Wisconsin Governor Picked As Health Secretary

Abortion foe created tough welfare rules

Robert Salladay, Louis Freedberg, SF Chronicle 30dec00

President-elect Bush selected Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson, an abortion opponent and architect of his state's tough welfare-to-work program, to head the Department of Health and Human Services and its vast bureaucracy of social programs.

In a group announcement yesterday, Bush also nominated former Colorado Attorney General Gale A. Norton as interior secretary, Houston schools chief Rod Paige as secretary of education, and Vietnam veteran Tony Principi as head of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Thompson's nomination satisfied most anti-abortion groups because it means that the two most critical government agencies overseeing and enforcing abortion policy will soon be controlled by abortion opponents: Thompson and Attorney General-designate John Ashcroft.

As with Ashcroft's nomination last week, abortion-rights supporters said they would fiercely oppose Thompson's nomination when it comes before the Senate for confirmation. Kate Michelman, president of the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League, said Thompson is "one of this nation's staunchest opponents of a woman's right to choose to head the agency with the greatest impact on women's health."

"Thompson has taken every opportunity to restrict a woman's right to choose and to make access to abortion services more difficult," Michelman said. "(He) has signed numerous laws restricting access to abortion services for Wisconsin's women and is even on record opposing laws that protect women from violence at reproductive health clinics."

By contrast, Winnie Stachelberg, political director of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay advocacy organization, welcomed Thompson's appointment, calling him a "fair-minded moderate." She noted that he expanded Medicaid coverage for people with HIV in Wisconsin and signed a law giving gays and lesbians the right to visit their hospitalized partners. At the Republican convention in Philadelphia this year, he worked to remove anti-gay language from the GOP platform.

A weary-looking Bush announced all four nominations yesterday in Washington as he raced to fill his Cabinet before his Jan. 20 inauguration. With the New Year's holiday approaching, Bush said he would make no more announcements before Tuesday. He has yet to fill Cabinet positions overseeing the Departments of Labor, Energy and Transportation.

Thompson's nomination is sure to create controversy on Capitol Hill. If approved, he would head the nation's largest civilian bureaucracy, with control over Medicare, the Food and Drug Administration, the surgeon general's office, the National Institutes of Health, and a network of social programs for low-income, sick and elderly Americans.

Although they acknowledged that Thompson worked to restrict abortions in Wisconsin, abortion opponents were not overly enthusiastic about his nomination.

"While the president-elect could have chosen someone much worse, we've never viewed Tommy (Thompson) as a strong pro-lifer," said Peggy Hamill, state director for Pro-Life Wisconsin.

Hamill said the state's family planning budget, which her group believes channels money to abortion clinics, increased under Thompson. Hamill also said she is troubled by Thompson's past support of stem-cell research using human embryos.

"We're concerned that Thompson's enthusiastic support of new advances in biotechnology will overshadow concern for protecting preborn babies at all stages of development," she said.

There was general agreement that Thompson's appointment could dramatically change the focus of the social services agency. Abortion opponents say the department, for example, should do a better job of making sure HMOs covered under the states' Health Families low-cost insurance program don't provide abortions.

"Congress has restricted government involvement in the promotion of abortion, and it's up to the Department of Health and Human Services to make sure the states are living up to the laws and regulations," said Jan Carroll of the California Pro-Life Council.

"Obviously, it's important if the department believes in the rules and regulations," she said. "We've had tremendous problems over the past eight years."

EDUCATION PICK'S PERFORMANCE

In selecting Paige for the Education Department, Bush once again turned to someone from Texas whom he trusts and with whom he has worked closely. Paige was on Bush's team of education advisers during his campaign and has implemented many of the ideas the former Texas governor promoted during the race, especially in expecting more accountability from schools whose students have low test scores.

During Paige's six-year tenure, the proportion of Houston students passing the state proficiency test increased from 49 percent to 74 percent, matching similar increases throughout the state.

Paige will be the first African American to head the Education Department, an agency that until recently many conservative Republicans wanted to eliminate. Bush, by contrast, wants not only to expand its role but also to spend $50 billion more on education over the next 10 years.

The most controversial aspect of Paige's tenure as superintendent of Houston's 90 percent minority school district has been his repeated efforts to provide taxpayer-funded vouchers that would pay for students to attend private schools.

In one initiative, Paige wanted to transfer children in overcrowded Houston schools to private schools. In another, he proposed giving failing children in failing schools $3,500 in taxpayer money to use as tuition in private schools. Neither initiative got off the ground, mainly because most private schools charge higher tuition than the amount offered by the school district.

But selecting Paige is seen as a canny political move because it will make it more difficult for critics of vouchers to attack him for proposing solutions they believe will hurt minority students most.

"I'd like to see liberals tell Paige that he doesn't understand the problems of inner city children," said William Bennett, a former Republican secretary of education and president of Empower America, a conservative advocacy organization.

Bob Chase, president of the National Education Association, said Paige's nomination "signals an important commitment to public schools and recognizes the exceptional challenges that face urban schools."

"Like many of our members who work in urban classrooms every day, Rod Paige has seen firsthand the challenges they face," Chase said. "His sincere and productive work on behalf of urban schools and children will be enormously valuable in his role as U.S. secretary of education."

FAMILIAR TURF FOR VETERANS CHIEF

As secretary of veterans affairs, Principi will return to the agency where he was acting secretary under former President George Bush in 1992. A Naval Academy graduate, he is a decorated veteran of the Vietnam War. Since leaving the government, he has been president of a medical services company. Bush said he wants Principi "to take the lead in modernizing the veterans' health care system."

Bush's mood was markedly changed yesterday from his upbeat manner at earlier Cabinet announcements. A pool report by a Washington Times reporter described the scene this way:

"Mr. Bush appeared weary, looking ashen and stumbling over his words often. He began by accidentally wishing the assembled press 'Good afternoon' and hastily corrected himself. He spoke slowly and without his usual joshing with the press.

"Mr. Bush left without taking any questions, leaving his four new Cabinet picks to fend for themselves before an annoyed press corps. As Mr. Bush left the room, a Fox News reporter shouted out, 'Why in such a rush to leave?' This prompted Mr. Bush to turn around, hesitate a step and cast a look of such utter disgust that even seasoned Bush watchers were taken aback. Mr. Bush stalked out of the room with a very sour expression."

Bush then headed to Texas, where he will spend the New Year's holiday with his family at his ranch in Crawford.

THE BUSH ADMINISTRATIONPOSITIONS FILLED

• Secretary of Defense: Donald Rumsfeld, 68, is a veteran of four Republican administrations, dating back to Richard Nixon. He served as secretary of defense under Gerald Ford. Rumsfeld headed a bipartisan commission that concluded two years ago that U.S. intelligence officials have been too relaxed on security. A former Republican congressman from Illinois, he spent the last decade serving as chief executive officer of G.D. Searle and Co., an international pharmaceutical company.
• Health and Human Services Secretary: Tommy Thompson, 59, has been governor of Wisconsin since 1987 and spent 20 years in the state Legislature. An attorney and a pro-life conservative, he was a major backer of Bush during this year's campaign.
• Interior Secretary: Gale Norton, 46, was Colorado's attorney general from 1990 to 1999 and was a top attorney in the Department of the Interior during the Reagan and Bush administrations.
• Veterans Affairs Secretary: Tony Principi, 56, served as acting secretary of veterans affairs in the Bush administration and as Republican chief counsel for the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs. A graduate of the Naval Academy, Principi is a decorated veteran of the Vietnam War.
• Education Secretary: Rod Paige, 67, has been superintendent of the Houston school district since 1994 and was previously a district trustee. He has been a faculty member of several universities and was dean of the College of Education at Texas Southern University.
• Secretary of State: Colin Powell, 63, is a retired Army general who was national security adviser under President Reagan and became the first black to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, under former President Bush.
• Secretary of the Treasury: Paul O'Neill, 65, is a native of St. Louis and currently chairman of Alcoa, a metals company. A graduate of Fresno State College, he was deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Ford.
• Secretary of Housing and Urban Development: Mel Martinez, 54, is chief executive of Orange County, Fla., and previously was president of the Orlando Utilities Commission and chairman of the Orlando Housing authority. An attorney, he immigrated from Cuba as a teenager.
• Secretary of Commerce: Don Evans, 54, is one of President-elect Bush's closest friends and was chairman of his campaign committee. He's currently CEO of Tom Brown Inc., a Denver-based oil and gas company.
• Secretary of Agriculture: Ann Veneman, 51, is a Modesto native and attorney who served as deputy secretary of agriculture under President Bush and as secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture under Gov. Pete Wilson.
• National Security Adviser: Condoleezza Rice, 46, was born in Birmingham, Ala., and was a political science professor and provost at Stanford University. She was a member of the National Security Council under President Bush.
• Chief of Staff: Andrew Card, 53, was transportation secretary and a White House aide under President Bush. He has been CEO of the American Automobile Manufacturers Association and director of government affairs for General Motors.
• Communications Director: Karen Hughes, 43, is a former Texas television reporter who has been one of President-elect Bush's closest aides. She has been Bush's communications director since he first ran for governor in 1994.
• Attorney General: John Ashcroft, 58, is a former attorney general, governor and U.S. senator from Missouri who lost his re-election bid in November. A strong conservative, the former law professor is currently on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
• Environmental Protection Agency Administrator: Christine Todd Whitman, 54, has been governor of New Jersey since 1994 and before that was president of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. A moderate, she is also chairwoman of the Pew Oceans Commission, which studies pollution, overfishing and coastal development.
• Office of Management and Budget Director: Mitchell Daniels, 51, is a senior vice president with the Eli Lilly drug company and served as a top adviser to Richard Lugar when he was mayor of Indianapolis and U.S. senator from Indiana. He was also a political adviser to President Reagan and head of the conservative Hudson Institute.

MAJOR POSITIONS UNFILLED -- CIA director -- FBI director -- U.S. trade representative -- Secretary of labor -- Secretary of energy -- Secretary of transportation

E-mail Robert Salladay at rsalladay@sfchronicle.com  and Louis Freedberg at lfreedberg@sfchronicle.com