Reid warns Whitman of tough questions

Benjamin Grove

Friday, Jan. 5, 2001 | 10:43 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, anticipating Senate confirmation hearings on her appointment to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, met with Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., today.

Reid is a key player in her future. He will be the chairman of the Environment Committee that holds a confirmation hearing on her appointment, scheduled for Jan. 16. Reid also is the No. 2 Democratic leader in the Senate.

Reid told Whitman he expected she would easily win Senate confirmation, but would be grilled by committee members, the senator said after the meeting. He said he would send her a list of likely queries.

"I told her, 'We're going to ask you some questions you'd rather we not ask,' " Reid said. "She said, 'I'm used to that.' "

Whitman did not answer media questions today.

"I look forward to a continuing relationship that will allow us to move the country forward," said Whitman, seated on a couch in Reid's Capitol office, posing for television cameras before the meeting.

Most of the visit, about 15 minutes long, was a social call. Reid told Whitman Nevadans were concerned about clean air and water -- and nuclear waste issues.

Aside from overseeing pollution, growth and water policies, the EPA is tied up in the controversial federal proposal to bury the nation's nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

The EPA has been the agency designated to establish levels of radiation that could be safely emitted from waste stored at Yucca Mountain. But the standards have been controversial -- the EPA and Nuclear Regulatory Commission publicly disagree about safe radiation levels. The EPA's standards are more strict, so Nevada officials side with the EPA.

A political battle has already developed over which agency should set the standards.

Whitman hasn't said where she stands on the issue.

Several Bush Cabinet appointees have approached Reid for support. One is conservative former Sen. John Ashcroft, R-Mo., Bush's attorney general pick, who insiders say will receive the toughest scrutiny from Democrats.

Ashcroft, making courtesy calls to his former Senate colleagues, called Reid shortly after Bush nominated him, Reid said.

"He said something like, 'I hope you'll support me,' " Reid said. "And I said, 'I hope I can,' something like that."

Reid also said he had spoken briefly in a "social setting" to former Sen. Spencer Abraham, R-Mich., Bush's choice for Energy Secretary, who has supported shipping nuclear waste to Nevada and drawn criticism from Reid and other Democrats. Reid did not elaborate on their chat.

Bush's nominee for Commerce Secretary, Don Evans, is scheduled to meet with Reid next week. Bush's appointee for Interior Secretary, Gale Norton, has expressed interest in a meeting, Reid said.

Bush's only Democratic Cabinet appointment and current Commerce Secretary, Norman Mineta, sought Reid's advice before accepting Bush's offer.

"I told him he should take it," Reid said. "I think he's the best qualified for the job."