Former Rep. James Oberstar Dies at 79, Was Influential Figure in Transport Policy
This story appears in the May 12 print edition of Transport Topics.
Former Rep. James Oberstar, a leader in transportation policymaking and chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, died on May 3. He was 79.
Oberstar, a Democrat, was the longest-serving representative in Minnesota history. He led the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in 2006, the last in his party to serve in that post.
In 2010, he lost re-election — after serving 36 years — in the wave of Republican victories that ended Democratic control of the House.
He died “too soon and so unexpectedly,” said one of his oldest friends across the aisle, Rep. Tom Petri (R-Wis.), chairman of the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit.
Oberstar died in his sleep at his home in Potomac, Md., according to family members.
His former chief of staff, Bill Richard, said Oberstar, still a fit cycler, was not ill and his passing came as a surprise.
“While we mourn the loss of a good man, we also celebrate his life and his service,” a statement released by Oberstar’s family said.
Other tributes flooded in, with colleagues recalling his lifelong passion for — and encyclopedic knowledge of — transportation.
“Who will forget his ability to recite the history of most of the legislation ever passed by the committee and the development of our nation’s transportation network over the centuries — and he could do it all in flawless French, as well,” Petri said.
The son of a Minnesota iron ore miner, Oberstar studied abroad, earning a graduate degree from the College of Europe, before going to work for Rep. John Blatnik, head of the transportation committee. Oberstar succeeded Blatnik in 1974.
“He was just terrific as a legislator,” said former Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta, who was elected to Congress the same year.
“He was thorough. He always did his homework, and he was just a great public servant.”
Transportation was in Oberstar’s blood, current panel chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) said. “Few possessed his breadth of knowledge and passion for these issues he understood to be so important to America.”
Rep. Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.), currently the committee’s ranking member, said: “If ever there were a patron saint of transportation policy on Earth, it would have had to be my longtime and dear friend Jim Oberstar.”
American Trucking Associations President Bill Graves called Oberstar a giant in the transportation world, saying his knowledge and passion were deep and impressive.
“He made a real difference and will be missed,” Graves said.
Oberstar worked on the creation of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and on three transportation reauthorization bills.
As Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chairman in 2009, Oberstar unveiled his replacement bill for the expiring SAFETEA-LU, a replacement that contained an increase in fuel taxes. But the new Obama administration asked that the measure be shelved. Without complaining, Oberstar agree to do so, said Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.).
“That actually was probably the most major disagreement Jim and I ever had,” said DeFazio, noting that he urged Oberstar to get the panel to oppose Obama’s economic recovery plan on the grounds that the bill would create more jobs.
Oberstar, though, was too gentlemanly to oppose his president, said DeFazio, who also spoke of Oberstar’s indefatigable spirit. He recalled how in 2007 the two of them, after inspecting Oregon’s bridges, climbed on bikes to join a cycling event for lunch. The lunch was on the other side of a mountain with a climb of about 1,800 feet and 10 miles on a not-very-good road, DeFazio said.
“It was a [U.S.] Forest Service road, and it was 85 degrees. I’m dying and I’m saying, ‘Jim, don’t you want to take a break?’ ” DeFazio said. “No, no, can’t take a break, can’t stop, can’t stop,” DeFazio recalled Oberstar saying. “Finally, maybe a half-mile from the top, I got him to take a break, and he says, ‘Well, pulse’s been over 170 for quite a while now.’ ”
