Dorr Vote Moves to Senate Floor Without Committee Vote

In a surprise move, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Saxby Chambliss and Ranking Member Tom Harkin have agreed to make the nomination of Iowa-native Tom Dorr for the top Rural Development directly to the Senate for confirmation.

In an April 27th hearing Dorr, who was previously denied confirmation in 2002, was thoroughly questioned by Harkin, D-Iowa. Dorr, of northwest Iowa, was unable to garner the needed 60 votes in the Senate in 2002, because of criticism led by Harkin about comments he had made about racial ethnicity and issues cited about structuring his farming operations to avoid payment limitations.