Senate panel confirms Ferro to become next FMCSA administrator

No timetable has been set for the full Senate to take up Anne Ferro's nomination to head the FMCSA.(Associated Press)

The Trucker Staff

10/27/2009

WASHINGTON — The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee on Tuesday approved and sent to the full Senate the nomination of Anne S. Ferro to be the next administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

The only dissenting vote came from Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine.

Her confirmation by the full Senate is expected to take place, but no timetable has been set.

The vote came on the same day that news broke concerning a possible settlement between the FMCSA and several safety advocacy groups over the current Hours of Service rule.

FMCSA agreed to issuing a new Notice of Proposed Rulemaking sometime within the next nine months and issuing a new Final Rule within 21 months.

In response, the suit would be held in abeyance during the time period.

In the settlement document, FMCSA did not agree to change the regulation during the rulemaking process.

Ferro first appeared before the committee for her confirmation hearing Sept. 23.

In what is a normal routine for most confirmation hearings, committee members, many of whom did not attend the hearing, were allowed to submit written questions to Ferro, who then responded in writing.

Senate committees often do not formally reconvene to vote, but rather vote in an “off-the-floor markup.”

And so, after nine months without official leadership, the government agency charged with regulating the trucking industry appears on the verge of having its first administrator since John Hill left office Jan. 20.

Ferro will face several sticky issues when she reports for her first day on the job.

In addition to HOS, those include electronic on-board recorders (EOBRs), the Mexican truck program, the controlled sub-stance/alcohol test results database and implementation of CSA 2010.

The Trucker staff can be reached for comment on this article at editor@thetrucker.com.

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