Gov. Rounds Elected WGA Chair, Emphasizes Energy Independence, Workforce Development, Technology (6/13/06)
Gov. Rounds Elected WGA Chair, Emphasizes FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Karen Deike (303) 623-9378 SEDONA, Ariz. -- Gov. Mike Rounds of South Dakota was elected Chairman of the Western Governors' Association today, and Gov. Dave Freudenthal of Wyoming was elected Vice Chairman. Rounds succeeds Gov. Janet Napolitano of Arizona, who concluded the Association's Annual Meeting with the adoption of policy resolutions on a number of issues, following up on the earlier approval of policies on clean and diversified energy, transportation fuels for the future, global climate change and managing the West's limited water supplies. Rounds praised Napolitano's leadership on regional and national issues, pointing out her leadership with Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. of Utah in developing a comprehensive framework for immigration reform. Napolitano said WGA will continue to take a lead in urging Congress to take action on comprehensive immigration reform this year. Gov. Rounds said during the next year he will focus on issues under the banner of Making the West the Best. The West is already the best in many ways, but we are no longer unchallenged, Rounds said. Where we are ahead€¦ we must stay ahead. Where we are behind, we must move faster forward than every other region of the world. Where we are being challenged€¦ we must meet each challenge with greater innovation, more productivity and inspiring motivation for ourselves and our next generations. Gov. Freudenthal said: I look forward to working with Governor Rounds to move forward with the aggressive agenda set for the Western Governors. This organization continues to be a national example of bipartisan cooperation on issues important to the region and the nation. Rounds said he will emphasize three areas during the next year. Building on what we already have in energy production in the West and adding new sources of energy, we must accelerate Western energy production for American energy independence, he said. We must use the excellent information developed by WGA's Clean and Diversified Energy Advisory Committee, and we must improve and increase the output of our current sources of energy as we develop and expand our alternative sources of energy. Rounds said our Western economy needs a workforce that not only fills projected job needs, but also is so good that it causes the creation of many, many more high-paying jobs in the West. He stressed that education and workforce must be viewed as the same continuous process, transforming today's students into tomorrow's valuable employees and leaders who will create a world-leading Western economy. We can make the West the best by transforming our own students into the very best workforce and by bringing the world's best students here and then convincing them to stay here, he said. That's the kind of innovation and job-creating immigration that no one will want to stop. Rounds also emphasized the importance of technology creating the best technology and capitalizing on it through commercialization. Making the West the best in technology also means integrating the latest technology into our educational delivery systems in addition to our business practices, he said. Among the new policy resolutions adopted today was one offered by Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer that recognizes the economic opportunities in restoring environmental degradation that has occurred in the past on federal lands. While many Western states currently fund environmental protection and restoration activities, the resolution calls on the federal government to emphasis restoration activities West-wide through partnership and federal funding. The governors also adopted a strong statement supporting states' authority during an emergency and rejected consolidation of responsibility to the Department of Defense. The policy stated that the governor, as the elected representative of the citizens of any state, has the responsibility to direct resources to a local community during a disaster. Supplanting a governor's command and control of the National Guard during a disaster will not improve emergency response. The federal government has an important role in support of these elements, but taking command of this traditional state function is not an appropriate role for the federal government. The Governors also adopted a resolution identifying their priorities for farm bill legislation, a law Congress is expected to rewrite. The governors noted that Western states have diverse and unique needs, but as a group, their priorities will focus on conservation, energy, specialty crops, research, and rural development. Copies of the resolutions are available on the WGA Web site at www.westgov.org. The Western Governors' Association is an independent, nonprofit organization representing the governors of 19 states and three U.S.-Flag islands in the Pacific. Through their Association, the Western governors identify and address key policy and governance issues in natural resources, the environment, human services, economic development, international relations and public management. # # # # #
Energy Independence, Workforce Development, Technology
June 13, 2006