Honorable Nancy P. Dorn

Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works)

August 1991 - January 1993

Biographical Statement

Honorable Nancy P. Dorn served as Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) from July 1991 to January 1993. Ms. Dorn's responsibilities included, but not limited to, matters associated with the Panama Canal Commission and Arlington National Cemetery. She was the first woman and, at age 33, the youngest person to be nominated by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate to the position of Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works).

During Ms. Dorn's tenure, the Army Corps of Engineers made great strides in defining and, in some cases, broadening its environmental mission. As a result, the Corps put its talents and expertise to work on environmental clean-up projects, which included the nuclear production sites of the Department of Defense and Energy, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency's Superfund sites. The Corps increasingly became the Nation's Engineer, performing environmental and construction work for some 25 Federal agencies, in addition to its Civil Works mission in all 50 states.

During the Bush Administration, the Corps adopted a balanced approach to protection of the environment while allowing for prudent and much-needed economic development. In the wetlands regulatory program, there was an attempt to reintroduce common sense and flexibility through significant regulatory reforms and policy guidance. A common set of rules was adopted by the federal regulatory agencies and timeframes for completing permit applications were established.

Prior to Ms. Dorn's Presidential appointment and confirmation, she was Special Assistant for Legislative Affairs to Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush. She also held the positions of Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Inter-American Affairs and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs. Ms. Dorn is currently a partner in the Washington, D.C. firm Hooper, Hooper, Owen and Gould, which specializes in energy, taxes and international issues.

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This page was last updated February 6, 1998, by Valerie Lewis. (valerie.lewis@usace.army.mil).