Clinton says she will bar Leavitt: Demo wants some concerns answered on EPA 9/11 report

The Deseret News ^ | 9/7/2003 | Erin McClam

[Utah Girl]

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said Saturday she planned to block President Bush's nominee to head the Environmental Protection Agency over an internal report saying the EPA misled New Yorkers about health risks after the World Trade Center attack.

In a telephone interview, Clinton told The Associated Press she would place a hold on the nomination of Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt, a procedural move that would prevent the full Senate from voting on his confirmation, though it does not stop committee hearings.

"This is an effort to get the administration that he wants to join to take responsibility," she said.

Clinton said she would lift the hold only if the White House answered her concerns about the EPA report. She said she held no personal grudge against Leavitt but hopes the hold to force the administration to answer questions.

"This is a very big issue," she said. "It not only has to do with the health and safety of the people I represent. It has to do with the credibility and trust of this entire government."

A "hold" makes confirmation of a nominee difficult but not impossible.

A hold is essentially a pledge by a senator to filibuster a nominee — or prevent debate on him from ending — once the nomination reaches the

full Senate. Leaders often will not call up for debate any nominee facing a hold in order to avoid tying up the floor in long debate and possibly preventing passage of more pressing legislation.

However, on occasion, leaders will force a senator to actually filibuster as threatened — and then attempt to cut it off with a "cloture" vote. Passage of such a debate-limiting vote requires a three-fifths majority, or 60 votes out of the 100 member Senate.

Senators often use the threat of a hold against a nominee to try to force action they want from the administration.

Leavitt's spokeswoman, Natalie Gochnour, said the governor preferred not to comment on the matter. Repeating what has become a mantra since he was nominated last month, "Gov. Leavitt, out of respect for the confirmation process, won't speak to matters related to the confirmation until he meets with the senators."

There was no immediate comment from the White House.

The report, issued by the EPA's inspector general Aug. 22, said the agency gave New Yorkers misleading assurances that there was no air-quality health risk after the Sept. 11, 2001, attack that spread debris, smoke and dust across lower Manhattan.

The White House "convinced EPA to add reassuring statements and delete cautionary ones" by having the National Security Council control EPA communications after the attack, said the report by EPA Inspector General Nikki L. Tinsley.

Seven days after the attack, the EPA announced that the air near ground zero was safe to breathe, but the agency did not have enough information to make such a guarantee, the report found.

"When they would say, 'Oh, no, the air is safe,' there was a great sigh of relief," Clinton said. "But we know that many of the ground zero workers and volunteers are suffering from the World Trade Center cough, from asthma, from pulmonary respiratory distress."

The administration has defended its decision, saying it was justified by national security concerns.

And the EPA's acting administrator, Marianne L. Horinko, has said the agency put out "the best information we had, based on just the best data that we had available at the time."

Bush nominated Leavitt, a Republican known as a moderate on environmental issues, to take over the EPA after administrator Christie Whitman announced she would leave the post.

[RJayneJ]

Clinton says she will bar Leavitt. Hey, that might be a blessing in disguise.

[Texas Eagle]

Hey! Stupid F***ing Republicans! Get some nads! Force this pile of Clinton to actually take up a microphone and FILIBUSTER!

[Utah Girl]

Leavitt would make a good head of the EPA. He doesn't kowtow to the Sierra Club and the environmentalists, but is good and balanced. He's been tough here in Utah.

[Flora McDonald]

Wow! Why doesn't she just try to shut down the EPA. period! Now that would be progress.

[Just mythoughts]

So where was Hillary when the towers fell and caused all that pollution?

Seems to me I remember a fight with the firefighters and the police when, because of health concerns they were going to limit the number of firefighters on site.

So how many trips did the "HATE AMERICA MOST" witch make down to ground zero?

[windchime]

That may be just what she's looking for. Media attention.

[RJayneJ]

LOL Bingo! That was my thought.

[upchuck]

FYI, already posted twice^ on 9/6.

[scan58]

"This is a very big issue," she said. "It not only has to do with the health and safety of the people I represent. It has to do with the credibility and trust of this entire government."

You tell em, girl!

[prairiebreeze]

This posturing by this litigious, self-serving whore is so disgusting! Is she saying the emergency workers should have LEFT GROUND ZERO until the air cleared instead of trying to save or look for people?

That she is coming out with all this, right at the 9-11 anniversary time is so trashy and pathetically common it could come from no other source than a Clinturd!

Prairie

[ladyinred]

Oh, how angry this Bi#*# makes me! She has the nerve to say this administration should take responsibility?

[Utah Girl]

Sorry, I did a search for the title, and nothing came up. Just appeared in the Deseret News today.

[RJayneJ]

It's been a controversial agency from the beginning. An agency dreamed up by the Dems to beat the Pubbies over the head with, and has been political as well as giving the tree huggers way too much power. It wouldn't bother me if the obliterate the agency tomorrow. At least Dubya can blame Hillary for inaction by the agency. It reminds me of Bre'r Rabbit--"anywhere but the briar patch."

[Utah Girl]

Good points.

[RJayneJ]

I have nothing against Leavitt, and he will probably make a good leader, but Hillary may have to back down and may catch hell from her own party.

[Utah Girl]

I'd sure like to see Hillary get hers someday. She sure gets away with a lot.

[RJayneJ]

Realistically, what does she expect that Bush could have done? Evacuate the entire city?

[Tex-Con-Man]

An agency dreamed up by the Dems...

It was Tricky Dick.

[RJayneJ]

It may have been signed into law by Nixon, but the impetus has always been with the Democrats. It has been an effective tool as you might remember that the Dems have been claiming that the Republicans want to poison the water that our children drink and other accusations if they disagree with the Dems about anything concerning the EPA.