Chair Cantwell and Ranking Member Cruz, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. I am honored to be nominated by the President to serve a second term as a Member of the National Transportation Safety Board. And I am grateful to my remarkable colleagues at NTSB for all they do to promote safety in transportation. My work as a Board Member has been a rewarding opportunity to apply my experience and skills in a role allowing me to give back through public service.
Before proceeding, I want to say a few words about the two people most important to me. For an important reason I will explain, neither of them were able to accompany me today. My wife Scotty O’Connell is my partner and best friend, and she has been for these past 38 years. Scotty is currently in London with our amazing son Patrick, helping him to settle in to what the British call a “flat.” Next week, Patrick begins his course of study in pursuit of a Master’s degree at the London School of Economics. His old Mom & Dad couldn’t be more proud.
Madam Chair, my more than four decades of experience, most of it in the aviation industry, have prepared me well for the tasks I find so fulfilling at NTSB. Throughout my career, I have been deeply involved in an extensive range of issues, often playing a key role in identifying and negotiating resolutions. In varying degrees, virtually every aspect of aviation involves considerations of safety. Consequently, an awareness and sensitivity to a pervasive culture of safety is imbedded in my professional approach. I have sought to bring that perspective to my work as a Board Member, in pursuit of the critical safety mission of the NTSB.
In addition to my experience, I bring at least two qualities to the position which I believe are valuable. First, I benefit from an established reputation for collegiality and consensus building. Second, I am committed to public service and believe that much is expected from those who are most fortunate.
I am an aggressive advocate for the policy positions I am professionally obliged or personally committed to represent. However, I strive to demonstrate respect and appreciation for the views of those with whom I may disagree. I believe in compromise, and I take pride in crafting solutions that will accommodate seemingly conflicting points of view. Many of those I consider my most valued professional friends and associates are also those with whom I have most significantly clashed over past policy disputes.
As for my commitment to service, I view it as a responsibility for those who are fortunate to have prospered from professional life in the private sector. Immediately prior to joining NTSB, I was privileged to serve for six years on the staff of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation. In 2014, I left the airline industry and joined the Aviation Subcommittee staff in anticipation of the major legislative effort required to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration. Throughout my years with the Committee, I worked collaboratively with the bipartisan Senate team. Our efforts contributed to passage of various significant legislative measures, including the FAA Extension, Safety, and Security Act of 2016 and the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018.
As an NTSB Board Member, I devote much of my attention to traffic safety, because that is where our greatest safety challenges lie. I speak extensively on the Safe System Approach to traffic safety, pedestrian safety, alcohol and drug impairment, and rail worker and highway-rail grade crossing hazards. I am especially active on key initiatives to address two stubbornly persistent challenges – alcohol impaired driving and excessive speed.
I am proud of the important public policy accomplishments to which I have contributed as a former member of the Commerce Committee staff and since joining the National Transportation Safety Board. I welcome the prospect of building on those efforts through additional service as a second-term member of the National Transportation Safety Board.
That concludes my formal remarks. I am happy to respond to questions.
