Mineta tapped for Commerce Department post

President Clinton Thursday announced that he plans to nominate former Rep. Norman Mineta, D-Calif., to succeed Commerce Secretary William Daley, who is leaving July 15 to run Vice President Al Gore's presidential campaign.

The 68-year old Mineta-who, as a young boy, was shipped off to one of the internment camps where West Coast Japanese-Americans were forced to live during World War II-will become the first Asian-American Cabinet secretary in history if, as expected, his nomination is confirmed by the Senate.

At the White House, Clinton praised Mineta's "in- depth understanding of American business" and "strong sense" of the intricacies of the high tech sector.

"Norm is one of the best," the President declared.

Mineta, noting that he had represented California's Silicon Valley for more than 30 years at the local and federal level, emphasized his eagerness to advance the prosperity of the high tech sector. And he insisted that the relatively brief amount of time remaining in the administration was enough for him to make a difference.

"Six months is a virtual eternity in the new economy," Mineta said.

A onetime mayor of San Jose, Calif., Mineta was first elected to Congress in 1974-and became a leader of the large Democratic freshman class elected in the so-called Watergate landslide that year. He became chairman of the now-renamed House Public Works Committee in 1992 after turning down an opportunity to become Transportation Secretary in the newly elected Clinton administration.

Mineta resigned from Congress in 1995-several months after losing his committee chairmanship as a result of the Republican takeover of the House-to become a senior vice president at Lockheed Martin.