Anne M. Burford
Encyclopedia
Anne Gorsuch Burford known as Anne M. Gorsuch, was an American
attorney and politician. Between 1981 and 1983, while known as Anne M. Gorsuch, she served under President Ronald Reagan
as the first female Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA).
, Anne McGill was one of six children of a surgeon. She grew up in Denver, Colorado
and attended St. Francis DeSales, a Roman Catholic High School there. During three consecutive summers, McGill took classes in Spanish at the National University of Mexico.
She studied at the University of Colorado at Boulder
, earning a bachelors' degree in 1961 at the age of 19. She then attended the University of Colorado Law School where she gained a law degree
in 1964 at the age of 22. McGill participated in the undergraduate Honors Program and Mortar Board
society, and was an editor of the University of Colorado Law School’s law review
..
She married David Gorsuch after finishing law school.
She was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study criminal law for one year in Jaipur, India, and she and her husband travelled there together. The couple would have two sons, J. J. and Neil
, and a daughter, Stephanie.
in Denver, Colorado, and finally as a corporate attorney for Mountain Bell.
Between 1976 and 1980 Gorsuch served in the Colorado House of Representatives, where she was voted Outstanding Freshman Legislator, but was considered by some to be a member of the "House Crazies," a group of "conservative lawmakers intent on permanently changing government."
In 1980, Gorsuch served on President-elect Reagan’s transition team as a member of his Advisory Committee on Intergovernmental Relations. Shortly after Reagan was inaugurated, he nominated her as Administrator of the EPA. The nomination was unanimously confirmed by the Senate three months later, on May 5, 1981.
approach of downsizing federal agencies by delegating their functions and services to the individual states. She believed that the EPA was over-regulating business and that the agency was too large and not cost-effective. During her 22 months as agency head, she cut the budget of the EPA by 22%, reduced the number of cases filed against polluters, relaxed Clean Air Act regulations, and facilitated the spraying of restricted-use pesticides. She cut the total number of agency employees, and hired staff from the industries they were supposed to be regulating. Environmentalists contended that her policies were designed to placate polluters, and accused her of trying to dismantle the Agency.
In 1982 Congress charged that the EPA had mishandled the $1.6 billion toxic waste Superfund
and demanded records from Gorsuch. Gorsuch refused and became the first agency director in U.S. history to be cited for contempt of Congress. The EPA turned the documents over to Congress several months later, after the White House abandoned its court claim that the documents could not be subpoened by Congress because they were covered by executive privilege
. At that point, Gorsuch resigned her post, citing pressures caused by the media and the congressional investigation. Critics charged that the EPA was in a shambles at this time.
Looking back at her tenure several years later, Gorsuch expressed pride in the amount of downsizing that was done under her watch and frustration at the program backlogs and lack of staff management skills that she encountered while at the helm of the agency. Gorsuch said that there was a conflict between what she was required to do under a "set of commands from Congress", and what her own priorities were, although she felt that by the end of her administration, she had developed a way of resolving those conflicts. In her retrospective, Gorsuch admitted that she and her staff "were so bogged down in the fight with Congress over the doctrine of executive privilege, that the agency itself seemed hardly to be functioning" but that despite appearances, the agency was indeed still functioning.
head and rancher, Robert Burford.
She was promised another job by Reagan, and in July 1984, he appointed her to a three year term as chair of the National Advisory Committee on Oceans and Atmosphere, a move which was blasted by environmental groups. She came under criticism for describing the post as a "nothing-burger," and both the House and the Senate passed non-binding resolutions calling on President Reagan to withdraw the appointment. Ultimately, Burford chose not to accept the position.
After leaving government service, she wrote a 1986 book about her experiences entitled Are You Tough Enough? She worked as a private attorney in Colorado.
A divorce from her second husband was pending when Robert Burford died in 1993.
Anne Gorsuch Burford died from cancer in 2004 at age 62.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
attorney and politician. Between 1981 and 1983, while known as Anne M. Gorsuch, she served under President Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
as the first female Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency is the head of the United States federal government's Environmental Protection Agency, and is thus responsible for enforcing the nation's Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, as well as numerous other environmental statutes. The Administrator is...
(EPA).
Early life and education
Born in Casper, WyomingCasper, Wyoming
Casper is the county seat of Natrona County, Wyoming, United States.. Casper is the second-largest city in Wyoming , according to the 2010 census, with a population of 55,316...
, Anne McGill was one of six children of a surgeon. She grew up in Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
and attended St. Francis DeSales, a Roman Catholic High School there. During three consecutive summers, McGill took classes in Spanish at the National University of Mexico.
She studied at the University of Colorado at Boulder
University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...
, earning a bachelors' degree in 1961 at the age of 19. She then attended the University of Colorado Law School where she gained a law degree
Law degree
A Law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Such degrees are generally preparation for legal careers; but while their curricula may be reviewed by legal authority, they do not themselves confer a license...
in 1964 at the age of 22. McGill participated in the undergraduate Honors Program and Mortar Board
Mortar Board
Mortar Board is an American national honor society whose purpose is to recognize outstanding students dedicated to the values of scholarship, leadership, and service. The Cornell University Der Hexenkreis chapter, founded in 1892, is the oldest and predates the national society's founding in 1918...
society, and was an editor of the University of Colorado Law School’s law review
Law review
A law review is a scholarly journal focusing on legal issues, normally published by an organization of students at a law school or through a bar association...
..
She married David Gorsuch after finishing law school.
She was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study criminal law for one year in Jaipur, India, and she and her husband travelled there together. The couple would have two sons, J. J. and Neil
Neil Gorsuch
Neil McGill Gorsuch is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. He is the son of Anne Burford, the first female head of the United States Environmental Protection Agency....
, and a daughter, Stephanie.
Early legal and political career
Gorsuch was first employed as an attorney with a bank trust department, then as the deputy district attorneyDistrict attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
in Denver, Colorado, and finally as a corporate attorney for Mountain Bell.
Between 1976 and 1980 Gorsuch served in the Colorado House of Representatives, where she was voted Outstanding Freshman Legislator, but was considered by some to be a member of the "House Crazies," a group of "conservative lawmakers intent on permanently changing government."
In 1980, Gorsuch served on President-elect Reagan’s transition team as a member of his Advisory Committee on Intergovernmental Relations. Shortly after Reagan was inaugurated, he nominated her as Administrator of the EPA. The nomination was unanimously confirmed by the Senate three months later, on May 5, 1981.
EPA Administrator
Gorsuch based her administration of the EPA on the New FederalismNew Federalism
New Federalism is a political philosophy of devolution, or the transfer of certain powers from the United States federal government back to the states...
approach of downsizing federal agencies by delegating their functions and services to the individual states. She believed that the EPA was over-regulating business and that the agency was too large and not cost-effective. During her 22 months as agency head, she cut the budget of the EPA by 22%, reduced the number of cases filed against polluters, relaxed Clean Air Act regulations, and facilitated the spraying of restricted-use pesticides. She cut the total number of agency employees, and hired staff from the industries they were supposed to be regulating. Environmentalists contended that her policies were designed to placate polluters, and accused her of trying to dismantle the Agency.
In 1982 Congress charged that the EPA had mishandled the $1.6 billion toxic waste Superfund
Superfund
Superfund is the common name for the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 , a United States federal law designed to clean up sites contaminated with hazardous substances...
and demanded records from Gorsuch. Gorsuch refused and became the first agency director in U.S. history to be cited for contempt of Congress. The EPA turned the documents over to Congress several months later, after the White House abandoned its court claim that the documents could not be subpoened by Congress because they were covered by executive privilege
Executive privilege
In the United States government, executive privilege is the power claimed by the President of the United States and other members of the executive branch to resist certain subpoenas and other interventions by the legislative and judicial branches of government...
. At that point, Gorsuch resigned her post, citing pressures caused by the media and the congressional investigation. Critics charged that the EPA was in a shambles at this time.
Looking back at her tenure several years later, Gorsuch expressed pride in the amount of downsizing that was done under her watch and frustration at the program backlogs and lack of staff management skills that she encountered while at the helm of the agency. Gorsuch said that there was a conflict between what she was required to do under a "set of commands from Congress", and what her own priorities were, although she felt that by the end of her administration, she had developed a way of resolving those conflicts. In her retrospective, Gorsuch admitted that she and her staff "were so bogged down in the fight with Congress over the doctrine of executive privilege, that the agency itself seemed hardly to be functioning" but that despite appearances, the agency was indeed still functioning.
Subsequent career
Gorsuch divorced her husband in 1982. In 1983, she married Bureau of Land ManagementBureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior which administers America's public lands, totaling approximately , or one-eighth of the landmass of the country. The BLM also manages of subsurface mineral estate underlying federal, state and private...
head and rancher, Robert Burford.
She was promised another job by Reagan, and in July 1984, he appointed her to a three year term as chair of the National Advisory Committee on Oceans and Atmosphere, a move which was blasted by environmental groups. She came under criticism for describing the post as a "nothing-burger," and both the House and the Senate passed non-binding resolutions calling on President Reagan to withdraw the appointment. Ultimately, Burford chose not to accept the position.
After leaving government service, she wrote a 1986 book about her experiences entitled Are You Tough Enough? She worked as a private attorney in Colorado.
A divorce from her second husband was pending when Robert Burford died in 1993.
Anne Gorsuch Burford died from cancer in 2004 at age 62.