Michelle Obama Thank You Tour Continues
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano introduced Obama and noted that this was the first time a First Lady has visited the headquarters. The department is only six years old.
The First Lady thanked some 300 of the department's 216,000 employees and said her visit was to "ensure that you, as true public servants, don't get lost behind the numbers."
She noted that "if you do your jobs well, nobody will know what you do," referencing the sensitive and behind the scenes nature of the agency.
After thanking employees for coming our to meet her on this rainy day, Obama said, "one of the President's greatest concerns and priorities is the safety and security of the American people, and the more than 180,000 employees of this Department are at the heart of fulfilling that mission."
She spent the next fifteen minutes thanking DHS employees for their work, specifically lauding the TSA for an average thirteen minute wait in airport security lines, "which isn't too bad." She also had kind words for the Citizen and Immigration Services for naturalizing 3,000 new American citizens per day.
Obama wore a green outfit and received a rousing welcome and applause – as she has at all of her agency visits since January.
So far, the First Lady has paid visits to Housing and Urban Development, the Departments of Transportation, Education, Agriculture, Energy, and the Interior, the State Department and the Environmental Protection agency.