Senate Likely to Hold Confirmation Vote on NTSB’s Hart Before End of the Year

By Eugene Mulero, Staff Reporter

This story appears in the Nov. 17 print edition of Transport Topics.

The Senate is expected to vote on the nomination of Christopher Hart to become chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, and possibly vote on the nominations of other senior transportation nominees, during the lame-duck period that runs through the end of December, a senior Democratic aide told reporters.

Hart, the board’s current chairman, has been awaiting a confirmation vote since his nomination was approved unanimously by the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee on Sept. 17.



NTSB is tasked with investigating major highway accidents that involve trucks and other modes of transportation. An independent federal agency, NTSB also is charged by Congress with investigating every civil aviation accident in the United States.

President Obama nominated Hart for the top NTSB job on June 26 to succeed Deborah Hersman, who left to become CEO at the National Safety Council, a nonprofit based in Illinois.

A Princeton University and Harvard Law School graduate, Hart would “bring a depth of experience and tremendous dedication” as NTSB chairman, Obama said.

Hart has served as vice chairman at NTSB since 2009. Prior to joining NTSB, he was the deputy director for Air Traffic Safety Oversight from 2005 to 2009 at the Federal Aviation Administration. Before that, Hart was assistant administrator for system safety at FAA.

An NTSB spokesman said the board has not been made aware of a date for the confirmation vote.

The congressional aide also indicated Senate Democratic leaders are considering in the lame-duck session advancing the nomination of Therese McMillan to take over as administrator of the Federal Transit Administration.

McMillan, FTA’s acting administrator, was scheduled to testify before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee on Nov. 13. That committee is expected to advance her nomination to the full Senate as early as this month.

If confirmed, McMillan would succeed Peter Rogoff, who was confirmed this year by the Senate to become undersecretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Like other DOT appointees, McMillan has championed the White House’s four-year, $302 billion transportation “Grow America Act” highway funding proposal. The legislative proposal was introduced in the House five months ago, but it awaits a congressional hearing.

Democratic leaders, who control the Senate’s schedule until the next Congress, have indicated they plan to push in the lame-duck period pending nominations while they still can. The Democrats will not be able to schedule confirmation votes in the next Congress because they lost the Senate majority in the midterm elections.

In January, both chambers of Congress will be led by Republicans.