WHITE HOUSE PUSHES FOR CONFIRMATIONS

WASHINGTON - The White House called on the Senate Friday to confirm two
nominees who face greater scrutiny now that their fate is in the hands of a
Democratic majority.

The nominations of John D. Negroponte as U.N. ambassador and John P.
Walters to head White House drug policy have been denounced by some
Democrats and liberal groups.

Negroponte has been criticized for his work as ambassador to Honduras in
the 1980s, when the Central American country was used by U.S.-backed Contra
rebels to fight Nicaragua's leftist Sandinista government and the Honduran
military was torturing and killing Honduran leftists. Walters, a protege of
former drug policy director William Bennett, has been called a hard-liner
in the drug fight, favoring tough law enforcement measures and being
skeptical of treatment programs and other efforts to reduce demand.

With the shift in the Senate following the defection of Vermont's James
Jeffords from the Republican Party, both nominations are now in the hands
of Democratic committee chairmen. While their confirmations aren't
necessarily in jeopardy, they are not assured either. Democrats are
expected to ask a lot of questions.

"There's a greater guarantee that there will be some careful scrutiny,"
said George Vickers, executive director of the liberal Washington Office on
Latin America. "I don't think it necessarily increases the likelihood that
people will be defeated or turned away."

No date has been set for Walters' hearing, said David Carle, spokesman for
Judiciary Committee chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. "The judiciary committee
is acting on nominations responsibly and with all due speed," Carle said.

But the delay was criticized by the committee's top Republican, Sen. Orrin
Hatch of Utah.

"Considering that earlier this year Senate Democrats were complaining that
President Bush was taking too long to nominate a drug czar, it is ironic
that they are now stalling in holding a nomination hearing for John
Walters," Hatch said in a statement.

A date for Negroponte's hearing should be announced within days, said Norm
Kurz, spokesman for Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joseph Biden, D-Del.

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said failure to quickly confirm
Negroponte, who was nominated in March, would signal that the United States
is not deeply involved in the United Nations. The lack of a permanent U.N.
ambassador was seen as hurting the United States when it was voted off the
U.N. human rights commission in May.

Biden's committee will also consider another nomination that has prompted
strong opposition: Otto Reich for the State Department's top position for
western hemisphere affairs.

From 1983-86, Reich led a State Department office that was accused of
running an illegal, covert domestic-propaganda effort against the
Sandinistas. His lobbying work for companies with interests in Latin
America, including Bacardi Inc. and Lockheed Martin, has also raised
concerns. Reich's supporters say he is an experienced diplomat who is being
criticized for his political views, especially his strong stand against
Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., has said that Reich is too divisive a
figure to put in the post. With Dodd now the chairman of Foreign Relations'
Western Hemisphere Affairs subcommittee, some Republicans fear Reich's
nomination will be blocked. Dodd spokesman Marvin Fast said the senator's
office is reviewing Reich's financial disclosure forms, submitted this
week, in which he promised to get rid of any holdings that could pose a
conflict. Fast said the office will seek more information about how Reich
plans to disassociate himself from his lobbying clients.

"Based upon what is admittedly a fairly quick review of the materials
provided, it raises more questions rather than fewer questions," Fast said.
While Negroponte and Reich face questions about their ties to Contra-aid
policy in the Reagan administration, another appointee with a deeper
connection prompted little debate.

Former Assistant Secretary of State Elliott Abrams, who pleaded guilty to
withholding information from Congress, was appointed last month to be
senior director of the National Security Council's office for democracy,
human rights and international operations.

Abrams, who was pardoned by the first President Bush, did not need Senate
confirmation.