WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator John Thune (R-South Dakota), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, delivered the following prepared remarks at today’s hearing to consider nominees to the Department of Transportation, Department of Commerce, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission:

Mr. Chairman, thank you for holding this hearing to consider several nominees to senior positions in the Department of Transportation and the Department of Commerce, as well as the re-nomination of the current Acting Chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). 

The Department of Transportation plays a key role in the infrastructure of the nation, and it is important that its senior leadership be in place to work with Congress and an array of stakeholders as we seek to improve safety and maintain and expand the nation’s transportation networks. These transportation networks fundamentally underpin our nation’s economy, so it is important that those who directly oversee these networks have the experience and skills necessary to manage this critical enterprise.  

I will be asking Mr. Mendez and Mr. Rogoff about their perspectives on some of the challenges facing the Highway Trust Fund, as well as their broader views on the state of the nation’s transportation networks. These nominees already have track records of valuable service at DOT, and I suspect there will be considerable support for their nominations. 

The Department of Commerce plays an important role on a diverse range of issues, from managing satellite programs within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to managing the federal government’s radio spectrum holdings. Senior leaders at the Department of Commerce must manage a wide range of challenging programs. If confirmed, Mr. Andrews and Mr. Jadotte will have no shortage of issues and problems to tackle. 

I’m guessing that Mr. Andrews may have observed many nominees from this dais and thought to himself, “I can do that.” [Or, maybe he was just thinking that while looking at us, Mr. Chairman.] Well, now he’ll have the chance.

I will be asking Mr. Andrews about his views on how best to manage the risks facing the Department of Commerce, particularly with respect to its satellite programs. I am also interested in Mr. Andrews’s views on the progress of the FirstNet program, the nationwide public safety network that will be funded by the proceeds from the broadcast spectrum auction currently planned for next year. 

Finally, Mr. Chairman, the Consumer Product Safety Commission plays a leading role in overseeing the safety of a wide variety of consumer products. This is important work and I am looking forward to hearing how the commission is faring in meeting its mission and obligations. As I’ve stated previously, the CPSC is a creature of Congress, created in 1972 by the Consumer Product Safety Act. As such, its authority is very carefully bounded by the law.  However, I am aware that some have characterized the commission as being too unaccountable and overreaching as a regulator that does not always abide by the boundaries prescribed by Congress. 

I will be asking Mr. Adler, who has served as the acting Chairman of the CPSC over the past eight months, about issues such as third-party testing, where Congress mandated that the CPSC pursue opportunities to reduce testing burdens, but where the commission has thus far failed to adopt any meaningful reforms. Another issue surrounds the Buckyballs case, where many legal experts observed an apparent overreach of federal regulatory power when the CPSC sought to pierce the so-called corporate veil of a lawful corporation selling a legal product—a step traditionally reserved for cases of fraud or criminal conduct. 

All of us support the CPSC’s mission of ensuring consumer safety, but I am hoping that Mr. Adler will be able to address my misgivings about what appears to be a regulatory agency that has ignored some of its Congressional moorings. 

With that, Mr. Chairman, I look forward to the testimony from our witnesses, and thank you for holding this hearing.

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