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Hotel Booking Senate Democrats boycotted a committee hearing on Wednesday morning on President Bush's nomination of Gov. Michael O. Leavitt of Utah to become administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, delaying a vote that would have moved it to the Senate floor.

That leaves other taxpayers to foot about $1.5 billion a year in cleanup costs, according to the U.S. General Accounting Office. Senate Democrats intend to raise the financing issue Thursday during the confirmation hearing of Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt, President Bush's nominee for secretary of the Environmental Protection Agency. Congress is grappling with how to fund work on the Superfund list of 1, 239 sites nationwide, including 22 in Colorado.

Travel Agency The boycott denied the majority a quorum and threw another wrench into the nomination process, which Democrats have vowed to use to publicize their complaints about the president's environmental policies.

On a 26 to 21 vote, the Senate voted to reject Lynn Buhl as secretary of the environment, the first time since the state went to a Cabinet system in 1969 that a nominee has been turned down. Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (Prince George's) and 25 other Democrats voted no, while seven Democrats joined all 14 Republicans in supporting the nomination.

Cheap Hotel Out of power, the Democrats have little leverage to alter a course set by the Republican majority. One thing they can do is tie up nominations. Wednesday's boycott was a case in point, when Senator James M. Inhofe, Republican of Oklahoma, was forced to postpone the committee vote until Oct. 15.

Meanwhile, as widely expected, the Democrat party won the House while the Republicans won the Senate in the US mid election results.

Flight Booking The action by the Democrats, Senator Inhofe said, "was an affront to the committee and insulting to a nominee who has widespread support from Republicans and Democrats alike."

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Travel Agent After the hearing, Governor Leavitt talked to some of the senators, including James M. Jeffords, the Vermont independent who usually sides with the Democrats. Erik Smulson, a spokesman for Senator Jeffords, said the senator "was hopeful progress will be made" and the vote could proceed on Oct. 15.

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Hotel Chicago But several Democratic senators, including Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, have said they will block the nomination from a vote by the full Senate once it is reported out of committee and reaches the Senate floor.

Online Booking Their goal, they say, is to force the White House to answer questions about environmental policies. This includes a request by Senator Clinton for details on why, as reported by the inspector general, the administration deleted from its press releases a note of caution on the air quality in Lower Manhattan after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Travel Health Insurance Senator Clinton met on Tuesday with James Connaughton, chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, but said afterward that she still intended to block the nomination until she learned who ordered the press releases to be watered down.

Hotel Reservation The Democrats also said they wanted more specific answers from Governor Leavitt on how he would run the E.P.A., saying his responses last week in his one-day confirmation hearing were inadequate.

London Hotel Booking Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut and a presidential candidate, said of Governor Leavitt, "His nonresponsive responses to our legitimate questions show either his disrespect of the nomination process and the public or a lack of knowledge on critical environmental issues."

Discount Travel Senator Inhofe called the Democrats' actions "absolutely shameful," saying they were simply partisan posturing motivated by presidential politics. He noted that no one had really questioned Governor Leavitt's credentials, adding that Senator Jeffords had even said he would vote for Governor Leavitt.

Orlando Hotel Senator Inhofe also said the Democrats had gone overboard in asking Governor Leavitt for answers to 400 questions. He said that in 1993 Republicans had asked President Bill Clinton's E.P.A. nominee, Carol M. Browner, 67 questions and that in 2001 Democrats had asked President Bush's first E.P.A. administrator, Christie Whitman, 100 questions.

Booking Agency By Katharine Q. Seelye
New York Times - 10/2/2003

Topic: White House

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