Surgeon General Nominee Has Senate Majority

Dr. Henry Foster now has the backing of at least five moderate Republicans in his battle to become surgeon general, giving him a majority of the Senate but leaving him still short of the support needed to surmount a threatened filibuster.

The major challenge for the Tennessee obstetrician-gynecologist appears to be finding a way to overcome the procedural obstacles that may be thrown in his path by opponents, including GOP presidential rivals Bob Dole and Phil Gramm.

Republicans hold a 54-46 majority in the Senate. It takes 60 votes to stop a filibuster.

Gramm, of Texas, has threatened to filibuster the nomination. And Dole, the majority leader from Kansas, has suggested that even if the Labor and Human Resources Committee approves Foster he might not call the nomination for a vote by the full Senate. He has shown signs of softening that stance recently.

Republicans who have indicated they plan to support Foster include recent GOP convert Ben Nighthorse Campbell of Colorado, presidential candidate Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, Sen. James Jeffords of Vermont and Finance Committee Chairman Bob Packwood of Oregon.

“I say, let’s get on with it,” Sen. John Chafee, R-R.I., one of the Senate’s leading experts on health care, said Tuesday. He, too, said he would vote for Foster, whose nomination ran into criticism over the fact that he performed abortions and gave conflicting answers about how many.

“I think that he’s a person with suitable experience,” Chafee said. “He’s made efforts in areas that I believe are important - doing something about teenage pregnancy. The fact that he’s performed an abortion doesn’t bother me.”

Said Packwood on Tuesday: “I’m going to support Dr. Foster unless there’s some terrible skeleton that none of has heard about yet.” He said he would also vote to end a filibuster if it came to that.