Capitol Agenda for the Week of June 14: Patience, Darling

Drew Angerer/Bloomberg News

Less than two months to go before the August break on Capitol Hill, and still no word on when the Senate will vote on Scott Darling’s nomination to become administrator at the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Darling was nominated by President Obama last summer, and he went before the committee of jurisdiction at the start of the year to defend his nomination. That committee went on to approve his nomination, leaving it up to the full Senate to decide on his post. Senate aides told Transport Topics recently that a vote on his nomination would occur sometime this spring. Summer officially begins June 20, so time is running out. When we caught up with Darling at the Mid-America Trucking Show, he appeared to be in good spirits. He posed for photos with attendees and told us he would continue to lead FMCSA in an acting capacity while awaiting confirmation. But you’d think an agency that oversees the myriad regulations having to do with the movement of most of the freight on highways would have an administrator who is confirmed by federal lawmakers. That’s not the case.

THE WEEK AHEAD (all times EDT):

June 14: Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx will join a panel at the 2016 Clinton Global Initiative America in Atlanta to address, “Transit for Economic Growth.”

June 14-15: The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee meets to assist the agency with complying with a FAST Act mandate that it review all of its regulations to decide which to discard, which to keep and how carriers should interpret them.  

CSA: Secretary Foxx told senators it would be about two years before Compliance, Safety, Accountability scores will be available again for public view on FMCSA’s website. He was testifying before the Commerce Committee on June 8.

ENO: Former U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary James Burnley has been named chairman of the Eno Center for Transportation board of directors.

VOINOVICH: Former Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio), who advocated for infrastructure funding during his career on Capitol Hill, died June 12. He was 79. Voinovich sat on the Environmental and Public Works Committee.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

OSHA: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has ordered NFI Interactive Logistics to reinstate a truck driver who was fired for refusing to violate his hours of service. The New Jersey company also was ordered to pay the driver $276,000 in back wages and damages. NFI will appeal.

LESS TRAFFIC: Transportation agencies in New York, Michigan and Washington on June 3 received federal grants to improve the way they issue traffic alerts to truckers crossing the Canadian border.

WHAT WE’RE READING:

In Governing, Managing Editor Elizabeth Daigneau spotlighted the replacement of Seattle’s Albert D. Rosellini Bridge. The new structure connects Seattle to Bellevue across Lake Washington.

FAVORITE VIDEO

A group of Florida truckers raised awareness about their concerns during a series of protests along key freight corridors. 

FAVORITE QUOTE

"Gordie Howe was a legendary, pan-generational figure in Canada and in the United States, especially in Detroit. I am so thrilled that the honor of having the new bridge at Windsor-Detroit named after him came while he was still alive and will now be immortalized."

— David Bradley, CEO of the Ontario Trucking Association and Canadian Trucking Alliance, on June 10.

FAVORITE TWEET

Transportation for America looks to make sure every ride counts.

#tfw @USDOT neglects to make your bus ride count when measuring successful roads https://t.co/WMLjlrtb9z pic.twitter.com/xvBhDFNiLy — Transport. 4 America (@T4America) June 10, 2016

Thanks for reading Capitol Agenda! We publish Tuesdays when Congress is in session. Follow us @transporttopics, @eugenemulero, @SethClevenger, @ericdmiller46, @neilabt and @davidelfin. Also, contact us at: emulero@ttnews.com