THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, February 15, 1995 TAG: 9502150442
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DALE EISMAN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Short : 43 lines
The White House has withdrawn one of its nominees to the 1995 Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission, creating the possibility that the panel will have a vacancy when it gets to work next month.
Michael P.W. Stone, a former secretary of the Army, had been announced by the Clinton administration last week as a prospective member. Recommended by Kansas Sen. Bob Dole, the Senate Republican leader, Stone had been expected to win confirmation easily.
But his name was not among those the White House formally submitted to the Senate; it was unclear Tuesday whether he withdrew or Clinton had a change of heart.
According to one congressman, commission chairman Alan J. Dixon told a group of lawmakers on Monday that Stone withdrew ``for business reasons.''
But Congressional Monitor, a Capitol Hill newsletter, quoted Stone as saying he did not know why his name was not submitted. ``I was asked to serve and I indicated he would,'' he said. ``I was doing it truly as a public service.''
Stone, who lives in San Francisco, could not be reached Tuesday for comment.
The administration apparently has asked Dole to suggest another nominee. One choice may be Patrick Tucker, a lobbyist for Newport News Shipbuilding and a former aide to U.S. Sen. John W. Warner; Dole went out of his way to praise Tucker in December, when he announced his support for Stone.
Six other commission nominees are scheduled for a confirmation hearing today in the Senate Armed Services Committee. Dixon was nominated and confirmed last fall.
There is precedent for the commission to work without its full complement of eight; one member of the 1991 and '93 commissions resigned during their deliberations.
KEYWORDS: MILITARY BASES BASE CLOSINGS by CNB