NTSB Nominee Homendy on Senate Panel’s Agenda
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A vote on the nomination of Jennifer Homendy to continue her term as chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board is on a Senate panel’s calendar.
The Commerce Committee scheduled a vote for May 1 on Homendy’s nomination to continue leading the independent agency. A favorable outcome in committee would advance her nomination to the floor of the Senate.
Appearing before the panel earlier this month, Homendy offered an update on various national investigations on her docket. NTSB is examining the cause of accidents and high-profile mishaps in sectors such as aviation, marine cargo shipping and freight rail, to name a few.
Specific to rail operations, Homendy told senators during an April 10 hearing that the agency intends to unveil a report detailing a Norfolk Southern freight train derailment last year in East Palestine, Ohio. Following the derailment, the committee approved the bipartisan Railway Safety Act, a measure meant to enhance efficiency and improve safety industrywide. Democratic Senate leaders have yet to schedule a floor vote on the rail bill.
Wednesday: Chair @SenatorCantwell is leading a nomination hearing for Jennifer Homendy to serve another term as Chair of the National Transportation Safety Board @NTSB and Patrick Fuchs as a Member of the Surface Transportation Board.
Watch Live: https://t.co/kms119MU1Y pic.twitter.com/vNP6Ul0XJg — Senate Commerce, Science, Transportation Committee (@commercedems) April 9, 2024
NTSB also is engaged in the in-depth examination of the incidents that led to last month’s collapse of a bridge at the Port of Baltimore. The Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse on March 26, which killed six individuals, prompted a massive local, state and federal response.
Homendy credited the agency’s staff for consistently responding quickly to national crises, such as derailments and the destruction of essential infrastructure. As she told the panel April 10, “We’ve done a great deal to keep pace with the rapid change and technological advancement taking place in transportation. It starts by investing in our people, who need the right training and equipment to conduct cutting-edge investigations in this changing landscape, both of which we’ve done. On top of that internal progress, we’ve strengthened our relationships with our external federal partners and stakeholders.”
Atop her priorities is to continue to inform the public about the agency’s role across modes of transportation. Responding to a questionnaire from senators, she explained: “We are also working to find new, innovative ways to increase engagement with stakeholders and partners, including the industry, labor, modal agencies within the Department of Transportation and Congress, to improve safety.”
“Since August 2021, I have held virtual summits with our stakeholders in each mode of transportation to understand, not what we are doing well, but how we can improve and deliver on our critical safety mission,” she continued.
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Committee Chairwoman Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) endorsed Homendy’s nomination, noting she has “guided the NTSB through some of the most high-profile transportation accidents this nation has seen in recent memory, including the East Palestine derailment, the Alaska Airlines door plug accident, and now the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, which claimed six lives and closed the Port of Baltimore, causing significant disruptions to our national freight network.”
Last month, Homendy was nominated by President Joe Biden to a three-year appointment as the agency’s chairwoman. She has been in that role since 2021.
