[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 117 (Friday, August 2, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9660-S9661]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                           EXECUTIVE CALENDAR

  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate 
immediately proceed to executive session to consider the following 
nominations: Calendar 384, Charles Hunnicutt, Assistant Secretary of 
Transportation; Calendar 509, Charles Burton, U.S. Enrichment 
Corporation; Calendar 510, Christopher Coburn, U.S. Enrichment 
Corporation; Calendar 710, Thomas Hill Moore, Consumer Product Safety 
Commission; Calendar 716, Edward McGaffigan, Jr., Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission; Calendar 717, Nils Diaz, Nuclear Regulatory Commission; I 
further ask unanimous consent that the nominations be confirmed en 
bloc, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table en bloc, that 
any statements relating to the nominations appear at the appropriate 
place in the Record, and the President be immediately notified of the 
Senate's action.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The nominations considered and confirmed en bloc are as follows:


                      department of transportation

       Charles A. Hunnicutt, of Georgia, to be an Assistant 
     Secretary of Transportation.


                  united states enrichment corporation

       Charles William Burton, of Texas, to be a Member of the 
     Board of Directors of the United States Enrichment 
     Corporation for a term expiring February 24, 2001.
       Christopher M. Coburn, of Ohio, to be a Member of the Board 
     of Directors of the United States Enrichment Corporation for 
     a term expiring February 24, 2000.


                   consumer product safety commission

       Thomas Hill Morre, of Florida, to be a Commissioner of the 
     Consumer Product Safety Commission for a term of seven years 
     from October 26, 1996.


                     nuclear regulatory commission

       Edward McGaffigan, Jr., of Virginia, to be a Member of the 
     Nuclear Regulatory Commission for the term of five years 
     expiring June 30, 2000.
       Nils J. Diaz, of Florida, to be a Member of the Nuclear 
     Regulatory Commission for the term of five years expiring 
     June 30, 2001.


                    nomination of christopher coburn

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise in opposition to the nomination 
of Christopher Coburn to the Board of the U.S. Enrichment Corporation. 
I believe the nomination of Mr. Coburn to this board would put the 
Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant at a disadvantage in the siting of the 
Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation [AVLIS] technology.
  As a member of the USEC Board, Mr. Coburn will have the 
responsibility of implementing the privatization of the USEC and 
charting its future course, including the implementation of the AVLIS 
technology.
  The commercialization of this technology would mean billions of 
dollars of investment as well as ensuring the continued viability of 
the U.S. enrichment industry. If I may put the issue in stark, but 
accurate terms, the USEC's decision about siting AVLIS is more 
fundamentally a decision about which one of these plants will be able 
to remain competitive and viable into the next century.
  Earlier this year, President Clinton appointed Mr. Coburn to the 
board because he believed Mr. Coburn was uniquely qualified following 
his service as the executive director of the Thomas Edison Program and 
as the science and technology advisor to the Governor of Ohio. It has 
come to my attention that while serving as the executive director of 
the Thomas Edison Project, Mr. Coburn developed a proposal to locate 
the AVLIS technology in Portsmouth, OH.
  Mr. President, the placement of Mr. Coburn on the USEC's board at 
this time would cause serious doubts about the objectivity and fairness 
of the USEC as it begins to assess which facility should obtain the 
AVLIS technology. The stakes concerning this decision are so monumental 
that we cannot allow any inference of bias to infect the process by 
which that decision is made.
  In an effort to protect the interests of the workers employed at the 
Paducah plant and the economy of western Kentucky I asked the President 
to withdraw the nomination of the Mr. Corburn. Since the President has 
ignored my concerns I have tried to block the confirmation of Mr. 
Coburn.
  Unfortunately, I realize the votes are not in my favor. Nonetheless, 
I will

[[Page S9661]]

continue to follow the actions of the Board and Mr. Coburn to ensure 
that the best interests of the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant are 
protected.

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