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Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Dudley Evades Democrats' Probes in Hearing

Monday's hearing on the nomination of Susan Dudley to be the new director of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) in OMB did little to reveal Dudley's positions on a variety of issues. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), the current chair of the Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs, was the only Republican member of the committee to attend the hearing. The incoming chair, Sen. Joseph Lieberman (ID-CT), did not attend the hearing but submitted an extensive list of questions to Dudley prior to the hearing.

The Democrats on the committee asked Dudley questions concerning her views on regulation of arsenic, ozone, the Toxics Release Inventory, and her writings on the economic benefits of regulations generally. Dudley has written extensively on the benefits of market forces to regulate public interest protections rather than having governments issue protective standards. The Democrats asked probing questions about her writings, the substance of different regulations, and her ideas about managing OIRA if confirmed.

Even when pushed on issues by Sens. Carl Levin (D-MI), Mark Pryor (D-AR), and Tom Carper (D-DE), Dudley evaded the questions with answers suggesting that the Senators were reading her writings too broadly or saying she would be willing to talk about these issues once confirmed. She retreated from only one position when Collins asked Dudley if she really believed that states, such as Maine, which is downwind of Midwestern power stations' pollution, should be in the position of compensating polluters. Dudley admitted that she "was wrong" and suggested those writings were an example of someone engaged in scholarly writings instead of a practical regulatory role.

After the hearing Collins told the press she was leaning toward supporting the nominee and expected to bring it to a committee vote during the December lame duck session.

No other members on the committee have taken positions. However, given the probing questions by the Democrats and evasive responses from Dudley it would appear that the concern over her nomination will not likely dissipate.

A CQ Today article may have summed it up best when the reporter noted that Sen. John Warner (R-VA) introduced Dudley and then immediately left saying, "I wish you luck, and you’re on your own."