SPLIT PANEL OK'S BUSH'S DRUG CONTROL PICK

WASHINGTON - Despite objections from Betty Ford and drug-treatment
authorities, a divided Senate Judiciary Committee approved John Walters
yesterday as the chief of the administration's drug control policies.

Rejecting concerns by the wife of the former president and others that
Walters has shown contempt for drug treatment, the panel sent the
nomination to the full Senate on a 14-5 vote.

Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the committee chairman, was among the
five Democrats who voted against Walters. Leahy promised to monitor
Walters's leadership of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, to make
sure he keeps a promise to provide a balanced approach that mixes law
enforcement with education and treatment.

"I have been concerned that Mr. Walters was the wrong person for this job,"
Leahy said. "I continue to believe that."

Four Democrats joined the panel's nine Republicans in approving the nomination.

The committee majority noted that Walters has the confidence of President
Bush and served nearly a decade ago in the drug control office during the
administration of Bush's father. They also pointed out that during his
tenure, illegal narcotic use in the United States declined.

"Mr. Walters is eminently qualified," said Senator Orrin G. Hatch of Utah,
the panel's ranking Republican. "He is the right person for this job."

The full Senate was expected to confirm Walters, giving the president the
final member of his Cabinet 10 months after taking office.

Leahy said that John Schwarzlose - president of the Betty Ford Center, a
drug and alcohol treatment facility - wrote the committee on Oct. 9.

"Mrs. Ford and I are convinced that Mr. Walters may not have the confidence
in the treatment and prevention strategies that we believe are necessary
for the creation and implementation of a balanced and thoughtful approach
to US drug policy," Schwarzlose wrote.