Senate panel endorses Jewell for Interior chief
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The Senate Energy Committee has voted to move President Obama's nomination of Sally Jewell to be Interior secretary to the Senate floor.
The committee's 19-3 vote came after current Interior Secretary Ken Salazar agreed to review a decision blocking construction of a gravel road through a wildlife refuge to provide access to an all-weather airport in rural Alaska.
Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska threatened to hold up Jewell's nomination unless the Obama administration agreed to a land exchange that would allow the road, which would grant access to an all-weather airport for the remote community of King Cove, Alaska.
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Under the agreement, Interior will review an environmental analysis by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Murkowski says the report didn't adequately consider the importance of protecting human health.