Harkin wants another hearing on Dorr nomination

The battle still apparently isn’t over for federal ag official and Iowa native Thomas Dorr. The Marcus native, who President Bush appointed as Undersecretary of Agriculture for Rural Development last year, is scheduled to go before a Senate committee next week. Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, a Democrat, says the business meeting isn’t focused on Dorr, but Harkin wishes it was. Harkin says there needs to be another hearing on Dorr to bring out the questions and have him respond. Some labeled Dorr a racist after he said some Iowa counties were successful because residents had a common ethnic and religious heritage. Others questioned Dorr’s personal finances. President Bush used his authority to put Dorr in the job when the Senate was not in session, what’s called a recess appointment.