Personnel Bio

John Drake is the Deputy Administrator for the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) at the U.S. Department of Transportation. In this position, he helps to protect people and the environment by advancing the safe transportation of energy and other hazardous materials that are essential to our daily lives. PHMSA's responsibilities include the development and enforcement of regulations for the safe, reliable, and environmentally sound operation of the nation's 2.6 million miles of the gas and liquid pipeline transportation system and the nearly 1 million daily shipments of hazardous materials by land, sea, and air.

Mr. Drake most recently served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy at the U.S. Department of Transportation and was responsible for overseeing the implementation of Secretary Foxx's policy priorities across the Department of Transportation with a special emphasis on freight, surface reauthorization and safety policy. Mr. Drake previously served at the Department as Director of Governmental Affairs for the Department's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, where he focused on defending the Agency's policy priorities to advance truck and bus safety.

Prior to his time at the Department, Mr. Drake spent nine years on Capitol Hill, including time as professional staff for the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. During this time, he worked on a number of important pieces of legislation, including MAP-21, the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008, and the PIPES Act of 2006, among others.

Mr. Drake holds a bachelor's degree in philosophy from the University of California at Santa Cruz.