Senate Panel to Consider STB Nominee Michelle Schultz July 10

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The Senate Commerce Committee has scheduled the consideration of Michelle Schultz to be a member of the Surface Transportation Board for July 10.

Schultz was renominated for the post this year after her nomination in the previous session of Congress failed to garner floor consideration.

Her experience includes serving as deputy general counsel at the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, the sixth-largest provider of public transportation in the country. She also was a law clerk for the Superior Court of Pennsylvania and the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Schultz

Responding to committee questions, Schultz indicated, “For certain areas across the country, short line and regional railroads are the only way shippers can access the national freight rail network. Shortline railroads serve a vital role to the U.S. freight rail network.”

“As the economic regulator of the rail industry, the Surface Transportation Board has discretion to tailor its regulatory activities to meet the nation’s changing transportation needs. This discretion would include taking into account the integral role that shortline railroads play in the national freight network,” she added.

The board was created by Congress in 1996 as a regulatory agency overseeing railroad rate and service issues.

The Senate panel also scheduled consideration of Stephen Dickson to lead the Federal Aviation Administration.