Agriculture Secretary Nomination Sent to Senate Panel
WASHINGTON — The nomination of Dan Glickman to be the next agriculture secretary was sent to the Senate on Friday following a lengthy background check that bogged down on financial matters.
White House officials forwarded the nomination to the Senate Agriculture Committee, which will hold confirmation hearings on March 21.
Glickman, a Democrat who served nine terms in the House before his defeat in November, was chosen by President Clinton in December to replace Mike Espy, who left under an ethical cloud.
During its background check, the FBI raised questions about Glickman’s personal use of a campaign credit card.
But the White House maintained the nomination was in no danger and that the FBI was taking great care to determine if there were adequate records to back up Glickman’s insistence that he repaid all the credit card charges at the time.
The delay in sending the paperwork to the Agriculture Committee has raised some concerns in Congress that work on the 1995 farm bill was being delayed.
Glickman can expect thorough confirmation hearings.
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