Clinton Said to Be ‘100%’ Behind Elders : Appointments: In the face of financial questions, the Administration is waging a public relations campaign on behalf of the surgeon general nominee.

The White House on Friday reaffirmed its support of surgeon general designee Dr. Joycelyn Elders, despite questions about her financial dealings.

To press its case for her confirmation, the Administration enlisted the aid of a number of civil rights and medical groups, which began waging a public relations campaign on Elders’ behalf in advance of her confirmation hearing before the Senate Labor Committee next week.

The hearing was to have begun Friday. It was postponed until July 23 at the request of committee Republicans so members can review documents relating to her service on an Arkansas bank board.

Administration officials vowed to work aggressively to secure the nomination and insisted that the President remains “100%” behind Elders, 59, who is the top-ranking health official in Clinton’s home state of Arkansas.

“The President’s support of her and her nomination to be surgeon general is unequivocal,” said White House Communications Director Mark D. Gearan. “I think the nomination is on track and we feel very good about where we are.”

Other officials said that the questions raised about Elders’ conduct were not disqualifying and asserted that her testimony on the issues would satisfy the Senate.

Concerns have been raised about Elders’ service on the board of the National Bank of Arkansas. In a lawsuit arising from a takeover of the bank, Elders and other members of the board of directors were accused of negligent management, lending and investment practices.

The suit brought by the bank and its parent company against the former directors sought to recover $1.5 million in losses from bad loans allegedly made in violation of the National Banking Act.

The suit was settled, but the terms have been sealed under court order.

Committee members said they wanted time to determine the extent of Elders’ knowledge of and involvement in the bank’s lending practices.

Some critics have also questioned whether she improperly received a $550 per day consulting fee for work at the Department of Health and Human Services while she continued to draw her state salary. Her supporters contend that the work--common for appointees to top federal jobs--was performed while she was on vacation from her state job. If so, it is unlikely that collecting the double salaries violated any law. But Arkansas Gov. Jim Guy Tucker has said he was unaware of the arrangement and thought it inappropriate--a remark that has helped create a image problem for the White House on the issue.

Additionally, Elders’ husband this week acknowledged that he had failed to pay Social Security and other taxes for a nurse he had hired to care for his ailing 97-year-old mother.

Elders already had been under fire from conservatives for her abortion rights stance and her advocacy of school-based health education programs for teen-agers, including the availability of condoms.

Numerous groups said they will continue to support her, and the chairman of the 40-member Congressional Black Caucus predicted she will be confirmed. “We believe Dr. Elders is going to be OK,” says Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.).

Civil rights groups have made it clear that Clinton’s support from the black community depends in large measure on his keeping faith with them on this nomination, particularly in light of the C. Lani Guinier episode.

Clinton last month dropped Guinier as his choice to head the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division after right-wing groups attacked her “radical” views on race matters and Clinton decided he could not defend her writings on the subject.

Other organizations came forward Friday to issue statements of support, and accused Elders’ detractors of engaging in a campaign to sink the nomination.

“After weeks of character assassination and deliberate distortion of her record, the day before the hearings begin there are charges about financial dealings,” said Leslie Harris, director of public policy for People for the American Way. “These eleventh-hour charges are just another part of a well-orchestrated campaign to derail this nomination.”

The National Women’s Political Caucus called Elders the “Janet Reno of public health”--referring to the popular and independent attorney general--and urged her confirmation.