U.S. Transportation Secretary LaHood Announces National Freight Advisory Committee Members

DOT 50-13
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Contact:  DOT Press Office
Tel.:  (202) 366-4570

U.S. Transportation Secretary LaHood Announces National Freight Advisory Committee Members
NFAC Will Provide Recommendations to Improve National Freight Transportation System

WASHINGTON – U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced the members of the National Freight Advisory Committee, a diverse group of professionals that will provide advice and recommendations aimed at improving the national freight transportation system. A strong freight transportation system is critical to the nation’s economy and essential for helping meet President Obama’s goal of doubling U.S. exports by 2015.

“The strength of our economy and the strength of our national freight system go hand in hand,” said Secretary LaHood. “The members of this committee understand firsthand the critical importance of freight movement, and their valuable insight will help ensure that our system is more secure and better connected.”

The Advisory Committee is comprised of 47 voting members from outside the Department of Transportation.  The Deputy Secretary and Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy, as well as representatives from other Federal agencies with freight-related obligations will serve as ex-officio members.  Members come with various perspectives on freight transportation and represent various modes of transportation, geographic regions, and policy areas.  Freight customers and providers, labor representatives, safety experts and government entities are all represented as well.  

Members will serve two-year terms and meet at least three times per year.  The first NFAC meeting is scheduled for June 25, 2013, at the Department of Transportation and will include an overview of MAP-21 Freight provisions and preliminary identification of NFAC activities.  The meeting is open to the public.  Information regarding the meeting will be available on the Federal Register.

The U.S. Department of Transportation solicited nominations in February.  Secretary LaHood selected members with input from the MAP-21 Freight Implementation Team as well as the Freight Policy Council, an internal body of DOT leadership created to facilitate cross-modal implementation of freight provisions in the recently signed surface transportation bill, Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century, or MAP-21.

MAP-21 established a national freight policy and called for the creation of a National Freight Strategic Plan.  By engaging stakeholders representing diverse interests, the Advisory Committee will provide recommendations to the Secretary of Transportation on how DOT can improve its freight transportation policies and programs.

The collaboration of stakeholders will serve to promote involvement and compliance with proposed plans and performance measures and will support the implementation of larger freight policy initiatives.

Over the last four years, the Obama Administration has made considerable investments in our national freight network. Through four rounds of the TIGER Grant program, DOT has directed $1 billion toward projects that primarily address freight. This includes more than $650 million to projects that strengthen freight rail infrastructure, reduce freight bottlenecks, and alleviate congestion issues, and more than $350 million to our port system.

The National Freight Advisory Committee members are:

Stephen Alterman, Cargo Airline Association
Gregory A. Ballard, City of Indianapolis
Kevin L. Brubaker, Environmental Law & Policy Center
Jeffrey Burns, Parents Against Tired Truckers and Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways
Terry Button, Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association
Anne Canby, OneRail
Joan Claybrook, Public Citizen
Kristin Decas, Port of Hueneme
Mortimer L. Downey III, CAGTC
John H. Eaves, Fulton County
John E. Fenton, Patriot Rail Corp
Karen Flynn, Arkema Inc.
Carlos A. Gimenez, Miami-Dade County
Genevieve Giuliano, University of Southern California Sol Price School of Public Policy
John Thomas Gray II, Association of American Railroads
Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge, Lambert International Airport
Brad Hildebrand, Cargill, Inc.
Stacey D. Hodge, New York City Department of Transportation
James P. Hoffa, International Brotherhood of Teamsters
José Holguín-Veras, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Jack Holmes, UPS Freight
Richard Inclima, Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division of the Teamster Rail Conference
Frances Lee Inman, Majestic Realty Co.
Randell Iwasaki, Contra Costa Transportation Authority
Michael Jewell, Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association, AFL-CIO
Paul R. Kelly, A & S Service Group
Paul C. LaMarre III, Port of Monroe
Michelle Livingstone, The Home Depot
Bonnie Lowenthal, State of California
Andrew S. Lynn, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
C. Randal Mullett, Con-way Inc.
Rosa Navejar, The Rios Group
Michael Nutter, City of Philadelphia
Gary A. Palmer, True Value Company
Craig Philip, Ingram Barge Company
John Previsich, SMART – Transportation Division
William Roberson, Nucor Steel – Berkeley
Christopher T. Rodgers, Douglas County, National Association of Counties
Mark Andrew Savage, Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance/Colorado State Patrol
Karen Schmidt, Freight Mobility Strategic Investment Board
Ann Schneider, Illinois DOT
Ricky D. Smith, Department of Port Control, Cleveland Airport
Mike Tooley, Montana DOT
Peter G. Vigue, Cianbro Companies
Michael C. Walton, University of Texas Austin
A.C. Warton, City of Memphis
Leonard Waterworth, Port of Houston Authority

###

You are subscribed to no topic for U.S. Department of Transportation. This information has recently been updated, and is now available.