Thune: Senators Have Concerns About Darling as FMCSA Chief
WASHINGTON — Sen. John Thune, chairman of the Commerce Committee, said senators on the panel have raised concerns about Scott Darling, the Obama administration’s pick to lead the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
“Some of our members have concerns about, I think, just the depth of experience he has on some of those issues,” the Republican senator from South Dakota told Transport Topics on Feb. 2.
Thune, who also is chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, did not expand on Darling’s qualifications nor would he say if those concerns eventually would hinder Darling’s nomination.
The committee likely will schedule a vote on Darling’s nomination after members complete other matters over the next couple of weeks, Thune said.
The committee also is waiting for Darling to submit responses to questions raised during his confirmation hearing on Jan. 20, Thune added.
Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), the committee’s ranking member, did not comment about Darling’s nomination when asked on Feb. 2 about the nominee.
At that hearing, Darling stressed the agency’s priority to ensure the safety of truckers and motorists. He also noted that FMCSA’s safety performance scoring program — known as Compliance, Safety, Accountability — would be reviewed by the National Academy of Sciences starting this month. FMCSA removed the scores from public view in December soon after the enactment of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act, the 2015 highway law.
After Darling’s confirmation hearing, Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), chairwoman of the committee’s subpanel on trucking affairs, told TT she would prefer to see FMCSA working to carry out the provisions in the 2015 highway law instead of advancing new regulations.
“I would encourage the agency to be looking at implementing the FAST Act as soon as possible,” she said. The Commerce Committee has jurisdiction over national trucking policies.
Darling, who is the agency’s acting administrator, had served as its chief counsel since September 2012. He came to FMCSA from the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, the public transit agency that serves the greater Boston area. There he was deputy chief of staff and assistant general counsel.
During his time with the transit authority, Darling was appointed by the mayor of Somerville, Massachusetts, to the Zoning Board of Appeals. The mayor of Boston also appointed him to the Board of Examiners. He held those posts until leaving for the FMCSA job, according to a review of Darling’s answers to a questionnaire he gave the Commerce Committee last year.
Before the transit agency, Darling held leadership posts at the Conservation Law Foundation and Freedom House, both in Massachusetts. Freedom House presents itself as an independent watchdog group that aims to expand democracy worldwide.
