Brigham McCown

Deputy Administrator

Brigham A. McCown currently serves as the first Deputy Administrator of the newly created Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) at the U.S. Department of Transportation. He was appointed to his current position in the Bush Administration on June 27, 2005.

PHMSA is the federal agency charged with the safe and secure movement of almost 1 million daily shipments of hazardous materials by all modes of transportation. The agency also overseas the nation's pipeline infrastructure which accounts for 64 percent of the energy commodities consumed in the United States.

Most recently Mr. McCown served as the first Chief Counsel of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) where he was responsible for oversight of legal and legislative issues involving the commercial motor carrier, motor coach and moving industries. During this time he oversaw numerous legal challenges to the new agency, including the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case of U.S. DOT v. Public Citizen et al., 541 U.S. 752, 124 S.Ct. 2204 (2004). During his tenure he also oversaw numerous controversial issues including significant regulatory changes to the agency's Hours-of-Service and civil penalty enforcement regulations.

Prior to joining the U.S. Department of Transportation in 2003, Mr. McCown was a member of Winstead Sechrest & Minick P.C., a Dallas-based law firm where he specialized in transportation, construction, energy, and public law issues.

In addition to his legal positions, Mr. McCown is also a Naval Aviator and commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy. In over 17 years of active and reserve duty, he has gained valuable experience in tactical as well as strategic issues through his involvement in Operation Desert Storm, Haiti's Operation Support Democracy, counter-narcotics operations, and most recently in Operation Unified Assistance during tsunami relief operations in Southeast Asia.

He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in diplomacy and foreign affairs from Miami University in 1988, and a law degree from the Salmon P. Chase College of Law at Northern Kentucky University in 1997.