The Senate Commerce Committee today voted to approve the nomination of Derek Barrs to be the administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
The committee approved Barrs nomination along party lines; 15 Republicans voted in favor of Barrs, while 13 Democrats voted against his nomination.
Barrs' nomination will now be considered by the full Senate.
Two trucking organizations spoke out in favor of Barrs.
“Over the past 20 years, Derek Barrs has built his career in law enforcement and the commercial motor vehicle industry around one singular goal: to make our roads safer for all motorists,” said American Trucking Associations President & CEO Chris Spear. “We appreciate the members of the Senate Commerce Committee recognizing Derek’s laudable commitment by voting to approve his nomination to be FMCSA administrator.
"This role is vitally important to the 8.5 million Americans who work in trucking-related jobs. Derek has the qualifications and expertise that will make him exceptionally well prepared to take on this challenge, and under his leadership, the trucking industry is confident that FMCSA will make significant progress towards achieving our shared priorities of improving highway safety and efficiently delivering the nation’s freight. We urge the Senate to confirm him to this position at the earliest possible opportunity.”
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association also voiced its approval of Barrs.
“OOIDA and the 150,000 small business truckers we represent congratulate Derek Barrs, nominated to lead the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, on his confirmation in the Senate Commerce Committee," said OOIDA President Todd Spencer. "We look forward to working with him to advance the priorities of small business truckers across America, including fighting freight fraud, rolling back unnecessary regulations, and closing regulatory loopholes to ensure the safest truck drivers remain in the industry.
"We encourage a swift confirmation by the full Senate so Mr. Barrs can further implement DOT’s recently announced Pro-Trucker Package to improve the safety of our roadways.”
The committee also approved the nomination of Jonathan Morrison to be the administrator odf the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The vote of his nomination was 16 Republicans in favor and 12 Democrats opposed.
