By Caren Bohan
CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Barack Obama announced on Wednesday that former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack would head the Agriculture Department and Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar will be interior secretary, underscoring his drive to secure energy independence for the country.
Calling the two "guardians of the American landscape." Obama told a news conference they would help to spearhead efforts to use less imported oil while expanding use of renewable energy such as biofuels.
But Obama was quickly confronted by the realities of his new political life as reporters continued to question him about his aides' contacts with Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's office in a corruption scandal involving filling Obama's Senate seat.
Salazar is a first-term senator from Colorado and Vilsack was a popular two-term governor of Iowa, a leading farm and ethanol-producing state.
"I will do all I can to reduce America's reliance on foreign oil," said Salazar, who will take over an agency that handles leases of federal land for oil drilling along with other issues including national parks.
Vilsack said he would try to improve farm income in the face of the U.S. recession and to put healthier food into public nutrition programs.
Obama supports a $250,000 (162,000 pound) a year "hard cap" on farm subsidies with no exemption, a tightening of rules that could save $100 million to $200 million a year. He says he would encourage continued rural leadership in renewable energy.
Earlier this week Obama named Nobel physics laureate Steven Chu to be his new energy secretary, saying that the U.S. economy and national security were inextricably linked with developing a new, independent energy policy.
Asked about commercial drilling on federal lands -- a key decision to be made by the next interior secretary -- Obama said on Wednesday he wanted a new vision for U.S. energy output with the Interior Department "at the cutting edge of environmental and energy policy."
"I also want an Interior Department that very frankly cleans up its act," said Obama. "There have been too many problems and too much emphasis on big-time lobbyists in Washington and not enough emphasis on what's good for the American people."
A backer of renewable fuels, Vilsack ran for the Democratic presidential nomination for three months before withdrawing in February 2007 and supporting Hillary Clinton.
DRILLING DECISIONS
Salazar, who once practiced as an environmental lawyer, would make decisions on offshore oil and gas drilling as head of the Interior Department, which handles energy leases for federal land as well as national parks and other issues.
Both appointments require confirmation by the Senate, where Democrats have a majority.
As senator, Salazar criticized the Interior Department's proposal under President George W. Bush to rush the sale of commercial oil shale leases.
Salazar supported a one year moratorium on oil shale production and said that the government must answer questions about how oil shale production will impact western states and proceed carefully towards commercial development.
He also attempted to block the sale of oil and gas leases on Roan Plateau in Colorado, instead pushing to gradually phase in lease sales in the environmentally sensitive area.
Immediately after introducing his choices and opening the news conference to questions, Obama was asked about Blagojevich.
Obama's team has sought to distance him from a developing scandal in which Blagojevich has been accused of trying to sell off Obama's vacant Senate seat. Aides have said a review of contacts between Obama's team and Blagojevich's office would be released during the Christmas week.
Obama said on Wednesday it was a "little bit frustrating" that he was unable to release the information now but that he was abiding by the request of the U.S. attorney's office. "There has been a lot of speculation in the press that I would love to correct immediately," Obama said.
(Editing by David Wiessler)
