Army Secretary Defends Enron Record

WASHINGTON (AP) - Army Secretary Thomas White said Thursday he is "appalled and angered" by the scandals that drove Enron Corp. into bankruptcy but denied any role in or knowledge of wrongdoing while he was an Enron executive.

In testy exchanges with skeptical senators, White repeatedly said he had played no part in manipulating California energy prices and knew nothing of other improprieties while he helped run an Enron subsidiary.

"Thousands of us who worked at that company were proud of what we accomplished," White said, testifying voluntarily and under oath before the Senate Commerce Committee. "I am ashamed of what has happened to that corporation."

He told senators he shared their outrage and their desire "to hold people accountable who were responsible" for any illegal conduct.

Although White said after the hearing he had no plans to resign his Pentagon ( news - web sites) post, Sen. Barbara Boxer ( news, bio, voting record), D-Calif., urged him to do just that in a letter late Thursday.

"I believe it is in the best interest of the country for you to step down as the Secretary of the Army as I believe today's hearing will spark more investigations and more distraction from your crucial duties," Boxer wrote.

Boxer said she was not satisfied with White's testimony: "I found him evasive, argumentative, not contrite about what happened, not forthcoming."

Enron's December bankruptcy was the first of a series of business scandals that have rocked the stock market and prompted Congress to push for passage of legislation that would crack down on corporate fraud and accounting irregularities.

Democrats are trying to use the scandals as an election-year issue against Republicans, pointing to President Bush ( news - web sites)'s close ties to corporate leaders and the large number of former business executives, such as White and Vice President Dick Cheney ( news - web sites), in his administration.