Burr delays Duckworth confirmation

By Barbara Barrett

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina is delaying the nomination vote and swearing-in of injured Iraq veteran Tammy Duckworth for a top post in the Veterans Affairs administration.

His actions angered some veterans groups today.

"Senator Burr has had plenty of time to ask questions of her," said Jon Soltz, chairman of VoteVets.org, an organization of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, in a statement."Senator Burr is only hurting American veterans with this nonsense. He should stop playing petty partisan games, stop needling the White House for the sheer fun of it, and grow up."

*editors note 1508 hrs est

When David Ward at Sen Burr’s office (202 228 2971) was asked by VT to comment on the firestorm he replied…"The Senator looks forward to Major Duckworths nomination after the due dilligence aspect is completed."’

 Mr Ward declined to state excatly what questions that Sen Burr needed answered in order to have facilitated a swift confirmation of the presidents nominee.

But Burr, a Winston-Salem Republican, still has questions about Duckworth’s nomination, his office said.

Aides said Burr does not have a hold on the vote, but he told Duckworth and the White House this week that his questions hadn’t been answered, and so the Senate’s planned confirmation vote was delayed.

"He’s basically doing some due diligence as he does for every nominee to ensure veterans have the best representation," said Burr’s spokesman, David Ward. "It’s the same thing he would do with any nominee."

Ward declined to discuss what the questions were about.

Burr is the top Republican on the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs.

Duckworth, a National Guard major and an icon among many veterans, lost both her legs when the helicopter she was piloting was attacked in Iraq in 2004. She now is the head of veterans affairs for the state of Illinois.

She was tapped two months ago by President Barack Obama to become assistant secretary of Veterans Affairs. Her Senate nomination hearing was Wednesday morning, with a confirmation vote planned for Thursday and a swearing-in scheduled for today.

Congress has gone into a two-week recess, meaning a vote likely won’t happen until at least April 21.