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Clinton vows to revitalize US diplomacy & Clinton acted on concerns of husband's donors & Smart Powers
Clinton vows to revitalize US diplomacy
By ROBERT BURNS and ANNE FLAHERTY
WASHINGTON – Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday that she intends to revitalize the mission of diplomacy in American foreign policy, calling for a "smart power" strategy in the Middle East and implicitly criticizing the Bush administration for having downgraded the role of arms control.
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Hillary slideshow
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Clinton talks strategy in confirmation hearing - video
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Tapper on Clinton's confirmation hearing - video
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Secretary of State-designate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, … photo
At a daylong confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, President-elect Barack Obama's choice for secretary of state sailed smoothly through an array of non-contentious questions until two Republican committee members pressed her to take additional steps to ensure that former President Bill Clinton's global fundraising work does not pose even an appearance of conflict with her role as the chief U.S. diplomat. She balked, saying disclosure rules already in place were carefully crafted and adequate to avoid any conflict.
Clinton appeared headed for easy confirmation. She encountered no challenges to her basic vision for foreign policy.
Clinton, who will relinquish her seat in the Senate when confirmed, spoke confidently of Obama's intentions to renew American leadership in the world and to strengthen U.S. diplomacy.
"America cannot solve the most pressing problems on our own, and the world cannot solve them without America," she said, her daughter Chelsea seated behind her in the audience. "The best way to advance America's interest in reducing global threats and seizing global opportunities is to design and implement global solutions. This isn't a philosophical point. This is our reality."
In laying out a general outlook for American foreign policy under Obama, Clinton spoke in a clear, unhurried voice and looked at ease. She made it plain, citing policy themes that were familiar from Obama's presidential campaign — and in many cases her own, that the incoming Democratic administration wants to elevate the role of diplomacy.
She and Obama contend that the Bush administration relied too heavily on the military to carry out foreign policy and that it leaned too much on ideology and too little on pragmatism.
The Foreign Relations Committee planned to vote on Clinton's nomination on Thursday. If it approves her, she could gain full Senate confirmation as early as Inauguration Day.
The panel's ranking Republican, Sen. Richard Lugar, praised Clinton, calling her "the epitome of a big leaguer" whose presence could open new opportunities for American diplomacy.
But Lugar also raised questions about the issue of Bill Clinton's fundraising work and its relation to her wife's new post. Lugar said that the only way for Clinton to avoid a potential conflict of interest due to her husband's charity is to forswear any new foreign contributions. The Indiana senator said the situation poses a "unique complication" that requires "great care and transparency."
Before the hearing, Lugar made four suggestions to Hillary Clinton's staff on how to improve transparency in her husband's charitable fundraising, said the senator's spokesman, Andy Fisher.
But in her testimony, Hillary Clinton made clear that the Obama administration would accept only one of the proposals — that the foundation provide a clear picture of its annual donations, Fisher said.
Lugar also wanted the foundation to immediately disclose donations of $50,000 or more; alert ethics officials when such sizable donations are pledged; and apply the same stringent requirements to foreign businesses. The current plan only subjects foreign governments to scrutiny by State Department ethics officials and would not require a review of contributions by foreign businesses — a loophole that could easily be exploited, Lugar warned.
She also was pressed by Sen. David Vitter, R-La., who said the Clinton fundraising posed "real and perceived conflict issues" for his wife.
Few others on the committee pursued the conflict-of-interest issue and it did not appear to be a likely impediment to her confirmation.
The Senate also was holding confirmation hearings for other Obama choices for Cabinet and top White House positions. Appearing were Peter Orszag, to head the Office of Management and Budget, and Robert Nabors II, for deputy director of OMB; New York housing official Shaun Donovan, to be secretary of housing and urban development; Steven Chu, to head the Energy Department; and Arne Duncan, as education secretary.
Chu promised that if confirmed as energy secretary he will aggressively pursue policies aimed at addressing climate change and achieving greater energy independence by developing clean energy sources. At his hearing, Duncan said that the No Child Left Behind law should stop punishing schools where only a handful of kids are struggling.
Clinton sat alone at a small, black-draped desk, with a retinue of advisers behind her. Her husband was not present. Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor said the former president was watching the hearing elsewhere with his wife's mother.
"President Clinton wanted to make sure the attention was focused on Sen. Clinton," Vietor said.
The Senate hearing room was packed with ambassadors, current and former diplomats, supporters and aides sitting cheek by jowl. Dozens of photographers ringed Clinton as she spoke.
In discussing the problem of peacemaking in the Middle East, Clinton referred to her husband's extensive, though ultimately unsuccessful, efforts to strike a comprehensive peace deal.
"As intractable as the Middle East's problems may seem and many presidents, including my husband, have spent years trying to help work out a resolution, we cannot give up on peace," she said.
"We must also actively pursue a strategy of smart power in the Middle East that addresses the security needs of Israel and the legitimate political and economic aspirations of the Palestinians," she said.
Lugar, who has played a leading Senate role in arms control issues, applauded Obama's stated intention to engage Russia in more arms control talks and pursue efforts to improve international controls of nuclear materials that could fall into the hands of terrorists. He said that during the Bush administration the State Department had been a "reluctant or almost nonexistent partner" in that effort. Clinton said she intended to bring more arms control experts back into the State Department, where arms control functions had been "significantly degraded" under Bush.
On Iraq, Clinton said ending the war is a priority. The first step will be moving troops out of cities by June, in line with an agreement already established between the Bush administration and the Iraqi government. The agreement calls for all U.S. troops to be gone by the end of 2011. Obama has said he believes the withdrawal can be accomplished more quickly.
___
Associated Press writer Anne Gearan contributed to this report.
Clinton acted on concerns of husband's donors
By SHARON THEIMER
http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Sen-Hillary-Rodham-Clinton-Gen-David-...
In this April 8, 2008, file photo Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., a member of the Senate Armed Services … photo
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Hillary faces questions about her husband's donors - video
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Smart Power - video
WASHINGTON – Secretary of State nominee Hillary Rodham Clinton intervened at least six times in government issues directly affecting companies and others that later contributed to her husband's foundation, an Associated Press review of her official correspondence found.
The overlap of names on former President Bill Clinton's foundation donor list and business interests whose issues she championed raise new questions about potential ethics conflicts between her official actions and her husband's fundraising. The AP obtained three of the senator's government letters under the Freedom of Information Act.
During Clinton's confirmation hearing Tuesday, Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana, the Foreign Relations Committee's senior Republican, said the foundation's charitable efforts "should not be a barrier to Senator Clinton's service," but he acknowledged the potential that conflicts of interest might arise: "Work of the Clinton foundation is a unique complication that will have to be managed with great care and transparency."
Under an agreement with President-elect Barack Obama, Bill Clinton recently released the names of donors to his foundation, a nonprofit that has raised at least $492 million — including millions from foreign governments — to fund his library in Little Rock, Ark., and charitable efforts worldwide on such issues as AIDS, poverty and climate change.
Lugar told Sen. Clinton on Tuesday that her husband's foundation should not accept any more contributions from foreign governments.
The letters and donations involve pharmaceutical companies and telecommunications and energy interests. An aide to the senator said she made no secret of her involvement in many of the issues. Bill Clinton's foundation declined to say when it received the donations or precisely how much was contributed.
"Throughout her tenure, Senator Clinton has proven that she acts solely based on what she believes is best for the state and people she represents, without consideration to any other factor," said spokesman Philippe Reines. "In these instances, she was doing what the people of New York elected her to do: Work hard on the issues of importance to them."
Hillary Rodham Clinton and the Clinton Foundation both declined to answer questions about whether the senator tried to step away from issues directly affecting donors to her husband's charity, and whether the foundation tried to screen out money from those on whose issues the senator had intervened.
"Generally, through a combination of rigorous adherence to Senate and FEC income and asset disclosure rules, coupled with the voluntary and unprecedented release of the names of every single Foundation supporter since its inception, the Clintons are by far the most financially transparent former first couple in American history," Reines said.
Sen. Clinton wrote to the Federal Communications Commission in February 2004 expressing concern that changes to competitive local exchange carrier access rates could hurt carriers such as New York-based PAETEC Communications. PAETEC's chief executive is Arunas Chesonis, whose family and charity later contributed to the Clinton foundation.
Sarah Wood, executive director of the Chesonis Family Foundation, was invited by a part of the Clinton Foundation, the Clinton Global Initiative, to join the initiative after it was established in 2005, Wood said Monday. The Chesonis family personally paid $15,000 for Wood's membership in CGI in September 2007, and the Chesonis foundation paid $20,000 for it in March 2008, Wood said.
The Chesonis Family Foundation made a $10 million pledge last May to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for solar energy research, meeting Wood's commitment to the Clinton Global Initiative to act on a project, Wood said.
Wood said the Chesonis foundation was unaware of the senator's letter to the FCC on the PAETEC issue and didn't have any contact with her office.
PAETEC spokesman Christopher Muller said PAETEC had no involvement in the Chesonis donations to the Clinton foundation. PAETEC asked Clinton to intervene with the FCC on its behalf, he said.
"Yes, PAETEC feels strongly that a competitive telecom environment is in the best interests of New York businesses and consumers," Muller wrote in an e-mail to the AP.
"PAETEC has petitioned numerous elected officials in the markets which we serve in an effort to retain the spirit of the Telecom Act of 1996." The issue is still pending at the FCC, and PAETEC remains involved in it, Muller said.
Pharmaceutical company Merck & Co. is also a member of the Clinton Global Initiative, company spokeswoman Amy Rose said. Merck joined CGI in 2006, when dues were $15,000, and also was a member in 2007 and in 2008, when membership dues rose to $20,000. As part of its commitment to CGI, Merck sponsors public health initiatives around the world, Rose said. Merck joined CGI on its own initiative, she said.
Sen. Clinton wrote a November 2005 letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt urging approval of the human papillomavirus vaccine. Merck applied in December 2005 for approval of its HPV vaccine, Gardasil, and the vaccine was approved for use in females ages 9 to 26. Merck is still seeking approval for use in older women, Rose said.
Rose said Merck's participation in the Clinton Global Initiative was unrelated to Sen. Clinton's letter. Merck didn't communicate with Clinton or her office about its HPV vaccine and was unaware of her letter before it was sent, Rose said.
Another letter involved an issue important to Barr Laboratories. Sens. Clinton and Patty Murray, D-Wash., wrote to Leavitt in August 2005 urging that "science, not politics" guide the agency and "that a decision be brought swiftly on Plan B's application." Leavitt's office described the Clinton letter as pertaining to Barr's application for Plan B, the emergency contraceptive also called the morning-after pill.
Barr Laboratories gave $10,001 to $25,000 to the Clinton foundation, the charity's donor list shows. Barr joined the Clinton Global Initiative in April 2007, spokeswoman Carol Cox said. Cox didn't comment on Clinton's letter.
Several of the letters involve issues directly affecting KeySpan Corp., the energy company now known as National Grid. KeySpan didn't ask the senator to intervene and had no communication with her office about its later donations to the Clinton foundation, said company spokesman Chris Mostyn.
KeySpan joined the Clinton Global Initiative in 2007 because it wanted to become involved in the climate change issue, Mostyn said. KeySpan paid $15,000 for its membership in 2007 and $20,000 for 2008, Mostyn said.
Clinton joined several other members of Congress from New York in February 2003 asking the Commerce Department to consider an appeal by Islander East, a limited liability company formed by subsidiaries of KeySpan Energy and another company, to build a natural gas pipeline to serve Connecticut, New York City and Long Island, N.Y.
Clinton and the other lawmakers wanted the Commerce Department to overturn the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection's determination that Islander East's pipeline plan was inconsistent with the state's coastal zone management program. Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., and other Connecticut lawmakers wrote to Commerce urging denial of Islander East's appeal.
Clinton earlier wrote to the Long Island Power Authority and to KeySpan urging them to consider the modernization of KeySpan's New York power plants. Her letter in June 2002 offered her help on the issue. Also in 2002, Clinton wrote the federal government letters on the natural gas Millennium Pipeline Project in which KeySpan was involved, urging an extension of a deadline for public comment and forwarding information on route alternatives.
Mostyn said KeySpan didn't ask Clinton to get involved in the issues. The Millennium Pipeline began commercial operations in December, the Islander East project is on hold due to Connecticut's rejection of permits, and the company is working with the Long Island Power Authority to study power plant modernization, he said.
___
On the Net:
Clinton Global Initiative: http://www.clintonglobalinitiative.org/
Clinton Foundation donors: http://clintonfoundation.org/contributors/
'Smart Power' Is Clinton's Vow at Hearings
Confirmation on Track, but She Faces Questions on Husband's Charity Work
By RICK KLEIN, KIRIT RADIA and KATE BARRETT
After a warm reception during the morning session on Capitol Hill, Sen. Hillary Clinton faced tougher questions this afternoon about potential conflicts of interest her husband's fundraising could pose if she is confirmed as secretary of state.
Concerns about former President Bill Clinton's financial ties to foreign governments were expected to be the biggest hurdle in the New York senator's otherwise noncontroversial nomination to be the country's top diplomat.
Clinton had tried to defuse the issue before the hearing by promising in a Memorandum of Understanding that donors to her husband's Clinton Foundation would be made public in the future.
But Republicans sought additional assurances during confirmation hearings today before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, asking that Clinton agree to more stringent reporting rules concerning what donations her husband would accept, what would be disclosed and how frequently that information would be released.
Sen. David Vitter, R-La., specifically called on Clinton to provide more reporting on contributions to the Clinton Global Initiative, which he said was not included in the Clinton Foundation's donation reporting.
Clinton balked, saying the foundation is going "beyond even what the rules would call for" in disclosing and preclearing donors.
http://a.abcnews.com/images/Politics/rt_clinton_hill_090113_mn.jpg
Hillary Clinton testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington during her confirmation hearing to become the next U.S. Secretary of State January 13, 2009. photo
"I recognize that these are unique circumstances, to say the least," Clinton said. "It is not unique, however, for spouses of government officials to work, and there are very well-established rules."
Clinton resisted Vitter's insistence on tougher language, saying, "There is no intention to amend the MOU. It has been worked out between the transition and the foundation."
Earlier Tuesday, Richard Lugar, R-Ind., said he worried about the "perception problems" of having Clinton in the post as Bill Clinton continues his overseas fundraising for his foundation. Lugar asked that the former president "foreswear" taking any more donations from foreign governments.
"I share the president-elect's view that the activities of the Clinton Foundation and President Clinton himself should not be a barrier to Sen. Clinton's service," Lugar said. "But I also share the view, implicitly recognized by the Memorandum of Understanding, that the work of the Clinton Foundation is a unique complication that will have to be managed with great care and transparency."
The panel's leader John Kerry, D-Mass., concurred that Lugar's concerns about the foundation's donations were not partisan, but reflect the concerns of committee as a whole.
Still, in their opening statements, both Lugar and Kerry expressed support for Clinton's nomination. Lugar even called Clinton "the epitome of a big leaguer."
Although Clinton's daughter Chelsea was seated behind her, Bill Clinton watched the hearing from the Clinton's Washington home.
The panel hopes to vote on Clinton's nomination Thursday.
Clinton Talks Iran and Israel
The clash over donations to her husband's charity was the only bump in an otherwise smooth appearance by Clinton before her Senate colleagues in which she outlined a foreign policy that indicated she would break sharply with the Bush administration.
She described a geopolitical strategy that places greater emphasis on diplomacy and a strategy she called "smart power."
"I believe that American leadership has been wanting, but is still wanted," Clinton said. "We must use what has been called smart power, the full range of tools at our disposal -- diplomatic, economic, military, political, legal, and cultural... With smart power, diplomacy will be the vanguard of foreign policy."
A Senate confirmation hearing is supposed to be a hot seat, but the reception Clinton got today from her fellow senators was decidedly warm as they began examining whether she has what it takes to become secretary of state.
Clinton showed up at the hearing having crammed in recent weeks for the oral exam, easily handling in detail a wide range of subjects that included Darfur, Georgia, international women's rights, OPEC and energy policy.
She said the administration of President-elect Barack Obama will take a new tack on such thorny issues as Middle East peace and Iran's nuclear ambitions.
Clinton also said an Obama administration will also focus on issues the Bush administration wouldn't touch, including climate change as a threat to security.
And she assured the panel that under a Clinton-run State Department, no option is off the table regarding Iran.
"It is going to be United States policy to pursue diplomacy -- with all of its [tools] -- to do everything we can to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear weapon state. As I also said, no option is off the table," Clinton said.
While promising a "new strategy… that we believe will bear fruit," Clinton was careful to say that she has "no illusions that engaging Iran could predict results."
Clinton also commented for the first time on Israel and Palestinians, saying, "The president-elect and I understand and are deeply sympathetic to Israel's desire to defend itself under the current conditions, and to be free of shelling by Hamas rockets. However, we have also been reminded of the tragic humanitarian costs of conflict in the Middle East, and pained by the suffering of Palestinian and Israeli civilians."
"As we focus on Iraq, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, we must also actively pursue a strategy of smart power in the Middle East that addresses the security needs of Israel and the legitimate political and economic aspirations of the Palestinians; that effectively challenges Iran to end its nuclear weapons program and sponsorship of terror," Clinton said.
On Iraq, she reiterated Obama's intentions to safety redploy troops, but signalled changes have already begun by announcing that the current U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, would be leaving his post for "health and personal reasons."
And on another pressing problem, de-nuclearizing North Korea, Clinton said the current six party talks are a "viable forum," but added that under Obama it will undergo a policy review.
In laying out her foreign policy priorities and values, Clinton highlighted her "steadfast faith in this country," the need to renew America's leadership on the global stage, and her differences with the Bush administration.
"Foreign policy must be based on a marriage of principles and pragmatism, not rigid ideology. On facts and evidence, not emotion or prejudice," she said.
Clinton Foundation and Foreign Donors
As expected, Clinton faced pointed questions during the confirmation hearings about her husband's post-presidential financial ties.
The Clinton Foundation has raised hundreds of millions of dollars from some 200,000 private donors -- including the governments of nations with an enormous interest in U.S. policy, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Brunei.
The names of those donors have been made public, and future donations will also be disclosed, under an agreement reached by the Clintons and the Obama team to clear the way for her nomination. The agreement also requires the State Department to pre-clear future donations from foreign interests.
Lugar, the committee's top Republican, said months ago that he planned to use the hearing to press for more extensive disclosure requirements.
"I suspect ... that I'm not alone in suggesting there will be questions raised and will probably be legitimate," Lugar told ABC's George Stephanopoulos on "This Week" in November.
Andy Fisher, a Lugar spokesman, said the senator's concerns remain. He pointed out that The New York Times editorial page called for stricter disclosure rules, including review of all foundation donations by the White House counsel's office.
"It's ripe for potential conflicts of interest, or at least appearance problems. So, every step needs to be taken to make sure there isn't a problem," Fisher said.
"That said, it's not going to be something that's going to be derailing the nomination," he said. "The Senate continues to have a very good relationship with their colleagues, when they're up for nomination."
Those questions aside, the hearings were unlikely to produce major fireworks. No roadblocks have emerged to suggest Clinton will have any trouble winning Senate confirmation this week.
"She's a very competent and qualified candidate," said Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., a member of the panel that questioned Clinton. "I've seen her work in the Senate. I've been on the same committees. She's proven herself to be a hard worker and a very competent individual."
In part because Clinton is a colleague who has earned respect from her fellow senators, Republican senators and aides said they didn't expect the hearing on her nomination to become an extended referendum on Clinton-era scandals, or on Clinton's extended primary battle with President-elect Barack Obama.
Aides said they didn't expect the hearing to be anywhere near as contentious as Condoleezza Rice's hearing for the same post in 2005. That forum became a proxy battle over the Iraq war, with Democrats pressing her to acknowledge mistakes in the run-up to the conflict.
Clinton Careful Not to Contradict Obama
Clinton will need to be careful not to contradict her new boss on policy matters -- or to go further than the Obama team wants to on key issues, in this delicate period when he's not yet president.
Before the hearing, Republican aides said they also expected some of the heated rhetoric between Clinton and Obama during the Democratic primaries to be re-aired on Tuesday, though senators would be unlikely to dwell on it.
As candidates, the two clashed bitterly at times, with Obama blasting Clinton's vote for the Iraq war, and Clinton attacking Obama as too inexperienced on world affairs.
In one notable exchange with policy implications, Obama said he would meet with the leaders of rogue nations "without preconditions" in his first year in office. Clinton called that position "irresponsible and, frankly, naïve."
Yet, that split could actually help Clinton with Republicans on the committee. Isakson said he agrees with Clinton's take on that matter, and said he considers himself closer to Clinton than to Obama when it comes to some key national security matters.
"He's ultimately going to call the shots, but I hope her counsel will inform his actions," he said.
Ross K. Baker, a political science professor at Rutgers University who studies Congress, said senators are particularly deferential to a colleague. This one, he said, has already been through a rough year, where her views and background were heavily scrutinized on the national stage.
"It's quite uncharacteristic for anything involving the Clintons to be this quiet," Baker said. "They're willing to grant her a clean slate to start with."
Kerry has scheduled just one day of hearings for Clinton, in an indication that Democrats don't expect any serious opposition.
By ROBERT BURNS and ANNE FLAHERTY
WASHINGTON – Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday that she intends to revitalize the mission of diplomacy in American foreign policy, calling for a "smart power" strategy in the Middle East and implicitly criticizing the Bush administration for having downgraded the role of arms control.
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Live Clinton Confirmation Hearing - video
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Hillary slideshow
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Clinton talks strategy in confirmation hearing - video
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Tapper on Clinton's confirmation hearing - video
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Secretary of State-designate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, … photo
At a daylong confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, President-elect Barack Obama's choice for secretary of state sailed smoothly through an array of non-contentious questions until two Republican committee members pressed her to take additional steps to ensure that former President Bill Clinton's global fundraising work does not pose even an appearance of conflict with her role as the chief U.S. diplomat. She balked, saying disclosure rules already in place were carefully crafted and adequate to avoid any conflict.
Clinton appeared headed for easy confirmation. She encountered no challenges to her basic vision for foreign policy.
Clinton, who will relinquish her seat in the Senate when confirmed, spoke confidently of Obama's intentions to renew American leadership in the world and to strengthen U.S. diplomacy.
"America cannot solve the most pressing problems on our own, and the world cannot solve them without America," she said, her daughter Chelsea seated behind her in the audience. "The best way to advance America's interest in reducing global threats and seizing global opportunities is to design and implement global solutions. This isn't a philosophical point. This is our reality."
In laying out a general outlook for American foreign policy under Obama, Clinton spoke in a clear, unhurried voice and looked at ease. She made it plain, citing policy themes that were familiar from Obama's presidential campaign — and in many cases her own, that the incoming Democratic administration wants to elevate the role of diplomacy.
She and Obama contend that the Bush administration relied too heavily on the military to carry out foreign policy and that it leaned too much on ideology and too little on pragmatism.
The Foreign Relations Committee planned to vote on Clinton's nomination on Thursday. If it approves her, she could gain full Senate confirmation as early as Inauguration Day.
The panel's ranking Republican, Sen. Richard Lugar, praised Clinton, calling her "the epitome of a big leaguer" whose presence could open new opportunities for American diplomacy.
But Lugar also raised questions about the issue of Bill Clinton's fundraising work and its relation to her wife's new post. Lugar said that the only way for Clinton to avoid a potential conflict of interest due to her husband's charity is to forswear any new foreign contributions. The Indiana senator said the situation poses a "unique complication" that requires "great care and transparency."
Before the hearing, Lugar made four suggestions to Hillary Clinton's staff on how to improve transparency in her husband's charitable fundraising, said the senator's spokesman, Andy Fisher.
But in her testimony, Hillary Clinton made clear that the Obama administration would accept only one of the proposals — that the foundation provide a clear picture of its annual donations, Fisher said.
Lugar also wanted the foundation to immediately disclose donations of $50,000 or more; alert ethics officials when such sizable donations are pledged; and apply the same stringent requirements to foreign businesses. The current plan only subjects foreign governments to scrutiny by State Department ethics officials and would not require a review of contributions by foreign businesses — a loophole that could easily be exploited, Lugar warned.
She also was pressed by Sen. David Vitter, R-La., who said the Clinton fundraising posed "real and perceived conflict issues" for his wife.
Few others on the committee pursued the conflict-of-interest issue and it did not appear to be a likely impediment to her confirmation.
The Senate also was holding confirmation hearings for other Obama choices for Cabinet and top White House positions. Appearing were Peter Orszag, to head the Office of Management and Budget, and Robert Nabors II, for deputy director of OMB; New York housing official Shaun Donovan, to be secretary of housing and urban development; Steven Chu, to head the Energy Department; and Arne Duncan, as education secretary.
Chu promised that if confirmed as energy secretary he will aggressively pursue policies aimed at addressing climate change and achieving greater energy independence by developing clean energy sources. At his hearing, Duncan said that the No Child Left Behind law should stop punishing schools where only a handful of kids are struggling.
Clinton sat alone at a small, black-draped desk, with a retinue of advisers behind her. Her husband was not present. Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor said the former president was watching the hearing elsewhere with his wife's mother.
"President Clinton wanted to make sure the attention was focused on Sen. Clinton," Vietor said.
The Senate hearing room was packed with ambassadors, current and former diplomats, supporters and aides sitting cheek by jowl. Dozens of photographers ringed Clinton as she spoke.
In discussing the problem of peacemaking in the Middle East, Clinton referred to her husband's extensive, though ultimately unsuccessful, efforts to strike a comprehensive peace deal.
"As intractable as the Middle East's problems may seem and many presidents, including my husband, have spent years trying to help work out a resolution, we cannot give up on peace," she said.
"We must also actively pursue a strategy of smart power in the Middle East that addresses the security needs of Israel and the legitimate political and economic aspirations of the Palestinians," she said.
Lugar, who has played a leading Senate role in arms control issues, applauded Obama's stated intention to engage Russia in more arms control talks and pursue efforts to improve international controls of nuclear materials that could fall into the hands of terrorists. He said that during the Bush administration the State Department had been a "reluctant or almost nonexistent partner" in that effort. Clinton said she intended to bring more arms control experts back into the State Department, where arms control functions had been "significantly degraded" under Bush.
On Iraq, Clinton said ending the war is a priority. The first step will be moving troops out of cities by June, in line with an agreement already established between the Bush administration and the Iraqi government. The agreement calls for all U.S. troops to be gone by the end of 2011. Obama has said he believes the withdrawal can be accomplished more quickly.
___
Associated Press writer Anne Gearan contributed to this report.
Clinton acted on concerns of husband's donors
By SHARON THEIMER
http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Sen-Hillary-Rodham-Clinton-Gen-David-...
In this April 8, 2008, file photo Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., a member of the Senate Armed Services … photo
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Hillary faces questions about her husband's donors - video
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Smart Power - video
WASHINGTON – Secretary of State nominee Hillary Rodham Clinton intervened at least six times in government issues directly affecting companies and others that later contributed to her husband's foundation, an Associated Press review of her official correspondence found.
The overlap of names on former President Bill Clinton's foundation donor list and business interests whose issues she championed raise new questions about potential ethics conflicts between her official actions and her husband's fundraising. The AP obtained three of the senator's government letters under the Freedom of Information Act.
During Clinton's confirmation hearing Tuesday, Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana, the Foreign Relations Committee's senior Republican, said the foundation's charitable efforts "should not be a barrier to Senator Clinton's service," but he acknowledged the potential that conflicts of interest might arise: "Work of the Clinton foundation is a unique complication that will have to be managed with great care and transparency."
Under an agreement with President-elect Barack Obama, Bill Clinton recently released the names of donors to his foundation, a nonprofit that has raised at least $492 million — including millions from foreign governments — to fund his library in Little Rock, Ark., and charitable efforts worldwide on such issues as AIDS, poverty and climate change.
Lugar told Sen. Clinton on Tuesday that her husband's foundation should not accept any more contributions from foreign governments.
The letters and donations involve pharmaceutical companies and telecommunications and energy interests. An aide to the senator said she made no secret of her involvement in many of the issues. Bill Clinton's foundation declined to say when it received the donations or precisely how much was contributed.
"Throughout her tenure, Senator Clinton has proven that she acts solely based on what she believes is best for the state and people she represents, without consideration to any other factor," said spokesman Philippe Reines. "In these instances, she was doing what the people of New York elected her to do: Work hard on the issues of importance to them."
Hillary Rodham Clinton and the Clinton Foundation both declined to answer questions about whether the senator tried to step away from issues directly affecting donors to her husband's charity, and whether the foundation tried to screen out money from those on whose issues the senator had intervened.
"Generally, through a combination of rigorous adherence to Senate and FEC income and asset disclosure rules, coupled with the voluntary and unprecedented release of the names of every single Foundation supporter since its inception, the Clintons are by far the most financially transparent former first couple in American history," Reines said.
Sen. Clinton wrote to the Federal Communications Commission in February 2004 expressing concern that changes to competitive local exchange carrier access rates could hurt carriers such as New York-based PAETEC Communications. PAETEC's chief executive is Arunas Chesonis, whose family and charity later contributed to the Clinton foundation.
Sarah Wood, executive director of the Chesonis Family Foundation, was invited by a part of the Clinton Foundation, the Clinton Global Initiative, to join the initiative after it was established in 2005, Wood said Monday. The Chesonis family personally paid $15,000 for Wood's membership in CGI in September 2007, and the Chesonis foundation paid $20,000 for it in March 2008, Wood said.
The Chesonis Family Foundation made a $10 million pledge last May to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for solar energy research, meeting Wood's commitment to the Clinton Global Initiative to act on a project, Wood said.
Wood said the Chesonis foundation was unaware of the senator's letter to the FCC on the PAETEC issue and didn't have any contact with her office.
PAETEC spokesman Christopher Muller said PAETEC had no involvement in the Chesonis donations to the Clinton foundation. PAETEC asked Clinton to intervene with the FCC on its behalf, he said.
"Yes, PAETEC feels strongly that a competitive telecom environment is in the best interests of New York businesses and consumers," Muller wrote in an e-mail to the AP.
"PAETEC has petitioned numerous elected officials in the markets which we serve in an effort to retain the spirit of the Telecom Act of 1996." The issue is still pending at the FCC, and PAETEC remains involved in it, Muller said.
Pharmaceutical company Merck & Co. is also a member of the Clinton Global Initiative, company spokeswoman Amy Rose said. Merck joined CGI in 2006, when dues were $15,000, and also was a member in 2007 and in 2008, when membership dues rose to $20,000. As part of its commitment to CGI, Merck sponsors public health initiatives around the world, Rose said. Merck joined CGI on its own initiative, she said.
Sen. Clinton wrote a November 2005 letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt urging approval of the human papillomavirus vaccine. Merck applied in December 2005 for approval of its HPV vaccine, Gardasil, and the vaccine was approved for use in females ages 9 to 26. Merck is still seeking approval for use in older women, Rose said.
Rose said Merck's participation in the Clinton Global Initiative was unrelated to Sen. Clinton's letter. Merck didn't communicate with Clinton or her office about its HPV vaccine and was unaware of her letter before it was sent, Rose said.
Another letter involved an issue important to Barr Laboratories. Sens. Clinton and Patty Murray, D-Wash., wrote to Leavitt in August 2005 urging that "science, not politics" guide the agency and "that a decision be brought swiftly on Plan B's application." Leavitt's office described the Clinton letter as pertaining to Barr's application for Plan B, the emergency contraceptive also called the morning-after pill.
Barr Laboratories gave $10,001 to $25,000 to the Clinton foundation, the charity's donor list shows. Barr joined the Clinton Global Initiative in April 2007, spokeswoman Carol Cox said. Cox didn't comment on Clinton's letter.
Several of the letters involve issues directly affecting KeySpan Corp., the energy company now known as National Grid. KeySpan didn't ask the senator to intervene and had no communication with her office about its later donations to the Clinton foundation, said company spokesman Chris Mostyn.
KeySpan joined the Clinton Global Initiative in 2007 because it wanted to become involved in the climate change issue, Mostyn said. KeySpan paid $15,000 for its membership in 2007 and $20,000 for 2008, Mostyn said.
Clinton joined several other members of Congress from New York in February 2003 asking the Commerce Department to consider an appeal by Islander East, a limited liability company formed by subsidiaries of KeySpan Energy and another company, to build a natural gas pipeline to serve Connecticut, New York City and Long Island, N.Y.
Clinton and the other lawmakers wanted the Commerce Department to overturn the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection's determination that Islander East's pipeline plan was inconsistent with the state's coastal zone management program. Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., and other Connecticut lawmakers wrote to Commerce urging denial of Islander East's appeal.
Clinton earlier wrote to the Long Island Power Authority and to KeySpan urging them to consider the modernization of KeySpan's New York power plants. Her letter in June 2002 offered her help on the issue. Also in 2002, Clinton wrote the federal government letters on the natural gas Millennium Pipeline Project in which KeySpan was involved, urging an extension of a deadline for public comment and forwarding information on route alternatives.
Mostyn said KeySpan didn't ask Clinton to get involved in the issues. The Millennium Pipeline began commercial operations in December, the Islander East project is on hold due to Connecticut's rejection of permits, and the company is working with the Long Island Power Authority to study power plant modernization, he said.
___
On the Net:
Clinton Global Initiative: http://www.clintonglobalinitiative.org/
Clinton Foundation donors: http://clintonfoundation.org/contributors/
'Smart Power' Is Clinton's Vow at Hearings
Confirmation on Track, but She Faces Questions on Husband's Charity Work
By RICK KLEIN, KIRIT RADIA and KATE BARRETT
After a warm reception during the morning session on Capitol Hill, Sen. Hillary Clinton faced tougher questions this afternoon about potential conflicts of interest her husband's fundraising could pose if she is confirmed as secretary of state.
Concerns about former President Bill Clinton's financial ties to foreign governments were expected to be the biggest hurdle in the New York senator's otherwise noncontroversial nomination to be the country's top diplomat.
Clinton had tried to defuse the issue before the hearing by promising in a Memorandum of Understanding that donors to her husband's Clinton Foundation would be made public in the future.
But Republicans sought additional assurances during confirmation hearings today before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, asking that Clinton agree to more stringent reporting rules concerning what donations her husband would accept, what would be disclosed and how frequently that information would be released.
Sen. David Vitter, R-La., specifically called on Clinton to provide more reporting on contributions to the Clinton Global Initiative, which he said was not included in the Clinton Foundation's donation reporting.
Clinton balked, saying the foundation is going "beyond even what the rules would call for" in disclosing and preclearing donors.
http://a.abcnews.com/images/Politics/rt_clinton_hill_090113_mn.jpg
Hillary Clinton testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington during her confirmation hearing to become the next U.S. Secretary of State January 13, 2009. photo
"I recognize that these are unique circumstances, to say the least," Clinton said. "It is not unique, however, for spouses of government officials to work, and there are very well-established rules."
Clinton resisted Vitter's insistence on tougher language, saying, "There is no intention to amend the MOU. It has been worked out between the transition and the foundation."
Earlier Tuesday, Richard Lugar, R-Ind., said he worried about the "perception problems" of having Clinton in the post as Bill Clinton continues his overseas fundraising for his foundation. Lugar asked that the former president "foreswear" taking any more donations from foreign governments.
"I share the president-elect's view that the activities of the Clinton Foundation and President Clinton himself should not be a barrier to Sen. Clinton's service," Lugar said. "But I also share the view, implicitly recognized by the Memorandum of Understanding, that the work of the Clinton Foundation is a unique complication that will have to be managed with great care and transparency."
The panel's leader John Kerry, D-Mass., concurred that Lugar's concerns about the foundation's donations were not partisan, but reflect the concerns of committee as a whole.
Still, in their opening statements, both Lugar and Kerry expressed support for Clinton's nomination. Lugar even called Clinton "the epitome of a big leaguer."
Although Clinton's daughter Chelsea was seated behind her, Bill Clinton watched the hearing from the Clinton's Washington home.
The panel hopes to vote on Clinton's nomination Thursday.
Clinton Talks Iran and Israel
The clash over donations to her husband's charity was the only bump in an otherwise smooth appearance by Clinton before her Senate colleagues in which she outlined a foreign policy that indicated she would break sharply with the Bush administration.
She described a geopolitical strategy that places greater emphasis on diplomacy and a strategy she called "smart power."
"I believe that American leadership has been wanting, but is still wanted," Clinton said. "We must use what has been called smart power, the full range of tools at our disposal -- diplomatic, economic, military, political, legal, and cultural... With smart power, diplomacy will be the vanguard of foreign policy."
A Senate confirmation hearing is supposed to be a hot seat, but the reception Clinton got today from her fellow senators was decidedly warm as they began examining whether she has what it takes to become secretary of state.
Clinton showed up at the hearing having crammed in recent weeks for the oral exam, easily handling in detail a wide range of subjects that included Darfur, Georgia, international women's rights, OPEC and energy policy.
She said the administration of President-elect Barack Obama will take a new tack on such thorny issues as Middle East peace and Iran's nuclear ambitions.
Clinton also said an Obama administration will also focus on issues the Bush administration wouldn't touch, including climate change as a threat to security.
And she assured the panel that under a Clinton-run State Department, no option is off the table regarding Iran.
"It is going to be United States policy to pursue diplomacy -- with all of its [tools] -- to do everything we can to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear weapon state. As I also said, no option is off the table," Clinton said.
While promising a "new strategy… that we believe will bear fruit," Clinton was careful to say that she has "no illusions that engaging Iran could predict results."
Clinton also commented for the first time on Israel and Palestinians, saying, "The president-elect and I understand and are deeply sympathetic to Israel's desire to defend itself under the current conditions, and to be free of shelling by Hamas rockets. However, we have also been reminded of the tragic humanitarian costs of conflict in the Middle East, and pained by the suffering of Palestinian and Israeli civilians."
"As we focus on Iraq, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, we must also actively pursue a strategy of smart power in the Middle East that addresses the security needs of Israel and the legitimate political and economic aspirations of the Palestinians; that effectively challenges Iran to end its nuclear weapons program and sponsorship of terror," Clinton said.
On Iraq, she reiterated Obama's intentions to safety redploy troops, but signalled changes have already begun by announcing that the current U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, would be leaving his post for "health and personal reasons."
And on another pressing problem, de-nuclearizing North Korea, Clinton said the current six party talks are a "viable forum," but added that under Obama it will undergo a policy review.
In laying out her foreign policy priorities and values, Clinton highlighted her "steadfast faith in this country," the need to renew America's leadership on the global stage, and her differences with the Bush administration.
"Foreign policy must be based on a marriage of principles and pragmatism, not rigid ideology. On facts and evidence, not emotion or prejudice," she said.
Clinton Foundation and Foreign Donors
As expected, Clinton faced pointed questions during the confirmation hearings about her husband's post-presidential financial ties.
The Clinton Foundation has raised hundreds of millions of dollars from some 200,000 private donors -- including the governments of nations with an enormous interest in U.S. policy, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Brunei.
The names of those donors have been made public, and future donations will also be disclosed, under an agreement reached by the Clintons and the Obama team to clear the way for her nomination. The agreement also requires the State Department to pre-clear future donations from foreign interests.
Lugar, the committee's top Republican, said months ago that he planned to use the hearing to press for more extensive disclosure requirements.
"I suspect ... that I'm not alone in suggesting there will be questions raised and will probably be legitimate," Lugar told ABC's George Stephanopoulos on "This Week" in November.
Andy Fisher, a Lugar spokesman, said the senator's concerns remain. He pointed out that The New York Times editorial page called for stricter disclosure rules, including review of all foundation donations by the White House counsel's office.
"It's ripe for potential conflicts of interest, or at least appearance problems. So, every step needs to be taken to make sure there isn't a problem," Fisher said.
"That said, it's not going to be something that's going to be derailing the nomination," he said. "The Senate continues to have a very good relationship with their colleagues, when they're up for nomination."
Those questions aside, the hearings were unlikely to produce major fireworks. No roadblocks have emerged to suggest Clinton will have any trouble winning Senate confirmation this week.
"She's a very competent and qualified candidate," said Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., a member of the panel that questioned Clinton. "I've seen her work in the Senate. I've been on the same committees. She's proven herself to be a hard worker and a very competent individual."
In part because Clinton is a colleague who has earned respect from her fellow senators, Republican senators and aides said they didn't expect the hearing on her nomination to become an extended referendum on Clinton-era scandals, or on Clinton's extended primary battle with President-elect Barack Obama.
Aides said they didn't expect the hearing to be anywhere near as contentious as Condoleezza Rice's hearing for the same post in 2005. That forum became a proxy battle over the Iraq war, with Democrats pressing her to acknowledge mistakes in the run-up to the conflict.
Clinton Careful Not to Contradict Obama
Clinton will need to be careful not to contradict her new boss on policy matters -- or to go further than the Obama team wants to on key issues, in this delicate period when he's not yet president.
Before the hearing, Republican aides said they also expected some of the heated rhetoric between Clinton and Obama during the Democratic primaries to be re-aired on Tuesday, though senators would be unlikely to dwell on it.
As candidates, the two clashed bitterly at times, with Obama blasting Clinton's vote for the Iraq war, and Clinton attacking Obama as too inexperienced on world affairs.
In one notable exchange with policy implications, Obama said he would meet with the leaders of rogue nations "without preconditions" in his first year in office. Clinton called that position "irresponsible and, frankly, naïve."
Yet, that split could actually help Clinton with Republicans on the committee. Isakson said he agrees with Clinton's take on that matter, and said he considers himself closer to Clinton than to Obama when it comes to some key national security matters.
"He's ultimately going to call the shots, but I hope her counsel will inform his actions," he said.
Ross K. Baker, a political science professor at Rutgers University who studies Congress, said senators are particularly deferential to a colleague. This one, he said, has already been through a rough year, where her views and background were heavily scrutinized on the national stage.
"It's quite uncharacteristic for anything involving the Clintons to be this quiet," Baker said. "They're willing to grant her a clean slate to start with."
Kerry has scheduled just one day of hearings for Clinton, in an indication that Democrats don't expect any serious opposition.
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