A last-minute concession by the White House on nuclear-wastestorage cleared the way for the Senate on Friday to confirm byunanimous consent Bill Richardson, currently the U.S. ambassador tothe United Nations, as the next secretary of the Department ofEnergy (DOE).

The Senate vote came less than one day after President Clintonsent a letter to Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID), who vowed to put a holdon the nomination, assuring him that Richardson would have fullauthority to deal with Congress to resolve the controversialnuclear-waste storage issue.

“Let me assure you that Ambassador Richardson has the portfoliofor addressing the nuclear-waste issue and has full authority tocarry out his responsibilities in this area,” Clinton wrote in hisJuly 30th letter to Craig.

Craig “feels that he’s forced the issue with them. His demandswere met and he doesn’t see a need to carry on with it,” said WillHart, Craig’s press aide on Friday prior to the Senate vote.Richardson is “now empowered to solve this problem.”

The letter put an end to what was shaping up to be an angryshowdown between the White House and Craig over the nuclear-wastestorage issue, with the Richardson nomination caught in middle.Craig, a member of the Senate Energy Committee, was supported inhis effort by Senate Energy Chairman Frank Murkowski (R-AK) andSen. Rod Grams (R-MN), but faced opposition from the committee’sDemocrat members.

Richardson, once sworn in, would succeed Federico Pena, whostepped down as DOE secretary in late June. Deputy Energy SecretaryElizabeth Moler has been the acting energy secretary since then,but she is expected to leave the department after Richardson takesoffice, according to Washington sources.

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