[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 13 (Wednesday, January 31, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S912]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       NOMINATION OF GALE NORTON

  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I rise in support of the nomination of 
Gale Norton as this country's next Interior Secretary.
  While I have some disagreements with some of Ms. Norton's positions, 
I believe that she represented herself well in the nomination hearings 
that we held in the Energy Committee.
  I indicated during those hearings that if I felt she were another 
James Watt I could never vote for her ``in a million years.'' I say 
that because, two decades ago, James Watt came to town as a newly 
appointed Interior Secretary and very quickly began to take both 
positions and actions that were, in my opinion, destructive to the 
interests that I value with respect to the stewardship of public lands 
in our country. Because Gale Norton was a protege of James Watt, and 
because she has spoken and written extensively on a range of issues, we 
questioned her very closely during her confirmation hearing on a wide 
range of important issues that will confront the new Secretary of the 
Interior.
  Her responses to some tough inquiries during the hearings 
demonstrated to me that she is qualified to be Interior Secretary and 
that the views she holds, while in some cases controversial, are well 
within the norm of the political discussions we're having in Washington 
about a wide range of these issues.
  I want Gale Norton to do an excellent job as Interior Secretary and 
pledge my cooperation to help make that happen. At the same time, I 
want her to know that those of us on the Energy Committee take very 
seriously the representations she made during the confirmation hearings 
on a wide range of matters. She will find those of us on the Committee 
who have now voted for her confirmation to be helpful in her job of 
meeting the stewardship responsibilities of the Secretary of the 
Interior. But she should understand that she will find us to be severe 
critics if the representations she made to us during the Committee 
hearings turn out to be not in keeping with the way she conducts 
herself as Interior Secretary.
  I will be particularly interested in working with Ms. Norton on 
several issues important to North Dakota and the Nation. For example, I 
will work to ensure that Ms. Norton provides protection for our 
National Parks, public lands and environmentally-sensitive areas.
  Native Americans are particularly important to me. During the 
hearing, Ms. Norton said she respects tribal sovereignty. She should 
adopt a cooperative approach to include the relevant tribal 
stakeholders in policy and regulatory decision making. She also 
committed to work with us to make progress in meeting the critical 
funding needs for tribal schools and colleges.
  I will count on Ms. Norton to adopt a sound scientific basis for her 
policy decisions on actions pertaining to endangered species, the 
global climate, energy issues and more.
  Again, I wish her well and pledge my cooperation as she begins her 
duties following her confirmation today. She clearly has the skill and 
capability to do well as Interior Secretary if she pursues a balanced 
set of policies that conform to the positions she took when she 
appeared before our Committee.

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