U.S. Rep. Don Young says his chief political priority this year is to retain a major committee chairmanship if he is re-elected in November. But he isn' t ruling out accepting a Cabinet post if fellow Republican George W. Bush becomes president. Young was considered for secretary of the Interior after the 1988 election. I still want to be chairman, that's my big goal.
Nothing says that's guaranteed.
But if not, then I'd be interested. There's a similar bill in the Senate, championed by Sen. Frank Murkowski, R-Alaska. The money would come from federal offshore oil lease revenues for 15 years, with about a third of it going mostly to coastal states near the leases. In many ways, the measure could help green up a rather brown Republican record, combating Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore's environmental record and taking advantage of a growing public call for a cleaner planet. Young has no Republican opponent in the Aug. 22 primary election and will face a group of little-known challengers from several other parties in November.