WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a full committee hearing today on nominations.

 

Ms. Anne Ferro, Administrator-Designate, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation

 

Ms. Cynthia L. Quarterman, Administrator-Designate, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation

 

“For everyone on the road, we have a responsibility to make safety priority number one. I have long been a strong advocate for road and truck safety and I have concerns about the agency’s current focus on safety.  West Virginians, like many others in largely rural states, rely heavily on highway transportation to get to work, to visit their families, and, often, to do their jobs.  Making sure that they are safe from the perils of tired truckers and unsafe motor vehicles is of the utmost importance to me and many members of this Committee.” 

“The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s mandate is to reduce the incidence and severity of crashes involving trucks and buses. This has proven to be a daunting challenge in a multi-sector industry where segments of it have such low barriers to entry that competition for business is sometimes characterized as a race to the bottom. But it’s a challenge we can and must overcome, and strategies to do so have been recommended by a wide range of stakeholders including agency personnel, the National Transportation Safety Board, the agency’s own Inspector General, survivors advocacy groups, law enforcement agencies, the best drivers, owner operators, and motor carrier companies. Measures that work have been demonstrated and the strong safety records of the drivers and carriers who use them give witness to their effectiveness.”

“As the Committee is well aware, the agency is in its infancy, having been established only three years ago to ensure the safe and environmentally sound transportation of hazardous materials through our country. I believe that my more than 20 years of experience, in private practice and government service, involving the transportation of hazardous materials by pipeline provides me with the necessary substantive knowledge to lead this agency forward… My work experiences have given me an excellent perspective on how organizations and their personnel work, how to ensure focus on mission objectives, and achieve the performance results that the Administration, the Congress, and the public expect and deserve.”

###