Oregon Public Broadcasting

An Oregon researcher is apparently on track to be confirmed as head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. April Baer reports that a Congressional hold on Jane Lubchenco's nomination has been removed.

If confirmed, Lubchenco would claim the highest post for an Oregonian within the new administration. But she and another nominee to a science and technology post have been waiting for a Senate vote on their confirmation.

A New Jersey senator had placed a hold on the two nominations. His concern was not with the scientists or their credentials, but with unrelated matters -- the United States' foreign policy toward Cuba.

A spokeswoman in Senator Ron Wyden's office says the hold has now been lifted, although no schedule has cropped up for the confirmation vote.

Lubchenco is a top-level researcher in environmental science, who's done ground-breaking work at Oregon State University on ocean ecology.