WASHINGTON — Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt’s nomination to head the Environmental Protection Agency advanced Wednesday from a Senate committee, but two more Democrats said they would block a vote in the full Senate.
Six Democrats joined 10 Republicans on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee in voting 16-2 to send the Leavitt's nomination to the full Senate. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., did not vote, saying Leavitt’s answers were too vague for a decision.
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., voted in favor of the nomination. Wyden said he thinks Leavitt will work to change the administration’s handling of environmental issues.
“I think the record is clear there is an enormous gap between the bipartisan approach that Mike Leavitt has shown dealing with environmental issues when he was governor of Utah and this administration,” Wyden said. “The governor in my view has indicated that he wants to bring the EPA a fresh and independent approach to these issues.”
The number of Democrats promising to block a floor vote on Leavitt grew to six with the additions of Boxer and Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., whose opposition is based on Leavitt’s record in Utah. The senators are demanding more information from the Bush administration and the EPA about its environmental policies.
Among the committee Democrats who voted against the nomination were Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, a presidential candidate. Both have pledged to block a floor vote.
Democrats who supported Leavitt continued to voice strong concerns about the administration’s environmental policies.
“We’re not even treading water, we’re going backward,” said Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev. He said the previous EPA chief, Christie Whitman, had good intentions, but “she couldn’t do certain things” without White House approval.
The other Democrats who have said they would stand in Leavitt's way are Sens. John Kerry of Massachusetts and John Edwards of North Carolina, both of whom are presidential candidates.
Republicans on the committee denounced Democrats when they did not show up at a meeting on Oct. 1, delaying the decision on the nomination. The GOP members voted symbolically to back Leavitt even though there not enough committee members present to make it official.
Source: Fox News