First Lady Michelle Obama contiued her tour of governement agencies. Today’s visit to the Department of Energy marked the thirteenth. Along with Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Mrs O played game show hostess as they presented questions to National Science Bowl Contestants from Tacoma Park Middle school of Silver Springs, MD.
Here are the First Lady’s remarks courtesy of WhiteHouse.gov…
MRS. OBAMA: Well, hi everybody.
AUDIENCE: Hi!
MRS. OBAMA: You all please sit down. Thank you so much. I am thrilled to be here. It’s a pleasure to be here with all of you at the Department of Energy. Now, I have to say — I told the Secretary this — the overflow crowd is always a lot more pumped up than the regular crowd. (Laughter.) I think it’s because you’re in this formal setting and you think you have to behave yourselves. But we can get loud in here. We can be fired up. (Cheers and applause.) There we go!
Let me begin by thanking Secretary Chu for that warm introduction. As you know, Secretary Chu isn’t just a brilliant scientist, he’s also an inspired leader, and he’s bringing new ideas and perspectives to Washington, challenging all of you, all of us, to look at your own work, at our own work, in a whole new way. And we are so incredibly grateful for his leadership. My husband loves his Cabinet. He was extremely excited that he had a real nerd on his team. (Laughter.) He talked about it for weeks on end. So we are delighted to have you on the team, and we’re grateful for the work that you do.
I also want to take a moment to thank all of you and to honor all of you. This is one of the reasons why I do these visits. I’ve had the privilege since coming to Washington to visit many of the agencies. My goal is to get to all of them. As you heard, I was supposed to be here earlier, but this other guy in my life bumped me out of the scene. (Laughter.) It’s okay. I try not to take it personally.
But these visits are helpful to me, they’re helpful to the administration, because I’ve said this before: The President and I, we’re the new kids on the block here in Washington, D.C. And many of you have been doing this work for longer than I’ve been alive.
And several of our long-term employees here at the Department of Energy are right in the front row, and I want us to take some time to give them a round of applause for their decades of service. (Applause.) And I have to say I’m always amazed when I see folks and I hear how long they’ve been working, because they look too good to be — have been here — (laughter) — some people for 30, 40, 50 years. They must have started when they were 10. (Laughter.)
But we are grateful to you, and you deserve this recognition as well as everyone who’s working hard in all of the federal agencies. You don’t often get the thanks that you deserve. Sometimes you get a lot of the blame and none of the credit for the progress that has gone on in this country for years, and, you know, this is our small way of making sure that you know that this administration appreciates the work that you do.
But whether it’s doing groundbreaking scientific research; or ensuring our nuclear security; making our homes, our offices, our cars, appliances more efficient; or fighting to turn the tide on climate change, what you’re doing here couldn’t be more urgent. Your work is critical for our economy and our national security and preserving our environment for our kids and our grandkids. That’s the work that you do.
And it’s not easy. Everyone knows it’s not easy. And I know that most of what you’re working on right now, as hard as you’re working, probably won’t even be finished this year, or maybe not even this administration, or even during the course of your careers here at the Department. You may not see the final outcome of the work that you’re doing…
To read the First Lady’s remarks in their entirety click here.
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