Executive Session

Floor Speech

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Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, later today, the Senate will vote on
two nominees who are critical to ensuring the safety of our Nation's
transportation network: Christopher Hart, to be Chairman of the
National Transportation Safety Board, also known as the NTSB, and Bella
Dinh-Zarr to be a member of the Board.

Mr. Hart has a distinguished career in aviation safety and has served
with distinction as acting chair in recent months.

Dr. Dinh-Zarr has a distinguished career in auto safety and will
bring an important perspective and background to the board.

Right now, the NTSB only has three members, with one--Mr. Hart--
serving as Acting Chairman. Today's vote will add another member and
ensure Mr. Hart is Chairman in an official capacity. It is imperative
that we have a strong, long-term team at the helm. As a member of the
Commerce Committee, I know there is much important work ahead for the
agency.

The NTSB is charged by Congress with investigating every civil
aviation accident in the United States as well as significant accidents in the other modes of transportation--railroad, highway, marine, and pipeline--and issuing safety recommendations to agencies and others in the transportation industry aimed at preventing future accidents.

It is not a regulatory or oversight agency; rather, it has a unique
task--investigating safety issues and accidents and then making
recommendations on how we can save lives. It is independent, and this
ensures that agencies that regulate and oversee safety aren't
investigating themselves when and if there are potential lapses in
their oversight.

The NTSB's work is critical--and it has been very busy recently--
especially in my region. Last month, we saw a horrific collision at a
railway crossing just outside of New York City on our commuter
railroad, Metro-North. The tragic incident killed six, including a
resident of Danbury, CT. The NTSB is investigating that crash, and its
finding will help us so we don't have to witness similar disasters
again. Having a full board helps this important work move forward.

This recent investigation comes after the NTSB dedicated tremendous
resources and hours into investigating other horrific incidents on
Metro-North in 2013 and 2014. At one point, all of the NTSB's rail
investigators worked on that one investigation, which resulted in a
substantial report last November. The NTSB's conclusions in that report
have been a guidepost for reform. At the same time, the NTSB has been
busy investigating other major incidents such as rail-grade crossings
elsewhere in our country, like in southern California, derailments of
trains carrying crude oil, like in West Virginia, plane crashes, major
highway disasters, and significant transit incidents.

The NTSB is also evaluating other issues, such as the safety of
passenger vehicle tires, distracted driving, substance abuse in the
transportation sector, and ensuring procedural compliance by
transportation providers. It is a long and extensive list of projects.

We need these nominees in their posts immediately so they can keep
these investigations moving forward and bolster the NTSB's critical
work. And I note that here in Congress, we need to do our part as well
to advance the NTSB's efforts and findings, which include ensuring
railroads install positive train control, or PTC, which was first urged
by NTSB after a rail collision in 1969 in Darien; requiring advanced
technology like cameras in trains; requiring railroads to have
redundant signal protection, which, had it been in place, would have
saved the life of one of my constituents; requiring better fatigue
management in all modes of transportation; improving the
crashworthiness of passenger rail cars; and ensuring labor has a voice
in safety investigations, among many key reforms.

Thankfully, we have before us today two supremely qualified nominees
who will help us advance these key initiatives and make our
transportation network safer, more secure, and more reliable. Again, I
urge my colleagues to support them.

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