By Sean McNally, Senior Reporter This story appears in the Oct. 18 print edition of Transport Topics.
American Trucking Associations said it has hired Mary Phillips as its new senior vice president of legislative affairs.
ATA President Bill Graves is expected to formally introduce Phillips, who has been working for the Senate Commerce Committee, during the federation’s Management Conference & Exhibition this week in Phoenix.
Phillips, who previously has worked for ATA, also is a former U.S. Department of Transportation official and congressional staffer.
“I talked to a number of people, but at the end of the day, I kept circling back to Mary Phillips because over the time I’ve known Mary — when she previously worked for ATA and occasions when I worked with her when she was staffing the Senate Commerce Committee — she always struck me as an incredibly talented transportation professional,” Graves told Transport Topics.
Phillips was ATA’s vice president of legislative affairs in 2005 and 2006. Last year, she returned to the Senate Commerce Committee, where she had served from 2002 to 2004. Phillips also served as associate administrator for policy and governmental affairs at the Federal Highway Administration from 2006 to 2008.
“She’s very smart and she certainly knows the issues that are of principle concern to the trucking industry,” Graves said. “She brings a unique and complete package for what I was looking for to run the Capitol Hill office.”
“I’m thrilled to be back,” Phillips told TT. “This is a very diverse, entrepreneurial industry. I’m proud to be a part of it and look forward to working with the members, Bill Graves and the ATA staff to achieve the members’ legislative goals in Washington.”
Graves said that Phillips was returning to ATA at a time when the federation was trying to raise its profile.
“We’re really expecting to elevate our standing on Capitol Hill, beginning with our physical presence in the renovated space [of ATA’s Capitol Hill office] and also with the performance of the staff on our key issues,” Graves said.
How Congress addresses those issues is likely to shift this fall, following the elections, Phillips said.
“To some extent, the legislative agenda for the next Congress will depend on the outcome of the fall elections,” she said. “But certainly, I hope that Congress will act to reauthorize the highway program. If Congress does not move to take up a comprehensive bill next year, ATA may want to encourage Congress to advance pieces of the bill, particularly the safety title.”
Phillips replaces Tim Lynch, who left the federation in June.
