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The following transcript of prepared remarks was released Wednesday by the Department <br /> of the Interior: <br /> Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill, Washington, DC 10 a.m., March 23, 2001 <br /> Thank you, Bob, for that kind introduction. Bob is a solid newsman and I'm honored to <br /> call him a friend. He and his team put together one of Americans best community <br /> newspapers. All of us from Colorado are proud of his paper and the good work he's doing <br /> with the National Newspaper Association. <br /> We all have something in common. For most of my undergrad years at the University of <br /> Denver, I was a journalism major--before I switched to pre-law. You could say I went <br /> from making deadlines to making loopholes. <br /> I was the news editor at the college paper, The Denver Clarion. I made all of$12 an issue <br /> -which made the transition to public service pretty easy. I was also a copy editor. To this <br /> day I still make my staff crazy with spelling and grammar edits. <br /> It's great to be here today with the members of the NNA. You and your papers are the <br /> heart and soul of your communities. You're our community's historians,partners in <br /> progress and truth seekers. This is the first time I've had the privilege of meeting most of <br /> you. I hope we can all agree on one thing: I look nothing like my caricatures in the <br /> political cartoons. <br /> During my confirmation hearing, I was under the media microscope, to say the least. It <br /> was an experience I'll never forget. I had to fill out more forms than H &R Block. In <br /> fact, I had to put together copies of every article I had ever written, and find information <br /> on every controversial issue in which I was ever involved. <br /> I ended up on my hands and knees, in a crawlspace under my house, searching through <br /> endless boxes of dusty old files. I remember thinking; the glamour of being a Cabinet <br /> nominee is clearly overrated. The financial forms I filled out required figuring out the <br /> investment details and management structure of every stock, 401 (k), IRA and pension <br /> program. That was the first time I ever felt thankful my husband and I don't have more <br /> assets. <br /> There was one question on one of the forms that was more intrusive of each nominee's <br /> privacy than any other. It basically asks, "Are there any deep dark secrets about you, or <br /> any accusations that could be made against you, that would be really embarrassing if they <br /> ever saw the light of day?" Luckily, after being an elected official, I was able to answer <br /> that question: "Yes. Please see the attached newspaper articles for details." <br /> I've served as Secretary of the Interior for all of seven weeks. Those seven weeks have <br /> been very busy, very exciting and-- I hope and believe--very productive. I've listened a <br /> lot. I've learned a lot. And I've done a little fact finding of my own. <br />