Top transportation posts change hands

By Staff -- Logistics Management, 2/1/2001

Former U.S. Secretary of Commerce and Lockheed Martin Corp. Vice President Norman Mineta has been confirmed by the Senate to serve as secretary of the Department of Transportation for the Bush administration, replacing Clinton appointee Rodney Slater. Mineta, a Democrat, served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1974 to 1995, becoming chairman of the Committee on Public Works and Transportation and helping to enact the Negotiated Rates Act of 1993, which addressed the undercharge issue.

Mineta was also instrumental in the deregulation of intrastate trucking, which is estimated to have saved the logistics industry billions of dollars in transportation costs. In 1994, he received the McCullough Award as transportation executive of the year from the National Industrial Transportation League (NITL) and Distribution magazine, a precursor of Logistics Management & Distribution Report .

Edward M. Emmett, NITL president, praised Mineta's appointment, saying, "Secretary Mineta is not only knowledgeable and qualified, but he is also one of the most open-minded people I have known. He is a problem solver."

Another change of importance to shippers is the appointment of Republican Don Young, U.S. representative from Alaska, as chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Young has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1973. He replaces Rep. Bud Shuster (R-Pa.), the influential dealmaker who retired from Congress on Jan. 31. Shuster has cited health and family considerations as his reasons for retiring.

Last October, Shuster was reprimanded by the House Ethics Committee for his ties to his former chief of staff, transportation industry lobbyist Ann Eppard, who was charged by federal prosecutors with seven counts of bribery and corruption while she was on Shuster's staff. In November 1999, she pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor of accepting illegal payments and paid a $5,000 fine.

Other posts that saw a change in leadership when the Bush administration arrived in Washington included the top positions at the U.S. Customs Service and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Customs Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly and NTSB Chairman Jim Hall both were ousted. At press time, their replacements had not yet been named.