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

 

 

Mr. Charles F. Bolden, Jr., to be Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

 

Ms. Lori Garver, to be Deputy Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

 

 

Ms. Deborah A.P. Hersman, to be Chairman and Member of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)

 

Mr. Richard A. Lidinsky, Jr., to be Commissioner of the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC)

 

Ms. Polly Trottenberg, to be Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy of the United States Department of Transportation (DOT)

 

 

“Each one of these talented individuals will be responsible for leading the way forward at very different agencies -- the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the Department of Transportation (DOT), and the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC).  Together, they represent a renewed commitment to keeping this nation prosperous and innovative and our communities safe and growing.”

“Today we face a crisis of opportunity. We can either confront the aforementioned challenges of technological leadership that ensure our nation’s safety and security or cede that leadership and prestige to other nations. I ask each of you to help NASA turn these challenges into opportunities. I ask each of you on this Committee as well as your colleagues in the Congress to help us ensure that safety and mission success are the preeminent principles in our continuation and extension of human exploration. And I ask all of you to help NASA ensure that our nation remains the leader in the world in aeronautics, technology, science, and the care of our environment.”

“The NASA family is its most valuable resource and I am humbled by this opportunity to return in a leadership position. President Obama has promised to lead our government in a direction to make it work as effectively as it can for the American people. NASA must also continue to demonstrate its relevance, as a source of solutions for the problems we all face today. Every aspect of NASA’s programs can contribute in this way.”

“Since June, 2004, it has been my distinct privilege to serve as an NTSB Board Member. During those 5 years, I have accompanied our investigators on 16 major accident launches. I have watched them drop whatever they were doing, grab their go-bags, and head to an accident scene to get there often before the smoke has cleared. Once on scene, they hardly stop to rest or eat. Some begin the meticulous work of documenting the scene in minute detail, while others seek out witnesses and survivors. While investigators begin piecing together the accident sequence, our Transportation Disaster Assistance team reaches out to victims and their families to help them begin navigating through shock, grief, and eventually, healing. The work we do with the victims’ families may seem difficult, but it’s not. These families are a gift to the NTSB, because they remind us, with their grace and courage, why it is so important to work together to make sure these accidents are prevented in the future.”

“To deal with the realities of international maritime trade in the 21st century, I believe that the first priority of the FMC is to play a role in our economic recovery. We meet today as our ports are suffering double-digit percentage cargo declines. Over five hundred container ships are laid up or at anchor awaiting work. On certain foreign trade routes, carriers are moving containers virtually for free, charging just handling and fuel costs. Experts predict that any growth will not be seen before next year. It is the role of the FMC, through its regulatory powers, to assist all segments of our waterborne commerce—vessels, ports, support industries, labor both on board our ships and on our terminals, truckers and railroads—in regaining their economic vitality and jobs when the upturn comes.”

“I am deeply committed to these goals and believe we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to achieve them as Congress and the Obama Administration prepare to rewrite our nation’s surface transportation policy and work to ensure its long-term financial stability and sustainability. One key to achieving that sustainability will be to create a transportation program that is multi-modal, performance-driven, transparent, and accountable. To do so, we must greatly strengthen our ability at the Federal, state and local level to conduct cross-modal comparisons of projects and track and measure program costs, timelines and outcomes.”

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