Senator John Thune: FMCSA Nominee Scott Darling’s ‘Depth of Experience’ Concerns Some Senators

[kscarbel2]

Transport Topics / February 2, 2016

Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.) said senators on the panel have raised concerns about Scott Darling, President Obama’s choice to lead the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).

“Some of our members have concerns about, I think, just the depth of experience he has on some of those issues,” Thune told Transport Topics on Feb. 2.

Thune added that a vote on Darling's nomination is possible after the committee handles other affairs during the next couple of weeks. The Commerce Committee has jurisdiction over trucking regulations.

The committee heard testimony from Darling on Jan. 20 to consider his nomination to become FMCSA administrator. At the hearing, he told Thune and the rest of the panel the FMCSA safety performance scoring program, known as Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA), would be reviewed by the National Academy of Sciences starting this month. FMCSA removed the scores from public view in December soon after the enactment of the FAST Act, the 2015 highway law.

Darling, FMCSA's acting administrator, had served as the agency's chief counsel since September 2012. He came to FMCSA from the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, where he served as deputy chief of staff and assistant general counsel.

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[kscarbel2]

Why be concerned about appointees having appropriate experience now? Congress has been approving EPA heads for years who lacked any and all qualifications for that position.