientific findings are not suppressed or altered.

I am pleased to say that Secretary Vilsack has recently released a policy on scientific integrity, and charged me to implement it across the Department.  This policy follows directly from the guidance provided by President Obama and the further guidance from Dr. John Holdren, Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy.

The policy directs everyone at USDA – career employees, political appointees, and contractors who are involved in developing or applying science – on the proper conduct and use of science.

This week I traveled to North Carolina and Virginia to view the damage from Hurricane Irene, survey the response efforts, and meet with local residents.  This trip was my fourth in as many months to make sure that the USDA is helping families rebuild and recover from natural disasters including tornados, wild fires, floods and drought.

So I’ve seen how tough times are affecting folks across the nation, and particularly our farmers and ranchers.  Unusual weather patterns have driven thousands of Americans from their homes, and threatened their livelihoods.  And my heart goes out to all of those who have been touched by these disasters.

This week I joined Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on a tour of North Carolina and Virginia to assess areas damaged by Hurricane Irene and to discuss ways USDA can help residents recover.

Secretary Napolitano and I had the opportunity to see farmland devastated by the hurricane as well as speak with first responders, local officials, and residents about recovery efforts. It was encouraging to see communities pulling together to recover from these devastating circumstances.

Last week, Senator Debbie Stabenow and I spent the day at the Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway where we were excited to learn about a new way American Farmers are leading the charge on innovation.

There, we had the opportunity to tour the NASCAR Sprint Cup Garage to view engines using American-grown biofuels.  Michigan is one of the most agriculturally diverse states in the nation. Farms of every different shape and size produce more than 200 different food commodities.  This year, the bounty of U.S. farmers is helping fuel NASCAR.  Every race car and truck in NASCAR’s top three series will be fueled by Sunoco Green E15.

More than 100 agricultural entities including farmers, ethanol producers and seed and equipment makers are partners in this effort.  And, as part of this partnership, each week, Growth Energy presents one NASCAR driver with the ‘American Ethanol Green Flag Restart Award’ to a Cup Series driver who has the fastest average on restarts at the prior week’s race.

Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to get out of Washington, DC and travel to small towns and farm towns in the heartland of the country. I sat down with small business owners, farmers and ranchers in Iowa; I had lunch with veterans in Cannon Falls, Minnesota; and I talked to plant workers at a seed distributor in Atkinson, Illinois.

An August 18 opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal, ‘Obama on the Farm’, missed the underlying fact: the Obama administration understands that America’s farmers are some of our nation’s finest conservationists, and we have gone to historic lengths to support them in these efforts.

Sadly, rumors and misconceptions have become the norm, not the exception, especially when it comes to regulations and the Obama administration’s work on agriculture.  First, it was that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was considering treating spilled milk like an oil spill.  Not true.  In terms of water regulations, EPA has made it clear that recent rules do not seek to regulate land that occasionally ponds during heavy rains.