U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar is blocking the confirmation of a Labor Department nominee because of what he called the administration’s “foot dragging” on helping ill Rocky Flats workers.
Salazar said he wants to see action by the Bush administration before he will allow confirmation of Leon Sequeira for Department of Labor assistant secretary for policy. Under Senate rules, one senator can block action on a confirmation.
“I harbor no ill will toward Mr. Sequeira,” Salazar said Tuesday. “But I am furious with the foot dragging, the obstruction, and the neglect that have characterized the administration’s approach toward American citizens who took real risks for our country during the Cold War, who are suffering now, and who need and deserve help.”
Many who worked at the former nuclear-weapons facility near Golden were exposed to radiation and other hazards and now have cancer and other serious illnesses, said Salazar spokesman Drew Nannis. Those workers and their survivors filed a petition 17 months ago asking for financial compensation.
