NTSB - Testimony of Mark V. Rosenker

Opening Statement of Mark V. Rosenker
Acting Chairman and Chairman Designate
National Transportation Safety Board
Before the
Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee
of The United States Senate
June 8, 2006

Good afternoon. Mr. Chairman, Mr. Co-Chairman, distinguished members of the Committee. I am pleased and honored to appear before your Committee for the third time during this Administration as a nominee. I am grateful to President Bush for this nomination to be Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board and particularly for his confidence in my ability to continue to serve our Nation in this unique and critically important position.

I would also like to thank Senator George Allen from my home state of Virginia for his statement for the record and his support for the third time. I am honored that my friend Congressman Daryl Issa has taken time from his busy schedule to offer his support and flattering introduction.

With your permission Mr. Chairman, I would like to introduce my wife, Heather, who is here with me this afternoon along with my mother and father in law Jack and Joan Beldon from New Jersey.

For a more than three years, I have been privileged to serve as a member, Vice Chairman and most recently Acting Chairman of this small, but well-known and respected federal agency.

The NTSB, for nearly four decades, has been at the forefront of transportation safety issues, the protector, if you will, of America’s vital transportation system. The NTSB is not only our nation’s premier accident investigation agency, but also enjoys a well-earned reputation as the most effective and authoritative independent safety body in the world.

I have said this before and will continue to say; the professional men and women who make up the NTSB are the “best in the business.”

I’d also like to recognize my fellow board members, Debbie Hersman and Kitty Higgins who are here today and I thank them for their support. Whether dealing with determining probable cause of an accident, recommending safety improvements, or deciding on federal enforcement actions, we routinely join together with one objective in mind, raising the standard of safety within our nation’s transportation community.

If confirmed as Chairman, I commit to you and the American people, I will do my best to effectively and efficiently manage this important agency making sure that its ability to carry out its critical mission is never compromised.

Mr. Chairman, Mr. Co-Chairman, distinguished members of the Committee, I am sure you will agree, America’s transportation industry is one of its most important economic sectors and as such protecting the vitality of this sector by ensuring the safe movement of people and commerce is the primary and most crucial role of the NTSB.

If confirmed, I will be honored to lead this agency and its highly competent team of transportation safety professionals and advocates.

I look forward to answering your questions.

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