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

DATE: THURSDAY, December 29, 1994                   TAG: 9412290115
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Knight-Ridder/Tribune
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

GLICKMAN PICKED TO HEAD AGRICULTURE

President Clinton on Wednesday nominated Rep. Dan Glickman of Kansas to become secretary of agriculture, a choice that was lauded by farm and consumer groups but may bring intense scrutiny from Republican senators.

Glickman, a nine-term Democratic congressman from Wichita who was defeated in a bid for re-election last month, will replace Mike Espy, who announced his resignation this fall amid ethical questions.

Clinton hailed Glickman as a vocal advocate for agriculture and rural America.

Almost immediately, the incoming chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., indicated that Glickman will get no honeymoon during confirmation hearings. He said Glickman should expect to be grilled on dozens of vexing farm questions, including whether farm programs should exist at all. For Glickman to win Senate confirmation, Lugar said, ``He will need to articulate these ideas publicly and confidently prior to assuming command'' at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.The USDA is big territory to cover.

The agriculture secretary oversees a $64 billion budget that ultimately touches every consumer in the United States. Its jurisdiction includes food stamps and farm programs, the Forest Service and school lunches, food safety and soil conservation.

If confirmed, Glickman would be one of the few agriculture secretaries never to have lived on a farm or in a rural community.

by CNB