Jackson, who heads the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and worked at the EPA for 16 years, said the agency's decisions will be based on science and the law and not politics. Her statement was the clearest signal yet that the Obama administration plans to take EPA in a different direction from his Republican predecessor.
Senate committees also warmly received other Cabinet nominees yesterday, continuing an aggressive push to confirm them by Inauguration Day, as they pledged to improve on the performance of the Bush administration.
Retired General Eric K. Shinseki, Obama's choice to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs, said that six-month waits to have a disability claim processed would not be acceptable under his watch and promised to modernize the nation's second largest agency.
Shinseki said another priority would be to ensure that new GI benefits are rolled out in August, as planned.
He was the Army's first four-star general of Japanese-American descent. As Army chief of staff, he helped lead the transformation to a lighter, more mobile force. He retired in 2003, shortly after clashing with the Bush administration on war policy.
Obama's nominee for secretary of agriculture, former Iowa governor Tom Vilsack, said the department needs "a compelling new vision" to cope with "historic challenges," mostly brought on by economic woes that are hitting rural areas hard.
He said that if he is confirmed, he will work to boost the economies of farm communities, promote nutritious foods, and help poor families put meals on the table.
