Bush Nominates Schafer to US Ag Secretary Position

President Bush I am proud to announce my nomination of Ed Schafer to be the next secretary of Agriculture They served as governors of their respective states in the 1990s now President George W Bush has nominated former North Dakota Governor Ed Schafer to the position of U-S Agriculture Secretary Good evening thank you for joining us tonight Shaun has the night off The announcement came today in Washington D C Schafer served eight years as the North Dakota governor from 1992 to 2000 The grandson of Danish immigrants who farmed throughout their lives says farming is a way of life that he believes is the foundation of this country He says he s humbled by the nomination Ed Schafer Nominated for Secretary of Agriculture I appreciate the confidence you have in me and if I am confirmed i look forward to serving you and the people of the United States of America in you cabinet as the secretary of agriculture It is humbling to follow my friend secretary Johanns into this position But I hope I can live up to the high standards of performance that he set in the agency President Bush Ed Schafer is the right person to fill this post He was a leader of agriculture during his 8 years as governor of N D he worked to open new markets for nd farmers and ranchers by expanding trade with China he oversaw the development of the state s biofuels industry he helped families recover from natural disasters including drought fires and floods and he pioneered innovative programs to increase economic opportunities in rural communities Schafer would replace Mike Johanns who resigned last month to launch a bid for the U-S Senate seat from Nebraska