Cuomo’s Confirmed; Vote’s 99-0 New Hud Secretary Faces Job Fraught With Difficulty

Voting unanimously, the Senate on Wednesday confirmed Andrew Cuomo to be secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, a job that promises to be fraught with difficulty as some in Congress fight to downsize the agency.

With high praise from Sen. Alfonse D’Amato, the Republican chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, which recommended the confirmation, Cuomo was confirmed on a 99-0 vote. Before the vote, D’Amato said Cuomo “has shown innovation, insight and tireless efforts to serve our cities, suburbs and rural areas.”

Cuomo, the 39-year-old son of former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo, faces some challenges, not the least of which are the likely fights over funding at a time when many HUD agreements with developers to provide low-income housing are coming due for renewal, threatening to overwhelm the agency’s budget.

In a statement Wednesday, Andrew Cuomo acknowledged the potential difficulties, saying, “We have an undeniable responsibility to balance the budget and, at the same time, we have an equally undeniable responsibility to meet the challenges that lie ahead. We must do both.”

Cuomo had served for three years as assistant secretary for community planning and development. His appointment to replace Henry Cisneros, who is taking a job in the private sector, came on a strong recommendation from Vice President Al Gore. Cuomo was founder of a New York group called HELP, a private provider of housing for the homeless that many advocates viewed as progressive.

Cuomo was the third Clinton Cabinet appointee to be confirmed unanimously by the Senate, following Defense Secretary William Cohen and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Commerce Secretary-designate William Daley was approved by the Senate Commerce Committee, and hearings opened Wednesday on the nominations of Charlene Barshefsky as U.S. trade representative, Rodney Slater as Transportation secretary and Bill Richardson as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Hearings start Thursday on Federico Pena’s nomination as secretary of Energy.