The ‘Ayes’ Prevail: Norton, Whitman Win Senate OK

The Senate on Tuesday confirmed the two leaders of President Bush’s environmental and natural resources team, but the relative ease of their appointment process masks the policy fights that each could face in coming months.

Gale A. Norton, 46, confirmed as Interior secretary on a 75-24 vote, is expected to present Congress a plan to begin drilling for oil and gas in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge--a Bush campaign promise sure to set off a pitched battle with environmentalists.

Fireworks also will greet her if she attempts to rescind some of the 18 national monuments that President Clinton designated during his term or undermine them by failing to protect the resources in those federal lands. During generally friendly hearings on her nomination, Norton left open the possibility that she would revisit those monument decisions.

New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, whom the Senate unanimously confirmed as Environmental Protection Agency administrator after its vote on Norton, may generate heat if she seeks to encourage construction of more coal-fired plants. Environmentalists also are wary of the pledge she made during confirmation hearings to take a conciliatory approach to businesses that run afoul of clean air or water laws.

With Tuesday’s Senate action, all of Bush’s core Cabinet posts have been confirmed but one--that of attorney general. The vote on the president’s pick for that job, John Ashcroft, could come as soon as today.

Although the Senate tally on Ashcroft is expected to be even closer, the 24 “no” votes on Norton’s confirmation were the highest total cast against a Cabinet nominee since John Tower was rejected as President George Bush’s Defense secretary. Environmental groups fought hard against Norton, charging that her past record as Colorado’s attorney general and as a lawyer showed that she could not be trusted to strictly enforce environmental laws.

But Norton defused much of that criticism during committee hearings on her nomination, and it quickly became clear that she would win confirmation.

Most of the votes against Norton were cast by Democrats from Eastern states, but leading the charge against her in Tuesday’s debate was a Western Democrat--Sen. Barbara Boxer of California.

Boxer spoke for 30 minutes, detailing her opposition. Among her criticisms was that Norton would not commit to key environmental actions affecting California. These included:

* Upholding the Bureau of Land Management’s decision to deny a permit to a gold mine near San Diego.

* Funding and supporting a new preservation-oriented management plan for Yosemite National Park.

* Upholding a decision to double the water supply to the Trinity River in Northern California to protect the endangered salmon population.

Boxer also said she was “very troubled” that, although Norton pledged to respect the state’s right not to issue new permits for offshore oil drilling, she would not promise to block the use of existing permits.

Referring to 36 existing leases off the coast near Santa Barbara, Boxer said: “The state doesn’t want any drilling there.”

Boxer also scoffed at the assurances that Norton provided during the hearings on her nomination, saying: “I don’t believe that a lifetime commitment to repealing environment laws can be dissipated by nice, warm, fuzzy statements made in front of a committee.”

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), was among eight Democrats who joined 10 Republicans on the Senate’s Energy and Natural Resources Committee to recommend Norton’s confirmation. And Feinstein, who said she was impressed by Norton’s commitment to assuring an adequate water supply for California, was among those voting for the nominee Tuesday.

One of Norton’s strongest advocates, Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colo.), said he expects her to ensure that the Interior Department will take into consideration the needs of the local communities--and not just the aims of environmental groups--when deciding the fate of public lands:

“That kind of even-handed approach toward public land management has been missing, and the West is worse off for it.”

Environmentalists were heartened by the two dozen votes against Norton--which they were quick to note were twice as many as were recorded for James G. Watt, President Reagan’s controversial choice for Interior secretary in 1981.

“We hope that Secretary Norton has heard loud and clear that conservation and stewardship should rule the day at Interior, not exploitation and development,” said Deb Callahan, president of the League of Conservation Voters.

Business groups, meanwhile, were cheered by what they believe will be a much friendlier atmosphere to their interests in the Interior agency and the EPA.

John Grasser, a vice president of the National Mining Assn., said mining companies expect Norton and Whitman to end the “draconian regulatory hand” of the Clinton administration.

Also Tuesday, members of the Senate Finance Committee quizzed Robert B. Zoellick, Bush’s choice for U.S. trade representative. Zoellick, expected to be confirmed without difficulty, said he hopes Bush will soon be given the authority to complete trade accords that are free of congressional tinkering. He also expressed support for a new round of global trade talks. The last such effort, in December 1999 in Seattle, ended in disarray.

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Times staff writer Jonathan Peterson contributed to this story.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Filling the Cabinet

President Bush’s Cabinet-level positions are nearly filled, just 10 days after his inauguration, with two positions awaiting full Senate confirmation.

*

Confirmed

Colin L. Powell, 63

Position: Secretary of State

Confirmation Date: Jan. 20

Vote: Voice vote

*

Donald H. Rumsfeld, 68

Position: Defense

Confirmation Date: Jan. 20

Vote: Voice vote

*

Paul H. O’Neill, 65

Position: Treasury

Confirmation Date: Jan. 20

Vote: Voice vote

*

Ann M. Veneman, 51

Position: Agriculture

Confirmation Date: Jan. 20

Vote: Voice vote

*

Don Evans, 54

Position: Commerce

Confirmation Date: Jan. 20

Vote: Voice vote

*

Rod Paige, 67

Position: Education

Confirmation Date: Jan. 20

Vote: Voice vote

*

Spencer Abraham, 48

Position: Energy

Confirmation Date: Jan. 20

Vote: Voice vote

*

Mel Martinez, 54

Position: HUD

Confirmation Date: Jan. 23

Vote: 100-0

*

Anthony J. Prinicipi, 56

Position: Veterans Affairs

Confirmation Date: Jan. 23

Vote: 100-0

*

Tommy G. Thompson, 59

Position: Health and Human Services

Confirmation Date: Jan. 24

Vote: 100-0

*

Norman Y. Mineta, 69

Position: Transportation

Confirmation Date: Jan. 24

Vote: 100-0

*

Elaine Chao, 47

Position: Labor

Confirmation Date: Jan. 29

Vote: 99-0

*

Gale A. Norton, 46

Position: Interior

Confirmation Date: Jan. 30

Vote: 75-24

*

Christine Todd Whitman, 54

Position: EPA

Confirmation Date: Jan. 30

Vote: 100-0

*

Reappointed:

George J. Tenet, 48: CIA director

Louis J. Freeh, 51: FBI director

*

Hearings held, not yet confirmed:

John Ashcroft, 58: attorney general

(10-8 committee approval Jan. 30)

Robert B. Zoellick, 47: U.S. trade representative

(hearings held Jan. 30)

*

Not yet named:

U.N. ambassador

Source: Staff and wire reports; compiled by SUNNY KAPLAN/Los Angeles Times