Bennett seeks to block Interior nominee

Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, is busy building roadblocks to the confirmation of a new deputy Interior secretary, saying the nominee provided false answers about the Interior Department's decision to rescind 77 Utah oil and gas leases auctioned by the Bush administration in December.

The nomination of David Hayes was endorsed anyway on a 17-5 vote Wednesday in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, although a few senators voting for it said they were undecided how they will vote in the full Senate and urged Hayes to more fully respond to Bennett's concern.

Bennett is essentially threatening to filibuster Hayes' nomination unless Interior gives him better information about the canceled oil and gas leases. That maneuver means Hayes would need a three-fifths majority to quash Bennett's move, rather than the normal simple majority needed for confirmation.

Bennett is concerned about Interior Secretary Ken Salazar's decision last month to rescind the Dec. 19 auction of 77 oil and gas leases in Utah saying they are too near "American iconic treasures," including Arches National Park, and that environmental review of them by the Bush administration was lacking.

Bennett told the committee Wednesday, "The secretary did not have to cancel those leases. In my view, there was no reason why he should have canceled those leases, and the reasons I have been given so far simply don't cut it."

He said written responses from Hayes about that sale essentially provided no information he requested about the Obama administration's review of the sale, and "part of the answers were simply false."

For example, Bennett said the responses claimed that the Bureau of Land Management did not consult with the National Park Service about the lease sale.

But, Bennett said, "The BLM issued a press release on Nov. 25 applauding the cooperation and coordination and collaboration with the park service."

So, he said, "I will oppose his nomination until we get a more responsive reaction from the department."

In an earlier hearing on Tuesday before the same committee, Bennett complained directly to Salazar about the vague responses he had received to concerns about whether retreating from the sales was appropriate. Salazar promised more detailed answers and urged the committee to advance the nomination of Hayes anyway.