Commentary
Not So Fast on Oberman’s STB Successor (Updated)
Written by Frank N. Wilner, Capitol Hill Contributing Editor
Surface Transportation Board Chair Marty Oberman. Screen shot from STB YouTube video of Feb. 14 hearing.
WATCHING WASHINGTON, RAILWAY AGE APRIL 2024 ISSUE: With the voluntary departure of Surface Transportation Board (STB) Chairperson Martin J. Oberman expected by May, President Biden is mulling five potential Democratic nominees for the opening. The President separately will name a new chairperson.
Given the decision-making influence of the Senate’s second ranking Democrat—Majority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois—it’s understandable that four contenders have Chicago area ties, reflecting also the city’s reputation, as poet Carl Sandburg said, as “player with railroads and the nation’s freight handler.” Chicago’s Oberman is a product of Durbin’s influence as is STB Chicago-rooted Democrat Karen Hedlund.
Politics is a contact sport, however, and Senate Republicans are unlikely to allow confirmation of a Democratic successor before the November election. Oberman’s departure gives the STB a 2-2 party split, so confirming a third Democrat to the five-person board would hand Democrats a majority in a possible Trump Administration.
Biden still is likely to make a nomination, because also in politics, one never knows.
On Biden’s list are Chicago Metra board member Melinda Bush; Chicago Transit Authority President Dorval Carter Jr.; former House Transportation & Infrastructure (T&I) Committee Chairperson Peter DeFazio of Oregon; former congresswoman Marie Newman of a nearby-Chicago county; and Chicago-rooted Senate Commerce Committee staffer Melissa Porter. Except for Porter, all tote problematic baggage.
• Melinda Bush, 67, a former labor union leader, joined Chicago Metra’s board in 2023. Previously, she was vice chair of the state senate’s transportation committee. In earning an Illinois Environmental Council 100% favorable voting record, she supported passage of a Coal Ash Pollution Act opposed by energy interests and was active with the Environmental Justice movement.
• Dorval Carter, 65, was named CTA president in 2015. Previously, he was chief of staff to Obama Administration Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and assistant chief legal counsel at the Federal Transit Administration. As reported by Chicago media, Carter is faulted for numerous alleged CTA ills and for rarely riding the trains.
• Peter DeFazio, 76, gained the T&I chair based on seniority—not personality. He distinguished himself by being shut out by fellow Democrats during finalization of the 2021 $1 trillion bi-partisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that he derided as “crap.” He has a strong allegiance to labor. Recently, DeFazio registered to lobby on behalf of trucking interests.
• Marie Newman, 59, was a one-term (2021-2023), politically left House member, having dealt a Democratic primary defeat to moderate Dan Lipinski to gain a Chicago-area seat held by Lipinski and his father for 38 years. A Green New Deal supporter, she served on the House Rail Subcommittee. Until leaving office, she was the subject of a House ethics probe into allegations she “may have promised federal employment to a primary opponent for the purpose of procuring political support.” Newman currently heads a Chicago non-profit organization.
• Melissa Porter, 48, is Senate Commerce Committee deputy staff director. Previously, she was general counsel to the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, a Department of Transportation senior associate counsel, and the Federal Railroad Administration’s chief counsel.
And how about Republican STB member Patrick J. Fuchs, whose first term will expire Dec. 31? Renominated in January for a second term, he has no opposition from labor, railroads or shippers—the latter having used “calm,” “solid,” “transparent” and “seriously thoughtful” to describe him while citing his “deep understanding” of regulatory issues.
Traditionally, Democratic and Republican nominees are paired for Senate confirmation, as were Fuchs and Oberman in 2019. But since a Democratic Oberman successor likely will not gain a confirmation vote before November, the safest path for Fuchs is a pairing with National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chairperson and Democrat Jennifer Homendy, renominated in March for separate terms as a member and chairperson. (Unlike the STB, where permanent chairpersons are appointed by the President from among Senate-confirmed members, NTSB chairpersons are separately Senate-confirmed.) That is now the case, as U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Chair of the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, will convene a full committee hearing on Wednesday, April 10, 2024, at 10:00 AM EDT to consider Fuchs’ and Homendy’s renominations. (The hearing will stream live on the Committee website, Twitter and YouTube.)
With the East Palestine derailment, Baltimore bridge collapse and Boeing mishaps of Senate concern, there is reason to confirm Homendy quickly to keep her fully focused on safety investigations, which would be a win also for Fuchs and STB stakeholders supporting his second five-year term.
