Solar Energy Center. I had the personal privilege of working with Jay on a number of these groups, and his contributions were always superior. Jay has substantial management experience as well, having served as Deputy Chief of Staff and Chief of Staff to then-Governor Bob Graham, and most recently as State Director for Senator Graham. Under President Carter, Jay served in the Interior Department. His academic credentials are exemplary, including a Ph.D. from Duke University and seven years of service on the faculty of the University of New Orleans. The wise decision to nominate Jay Hakes for EIA Administrator will permit the states to work more closely with EIA on a variety of fronts to help improve our energy data base and the required analysis and dissemination of this important data. I know I speak for all the state energy directors in strongly supporting Jay's nomination. If we can answer any questions or, in any way, support his nomination, please do not hesitate to contact us. Sincerely, CARSON D. CULBRETH, Chairman. Hon. J. BENNETT JOHNSTON, SOLAR ENERGY INDUSTRIES ASSOCIATION, Chairman, Energy and Natural Resources Committee, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. DEAR SENATOR JOHNSTON: The Solar Energy Industries Association, the national trade organization of the photovoltaic and solar thermal manufacturers and component suppliers, wishes to endorse the nomination of Jay Hakes as Administrator of the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Mr. Hakes has a strong grasp of energy issues, including renewable energy. His work with former Governor and now Senator Graham, and his work with the Southern States Energy Board ad the Florida Solar Energy Center, provide him with the breadth of knowledge ad experience necessary for this important position. I have known Mr. Hakes for a decade and have found him to be a solid professional with strong insights. His appointment to the U.S. Department of Energy team will be a significant asset to the energy program. SEIA strongly urges his speedy confirmation. Sincerely, SCOTT SKLAR, Executive Director. UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER, Senator J. BENNETT JOHNSTON, Chairman, Energy & Natural Resources Committee, Dirksen Senate Bldg., Washington, DC. DEAR SENATOR JOHNSTON: I recently heard of President Clinton's intention to nominate Ms. Tara O'Toole to be Assistant Secretary of Energy for Environment, Safety and Health at the Department of Energy. I am writing to you (in addition to the Senators from my home state of Colorado) to express my extreme displeasure with this nomination. These feelings are the outgrowth of my attendance at a symposium on the Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons plant held in Boulder, CO on Saturday, March 13. Although the symposium was subtitled "The Science Behind the Issues", there was only a modicum of science and a great deal of bombast. Ms. Tara O'Toole was one of the participants representing the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment. Her inflammatory remarks regarding the acceptability of an atomic bomb exhibit at the Atomic Energy museum in Oak Ridge, Tennessee had no place at this symposium. She went on to pass judgment on the acceptability of using the atomic bomb in World War II. I don't see why we, as a nation, have to keep coming back to this issue with its attendant moral soul-searching: there was a threat to the world's civilization from Germany, Italy and Japan; there was no guarantee, in the relative state of infancy of the bomb's development, that any of the three bombs would work, making a demonstration test explosion an unacceptable alternative if the goal was to convince the Japanese to surrender; that failure to drop the bomb would have doomed tens if not hundreds of thousands of American men to being killed during the home island invasion. I know-my wife's uncle was one of the designated invasion fleet, 3rd wave. Ms. O'Toole is using her position in Washington to muscle in her own moral agenda out of the context of history when the action was performed. A person like this has no purpose in government. Her militant anti-nuclear stance on everything containing the word radiation belies the fundamental benefits that radiation accords the United States civilian population every day. Her evident lack of knowledge concerning radiation makes her poorly equipped to execute in a responsible fashion the duties assigned the Assistant secretary, namely the development of applicable environment, safety and health regulations and implementing an effective occupational health program. I would hope that her nomination be battled with extreme vigor, and ultimately defeated. Her extreme viewpoints make it impossible for her to carry out in an objective and effective manner the system which the Assistant Secretary is charged with implementing. Sincerely TIMOTHY K. JOHNSON, PH.D., |