Army secretary nominee facing opposition

Efforts to confirm the president's pick for Army secretary have hit a roadblock in the Senate, where debate on the selection of defense industry executive Francis Harvey will be the first order of business when the Senate reconvenes Nov. 16.

The opposition to the Harvey nomination comes from Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., a member of the Armed Services Committee who was disappointed with Harvey's testimony during an Oct. 6 confirmation hearing. Although the committee moved the nomination for floor action, sources say Reed is holding it up to shed more light on the Bush administration's handling of Army troop and equipment needs in Iraq.

In addition, Reed has questioned the administration's bid to fill the top Army civilian slot in the final week before the Senate's Oct. 11 adjournment. The position has remained vacant since the resignation of former Army Secretary Thomas White in the spring of 2003.

"The senator wanted to make sure there was a full debate," said Reed's spokesman. "He was unhappy with Harvey's response to questions on equipment recapitalization and troop strength."

Reed had met with the nominee before the hearing to alert Harvey to his concerns. But the senator disliked Harvey's answers during his testimony. "I would have hoped in the interim between our meeting today that you have made yourself more aware of the specifics so you could give an answer, rather than essentially a conceptual approach to the problem," Reed said at the Oct. 6 hearing.

Although Reed hailed recent passage of the fiscal 2005 defense authorization bill, which would increase Army troop strength by 20,000, the senator was unhappy with a compromise that would authorize the increase through emergency appropriations, rather than through the regular budget.

"The Bush administration and some in Congress are not being candid and honest with the American people about the full cost of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan," Reed said in an Oct. 8 statement. "Paying for the increase in this way also prevents the United States Army from including the increased troop strength in its long term planning and budgeting."

Harvey, who sits on the boards of three companies controlled in part by the Carlyle Group, a private equity firm with ties to influential Republicans, was nominated Sept. 14.

Since White's resignation over a year ago, the administration's effort to name a new Army secretary has been troubled. The first nominee, Air Force Secretary James Roche, withdrew his nomination because of controversy surrounding the effort to acquire new Boeing refueling tankers. Deputy Army Secretary Les Brownlee has been acting secretary in the interim.

Although Reed's objections are not expected to kill Harvey's appointment, they were enough to prompt the Senate leadership to schedule three hours of debate on the Harvey nomination when the Senate returns Nov. 16.