|
|
|
|
National Tree Day Planet Ark Home
|
|
|
||
|
Senator Edwards Seeks to Block EPA Nominee |
||
|
Mail this story to a friend | Printer friendly version
|
||
| USA: September 16, 2003 | ||
|
WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. John Edwards, a Democratic presidential candidate, said yesterday he would seek to block President Bush's choice to head the Environmental Protection Agency until the administration answers questions about its changes in clean air regulations.
|
||
|
Edwards, of North Carolina, said he would keep a Senate "hold" on Bush's nomination of Utah Gov. Michael Leavitt to succeed Christine Todd Whitman until "this administration commits to giving us the truth about how Clean Air Act rollbacks are going to affect our kids with asthma and seniors with health problems." A year ago, Edwards wrote a bipartisan letter signed by 44 of the Senate's 100 members asking the EPA to conduct an analysis of the administration's revisions in the Clean Air Act, but has yet to get one. The changes make it easier for power plants and refineries to repair and upgrade their facilities. Environmental groups charge the move will increase air pollution. Under Senate rules, any member may put a "hold" on a presidential nominee. Such a move prevents a Senate confirmation vote unless 60 senators agree to proceed to one. Leavitt's backers believe they can get past any holds and get the nominee confirmed, Republican aides said. "We've got at least 60 votes," one aide said. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee plans to hold a confirmation hearing on Thursday on Leavitt's nomination. Earlier this month, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, a New York Democrat, put a hold on the Leavitt nomination as she sought to pressure the White House to answer questions about whether New Yorkers were misled on health risks after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, another Democratic presidential candidate, has expressed support of Clinton's "hold."
|
||
|
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
|
||
|
