WEBVTT - US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum Talks State of the Union, AI Race

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news.

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<v Speaker 2>Joining us now, as you can see if you're with

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<v Speaker 2>us on Bloomberg TV, is the Secretary of the Interior.

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<v Speaker 2>Doug Bergam, mister Secretary. Great to have you with us

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<v Speaker 2>here on Bloomberg TV and radio. I'd like to zero

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<v Speaker 2>win on the President's speech with you from your vantage point,

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<v Speaker 2>record length and a lot to talk about. What did

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<v Speaker 2>he propose for the year ahead that's important to your agency.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, let's just start at the top line. This is

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<v Speaker 1>incredibly courageous, forward looking talk and celebrating our two hundred

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<v Speaker 1>and fiftieth anniversary as a country, going literally back to

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<v Speaker 1>our founding. And then tonight who would have known when

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<v Speaker 1>you're coming to hear the speech, you're going to get

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<v Speaker 1>an opportunity to be present for the Medal of Honor

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<v Speaker 1>being delivered twice, one for heroics from a warrior from

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<v Speaker 1>World War Two and Korea War who's one hundred years old,

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<v Speaker 1>and then someone who just weeks ago was courageously led

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<v Speaker 1>the charges one of our helicopter prit's when they were

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<v Speaker 1>arresting Maduro. So it spanned the whole two hundred and

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<v Speaker 1>fifty years. But again I would just say it. Two takeaways.

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<v Speaker 1>Peace around the world, prosperity for Americans, af affordability. President

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<v Speaker 1>Trump's policies turning this country around in the last twelve months.

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<v Speaker 2>A lot of focus on energy, as we expected this evening,

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<v Speaker 2>as he reminded, drill, Baby, Drill, but also talked about

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<v Speaker 2>what he would like to see the ability of the

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<v Speaker 2>big tech companies, the hyper scalers having the opportunity to

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<v Speaker 2>bring in their own power plants to put aside their

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<v Speaker 2>data centers essentially off the grid. Is that something that

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<v Speaker 2>the Interior Department is in the process of unlocking.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, absolutely, through the National Energy Dominance Council that runs

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<v Speaker 1>out of the White House. That President Trump has asked

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<v Speaker 1>Secretary of Chris Wright and I to lead Secretary of Energy.

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<v Speaker 1>We're working hard to make sure that we can do this,

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<v Speaker 1>have this behind the meter capability byop bringing your own

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<v Speaker 1>power because we need power. This is about energy addition.

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<v Speaker 1>There is no energy transition. President Trump understands that we've

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<v Speaker 1>got to have energy abundance. We've got to be able

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<v Speaker 1>to sell owners need to our friends and allies, including

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<v Speaker 1>those that have been dependent on our adversaries. I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>if you're getting energy from Iran or Russia, and they're

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<v Speaker 1>funding terrorism or wars. I mean, we can stop wars

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<v Speaker 1>and stop terrorism by having energy abundance from the US,

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<v Speaker 1>but enough abundance that we can keep prices for energy

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<v Speaker 1>here at home low even with the demand increase, so

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<v Speaker 1>that we can win the AI arms race against China,

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<v Speaker 1>which part of that race is who can generate the

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<v Speaker 1>most electricity, because this is the first time in history

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<v Speaker 1>you can take a killo loot of electricity and turn

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<v Speaker 1>it into intelligence. President Trump understands that his policy is

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<v Speaker 1>going to work for both winning the aarms race and

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<v Speaker 1>for keeping electricity affordable for Americans.

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<v Speaker 2>Wait, there's so much there. Do you worry about some

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<v Speaker 2>of the concern that people have expressed about data centers,

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<v Speaker 2>the nimby concerns, the worry about their electricity bills rising.

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<v Speaker 2>Is this plan the way around that?

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<v Speaker 1>Absolutely, because if it's off the grid, it's not putting

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<v Speaker 1>any burden on the grid itself, and it's not putting

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<v Speaker 1>any pressure on rate pairs. Matter of fact, in North Dkota,

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<v Speaker 1>when I was still a governor, they are just fifteen

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<v Speaker 1>months ago we were completing a one point two billion

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<v Speaker 1>dollar data center, and the electricity rates were going to

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<v Speaker 1>go down for all the people, and then that are

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<v Speaker 1>because you're spreading the cost across a big industrial buyer

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<v Speaker 1>in a rural area. So there are ways where you

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<v Speaker 1>can add capability add a big power user like that.

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<v Speaker 1>If you do it in the right way, it actually

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<v Speaker 1>brings power down. So it's only people that would be

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<v Speaker 1>opposed to for other reasons, including the climate extremists, would

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<v Speaker 1>come up with a story that says that the artificial

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<v Speaker 1>intelligence is going to raise your rates automatically. That's only

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<v Speaker 1>with the wrong policies. With the right policies, they'll stay

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<v Speaker 1>the same or go down.

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<v Speaker 2>Really interesting. The audience is deeply concerned about the future

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<v Speaker 2>of that AI race, what it means for this country.

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<v Speaker 2>The President said a bit about that evening, but clearly

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<v Speaker 2>it's one of many priorities that he's pursuing in this

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<v Speaker 2>new year. What's the most important way to win that

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<v Speaker 2>AI race? Even as the markets start to question some

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<v Speaker 2>of the spending that we're seeing from these massive companies,

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<v Speaker 2>they're the size of countries, mister Secretary.

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<v Speaker 1>Yes, well, but again, this is a recovery new territory

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<v Speaker 1>and we're going to see incredible capital flows around the world,

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<v Speaker 1>and those capital flows, record capital flows are going to

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<v Speaker 1>go to places that have ample, affordable, reliable and secure power.

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<v Speaker 1>And that's going to be countries, and it's going to

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<v Speaker 1>be states within those countries. Within Europe, it may be

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<v Speaker 1>certain countries as opposed to all of the EU. Secretary

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<v Speaker 1>Chris Right and I today met with twenty one energy

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<v Speaker 1>ministers from Central and Eastern Europe. Again, the race is on.

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<v Speaker 1>People that have sensible energy policies that focus on affordable,

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<v Speaker 1>reliable and secure energy are going to see a boom

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<v Speaker 1>in investment going forward, because it's not just the data center,

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<v Speaker 1>it's what follows that advanced manufacturer, the physical AI, because

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<v Speaker 1>AI will be the greatest productivity increase that humanity has

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<v Speaker 1>ever seen. It really is an extension of human capability,

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<v Speaker 1>whether it's curing cancer, providing a tutor for every school

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<v Speaker 1>kid in the world, or solving the most clipplex problems

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<v Speaker 1>that we've ever faced. This is something that we need

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<v Speaker 1>in America and the free world needs to make sure

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<v Speaker 1>that we're competitive in this aarms race, and the way

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<v Speaker 1>we do that is generate more power energy addition, there

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<v Speaker 1>is no such thing as energy transition. If you're shutting

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<v Speaker 1>down seven x twenty four, secure base load and adding

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<v Speaker 1>intermit unreliable foreign sourced energy. That's energy fantasy. President Trump's

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<v Speaker 1>focused on energy reality.

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<v Speaker 2>You're not only the Interior secretary, but you're also a

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<v Speaker 2>surrogate of the president. Typically, after the State of the Union,

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<v Speaker 2>we see cabinet secretaries fan out across the country to

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<v Speaker 2>hit home to deliver the message that the president began tonight.

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<v Speaker 2>Do you have travel plans, what are the next weeks

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<v Speaker 2>and months look like for you?

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<v Speaker 1>Well? Absolutely, and of course all the cabinet sectors will

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<v Speaker 1>tie it in with part of their job. So I'm

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<v Speaker 1>going to be heading heading out to Western States where

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<v Speaker 1>we have a large degree of federal land, a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of intersection with those federal assets. What we like to

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<v Speaker 1>say the Apartment of Materia has got the largest balance

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<v Speaker 1>sheet in the world. Five hundred million acres of land,

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<v Speaker 1>seven hundred million acres of subservice rich with minerals, three

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<v Speaker 1>billion acres of offshore from American Samoa, the US Virgin Islands,

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<v Speaker 1>Gulf of America, which represents a huge energy component mixed

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<v Speaker 1>for our country. But yeah, we'll be spanning out delivering

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<v Speaker 1>the message. And the message is one that's a forward

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<v Speaker 1>looking prosperity. When you talk about the policies through your businessors,

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<v Speaker 1>we're talking about cutting taxes, massively, cutting regulations. Record investment,

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<v Speaker 1>incomes are up, inflation is down, interest rates are down,

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<v Speaker 1>and affordability of housing is becoming more affordable. I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>this is President Trump's right. We are entering a new

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<v Speaker 1>golden age of abundance. This first year was an amazing

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<v Speaker 1>one hundred and eighty degree turnaround. The next year going

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<v Speaker 1>forward could be nothing short of an economic miracle.

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<v Speaker 2>We'll be watching for you here in Washington on the

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<v Speaker 2>campaign trail throughout the midterms. Mister Secretary, thanks for joining

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<v Speaker 2>us once again on Bloomberg TJ Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Thank you for being here.