President Bush nominated Mike Leavitt, chief of the Environmental Protection Agency and former governor of Utah, as the next head of the Department of Health and Human Services.

If confirmed, Leavitt will oversee the Indian Health Service. Tribes have sought to increase the agency's budget, which is about $3.0 billion. IHS patients receive less than half the dollars spent on federal prisoners

As former governor of Utah, Leavitt was a vocal opponent of the Skull Valley Goshute Tribe's plan to bring nuclear waste to the reservation. Leavitt fought the project in and out of court.

Leavitt was brought into the Bush administration in August 2003 to replace former EPA chief Christie Todd Whitman, whose public statements contradicted those of the White House. In one of his final actions at EPA, he will issue a Clean Air rule that is part of the administration's "Clear Skies" initiative. The rule is supposed to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide by 70 percent sometime after 2015.

Get the Story:
Bush Chooses EPA Chief To Lead HHS (The Washington Post 12/14)
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HHS Official Visits Choctaw (WTOK News 12/14)
Bush Selects E.P.A. Head to Be Secretary of Health (The New York Times 12/14)
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White House to Push 'Clear Skies' Legislation (The Washington Post 12/14)

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