| James G. Watt |
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James Gaius Watt (born January 31 , 1938 in Lusk, Wyoming ) served as U.S. Secretary Of The Interior under President Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1983 . Watt attended the University Of Wyoming , earning a Bachelor's Degree in 1960 and a law degree in 1962. Watt's first political job was as an aide to Senator Milward Simpson, whom he met through Simpson's son, Alan Simpson . In 1966, Watt became the secretary to the natural resources committee and environmental pollution advisory panel of the U.S. Chamber Of Commerce . In 1969, Watt was appointed the deputy assistant secretary of water and power development in the Department Of The Interior . In 1975, Watt was appointed the vice-chairman of the Federal Power Commission . In 1976, Watt founded the Mountain States Legal Foundation . A number of attorneys who worked for Watt at the foundation later assumed positions of responsibility in the federal government, including Ann Veneman and Gale Norton . Watt's tenure as Secretary of the Interior was marked by controversy, stemming primarily from his alleged hostility to Environmentalism and his support of the development and use of federal lands by Foresting , Ranch ing, and other commercial interests. Watt's conservative strain of Born-again Christianity also came under heavy scrutiny and criticism in some quarters, as when (in 1983) he banned The Beach Boys from performing their annual Fourth Of July concert on the National Mall on the grounds that rock concerts drew "an undesirable element." {Link without Title} In 1995, Watt was indicted on 18 counts of felony Perjury and Obstruction Of Justice by a federal Grand Jury . The indictments were due to false statements made to a grand jury investigating Influence Peddling at the Department Of Housing And Urban Development , which he had Lobbied in the mid to late 1980s. On January 2, 1996, as part of a Plea Bargain , Watt pleaded guilty to one Misdemeanor count of withholding documents from a federal grand jury. On March 12, 1996 he was sentenced to 5 years Probation and ordered to pay a $5,000 fine and perform 500 hours of Community Service , a sentence which allowed him to avoid incarceration. {Link without Title} QUOTES "That is the delicate balance the Secretary of the Interior must have: to be steward for the natural resources for this generation as well as future generations. I do not know how many future generations we can count on before the Lord returns; whatever it is we have to manage with a skill to leave the resources needed for future generations." -- James G. Watt, testimony before the House Interior Committee, February 1981 "My responsibility is to follow the Scriptures which call upon us to occupy the land until Jesus returns." -- James G. Watt, '' The Washington Post '', May 24, 1981 "I never use the words Democrats and Republicans. It's liberals and Americans." -- James G. Watt, 1982 "We have every mixture you can have. I have a black, a woman, two Jews and a cripple. And we have talent." -- James G. Watt, describing his staff to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on September 21, 1983; from Bartlett's Online "Liberals have shifted government into a position of being neutral between right and wrong. By concentrating power in government institutions, liberals chisel at the three pillars of society: the family unit, work ethic and faith. That's not good for America." -- James G. Watt, interview, '' U.S. News And World Report '', November 11, 1985 Quote controversy Watt was reported as saying in public testimony: ''"After the last tree is felled, Christ will come back." '' This quotation was used by Bill Moyers in a newspaper column. Due to the popularity of Moyers' article, it is now widely believed that Watt actually said this in public testimony. However, the quote originated on page 229 of a book by Austin Miles, "Setting the Captives Free" (Prometheus Books, 1990). Watt denied he ever said those words. Watt subsequently demanded, and received, a public apology from Moyers.
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