
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, May 5, 1993                   TAG: 9305050141
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

SENATE VOTES TO GIVE CABINET STATUS TO EPA

The Senate voted Tuesday to elevate the Environmental Protection Agency to full Cabinet status, a move sought by President Clinton as part of his pledge to step up protection of the nation's air and water.

The bill, approved 79-15, also would give the agency a new name, the Department of Environmental Protection. It would become the federal government's 15th Cabinet department.

The measure now goes to the House, where it faces an uncertain future.

Included in the bill is Clinton's proposal to abolish the 23-year-old White House Council on Environmental Quality, a low-profile panel that has been largely bypassed within the new administration.

Doing away with the council generated little controversy in the Senate. In the House, though, Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., is raising questions about the proposal.

by CNB