Sen. Steve Daines Presses Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx on Acting DOT Posts
WASHINGTON — With five agencies at the Department of Transportation run by acting administrators, Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) asked Secretary Anthony Foxx on April 22 why the Obama administration had yet to announce nominees to fill those posts full time.
“There’s got to be some very qualified people here in this country. We’re dealing with pipelines breaking, railcar challenges. I can’t think of any more important to make sure we have the right leadership filling these positions,” Daines said told Foxx at an appropriations committee hearing. “If I were looking at my to-do list every day, in terms of the threats to safety for people as well as challenges for environment, why isn’t anything done there.”
Foxx told the senator there are people who would be qualified to oversee the five agencies: the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the Federal Railroad Administration, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, the Federal Highway Administration, and the Federal Transit Administration. But the duration and scrutiny of a typical confirmation is a main reason why the White House has yet to present nominees to the Senate. The administration has nominated Therese McMillan for the top job at FTA. She’s yet to be confirmed.
“I think there’s a fair number of qualified people who look at what one has to go through to go through this process, including having months on end of a pending nomination that at some point say, ‘Hey, it’s OK. I can do whatever else I’m doing and serving the public would have to come later,’” Foxx said. “I can’t overstate how challenging it becomes when people give up their time … to invest in moving forward to a government position.”
Daines is just the latest lawmaker to call on the administration to announce nominees for the top DOT roles. Last week, Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.) raised a similar point during a transportation committee hearing in the House.
