By Joby Warrick
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, January 31, 1997; Page A19

For a man whose new job is being likened to "captain of the Titanic," Energy Secretary-designate Federico Peña proved to be an agile navigator at his Senate confirmation hearing yesterday, tacking skillfully through a minefield of questions about nuclear security and post-Cold War cleanup.

A polished, well-briefed Peña appeared to ease Republican concerns about his inexperience with energy matters during nearly four hours of testimony before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. But lawmakers tempered their praise for Peña with criticism of the Clinton administration's energy policy – and especially its failure to find a permanent storage site for the nation's commercial nuclear waste.

"We accept that you are not an energy expert. What we won't accept is a department that believes if it ignores these questions they will go away," said committee Chairman Frank H. Murkowski (R-Alaska).

The questioning came as other White House nominations advanced. Earlier in the day, the full Senate confirmed President Clinton's nominee William Daley, a scion of Chicago's preeminent political family, as commerce secretary.

The 95 to 2 vote for Daley came after he promised at his confirmation hearing to depoliticize the troubled Commerce Department.

Separately, the Senate Finance Committee voted to recommend Charlene Barshefsky as U.S. trade representative. The panel also approved a waiver allowing Barshefsky, who once did private legal work for Canada, to serve in the post despite a 1995 law barring the appointment of anyone who has represented foreign governments. The waiver must still be approved by the full Senate and the House, and Barshefsky's nomination must clear the full Senate.

Pen~a's confirmation, meanwhile, appeared increasingly certain after his generally smooth performance before the Republican-controlled energy committee.

A former Denver mayor who served as transportation secretary during Clinton's first term, Peña was a surprise choice to replace outgoing Energy Secretary Hazel R. O'Leary, who had to fight off two Republican-led attempts to abolish the department.

Critics of the department have suggested that the appointment of Peña – who acknowledges having little experience with nuclear issues – is tantamount to a "white flag" over its headquarters.

Still, Republicans and Democrats appeared willing to give Pen~a the benefit of the doubt, praising him as "intelligent" and a "quick read" and citing his skill as a budget-cutter and innovator at the Transportation Department. There was no repeat of the criticism of Pen~a's handling of last year's ValuJet crash near Miami, when he defended the budget airline's record just weeks before it was grounded for safety concerns.

"You don't have to know how to drill an oil well or refine gasoline to be a good secretary," said Sen. Dale Bumpers (D-Ark.). Sen. Slade Gorton (R-Wash.) added: "I'm more than comfortable with your nomination."

But it was clear that the problems Peña would face as energy secretary won't succumb so easily. Peña was questioned repeatedly about the search for a permanent storage site for commercial nuclear waste, which the government is obliged to accept under a court order beginning next January. The department has acknowledged it will fail to meet the deadline, prompting a lawsuit by utilities that have paid billions of dollars to the government to help finance a waste repository.

Senators also grilled Peña on how he would manage a plateful of equally daunting problems facing the department, including guaranteeing the security of the nation's nuclear arsenal, easing the nation's dependency on foreign oil, overseeing deregulation of the electric industry and accelerating the costly cleanup of nuclear weapons production sites around the country.

Peña, in his testimony, acknowledged having no immediate solutions to the nuclear-waste storage crisis, but promised to press ahead with the evaluation of a proposed underground repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. So far the department has discovered "no show-stoppers" that would prevent using the site to store radioactive waste. "The government is on the verge of answering this most basic question," he said.

Recognizing that some GOP lawmakers still want to dismantle the department, Peña argued that it should be kept intact and said the best way of guaranteeing a strong advocate for energy and nuclear safety issues within the administration is to preserve the department's seat in the Oval Office.

"I have been a Cabinet member," Peña said. "I know the difference between lobbying for a point of view as a Cabinet member and doing it some other way."

Staff writer Paul Blustein contributed to this report.