Sens. Obama, Menendez Probe AID Pick's Diversity Record

Henrietta Holsman Fore, who was nominated to replace the deputy secretary of state for foreign assistance after he resigned in late April over an escort scandal, made racially charged remarks about the work ethics of blacks, Hispanics, Asians and whites two decades ago, prompting two key Democratic senators yesterday to demand answers on her diversity record at the State Department.

Fore, the undersecretary for management since 2005, was tapped by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to replace Randall Tobias in the high-profile post after he suddenly quit after admitting that he received massages through an escort service allegedly involved in prostitution. But Fore's racial remarks at Wellesley College -- which resulted in her resignation as a Wellesley trustee -- have emerged as a possible roadblock.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has not yet scheduled a hearing on her nomination as administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development and director of foreign assistance.

Fore, a 1970 Wellesley graduate, told a college audience in 1987 that she tried to retain black employees as the president of a small wire-products firm near Los Angeles but that blacks preferred selling drugs to working in a factory. She also said that Hispanic workers were lazy, that white workers resented working with machines, and that Asians, while very productive, preferred professional or management jobs, according to accounts at the time in the Boston Globe and the New York Times. A number of students walked out of her lecture in protest.

Fore, who then went by the name Holsman, appeared to inadvertently flame the controversy by trying to explain the context of her remarks in an interview with the Globe and a letter to the college newspaper. She reiterated her statement about losing black employees to the drug trade, telling the Globe that she had tried to keep black workers but that job placement counselors had told her blacks preferred selling drugs. At least one black employee who left told her he was "going back on the street," where he could make more money, she said.

Fore, who said that 70 percent of her employees were members of minority groups, said she resigned as trustee to end the controversy because "I am perceived to stand for a prejudice for which I do not stand and which I do not feel." A transcript of her remarks could not be located, the college said.

Two years ago, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) closely questioned Fore about her remarks during her confirmation hearings and briefly put a hold on her nomination until he was given access to her FBI file. He allowed the nomination to go forward after securing pledges from Fore that she was committed to expanding diversity at the State Department. Now, a spokesman said, the presidential candidate will require that she demonstrate that she achieved results.

"Given the important role played by the director of USAID, Senator Obama will carefully scrutinize Ms. Fore's record over the past two years at the State Department and will withhold judgment about her qualifications for this new position until after her confirmation hearing," spokesman Ben LaBolt said.

In a letter, signed by Obama and Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), the chairman of the subcommittee on international development, the senators ask Fore to answer detailed questions about the "recruitment, promotion and retention" of minority employees from 2005 to the present. The 12 questions require Fore to provide breakdowns by racial groups as well as breakdowns that include progress in the elite foreign service and senior executive categories.

Menendez and Obama also asked Fore to demonstrate what "tangible steps" she has taken to recruit and promote minority employees as well as her efforts to reach out to groups such as the Congressional Black Caucus and the Hispanic Caucus and address their concerns. A spokesman for the Hispanic Caucus said that Fore has met with the group twice; a spokesman for the Black Caucus did not return a call for comment.

Fore is not answering reporters' question as she awaits her confirmation hearings. Tom Casey, a State Department spokesman, said Fore has met with both groups to discuss recruitment issues, saying she has worked especially closely with three African American lawmakers and five Hispanic lawmakers. In 2006, he said, Fore created a post of chief diversity officer as well as a diversity governance council, which she chairs. The percentage of new foreign service officers from minority groups has risen from 13 percent in 2001 to just over 20 percent, he added.

"Undersecretary Fore has led our diversity efforts, expanding recruitment programs and helping the Department become seen among minority students as one of the most attractive employers in any field," Casey said.