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WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, delivered the following opening statement at today’s full committee hearing on the nominations of Ryan McCormack to be Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy, Daniel Edwards to be an Assistant Secretary of Transportation for Aviation and International Affairs, and Trent Morse to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.  

“I want to start with condolences to those impacted by the UPS Flight 2976. My heart goes out to the entire UPS organization and to the loved ones that they have lost and those who were injured yesterday evening. This is a tragic loss for aviation and certainly the community and citizens of Louisville. I also want to thank the first responders for everything they did last night. And I thank the NTSB for their swift response -- and the FAA -- and look forward to their investigation and [will track] the developments in this situation.

“I want to also thank the essential personnel continuing to work during the shutdown. I continue to focus on getting a resolution to this issue.

“For our hearing today, as the Chairman mentioned, we have several nominees impacting our transportation infrastructure. Mr. McCormack, Mr. Edwards, Mr. Morse, thank you for being here. It's good to see our colleague, Senator Scott, a former member of the Committee, with us today as well.

“Mr. McCormack, you are nominated to serve as the Under Secretary for Transportation, which is the number three position at the DOT. If confirmed, you would oversee policy development across the department, and I expect you to address the administration's competitive grant reevaluation process. We should embrace the same goals of improving transportation infrastructure in this country without delay.

“Of significant importance is the I-5 bridge in my state that crosses the Columbia River. I appreciate Secretary Duffy's firm commitment to seeing this project completed and while it is vital to the state of Washington, it is also vital to the national economy. I will ask further questions about this, and questions about the Federal Highway Administration, Federal Transit Administration and NEPA process.

“Mr. Edwards, I believe we need an Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs who will help with the U.S. being a very strong voice at ICAO and champion efforts to raise global standards on aviation. We also need someone who will fight for fair competition in the airline industry that prioritizes U.S. aviation workers and those jobs, and I expect…that we will agree on many of those issues. I hope you will commit to continuous, uninterrupted air service to small and rural communities that is consistent with the 2024 FAA Reauthorization law.

“Our final nominee, Trent Morse, is President Trump's pick to serve on the Board of Directors of the Metropolitan [Washington] Airport Authority. We have already heard one discussion from my colleague, but that's literally my airport of choice flying in and out of Washington. So I will have questions for you about the operations of DCA and Dulles airports. Together, these two airports serve more than 53 million people each year, and passenger traffic grew by 5.8 percent last year. And we need to continue to make sure that this capacity [grows] -- I believe that Dulles has to grow more business on an international basis.

“I would note that you left the White House recently and have been lobbying for American Airlines and FedEx, and I understand that you informed the Committee yesterday that you will no longer…be lobbying for those companies if you accept this position. I expect…to hold you accountable to those commitments and to avoid conflicts of interest from lobbying the Board or the Board's decision-making process, if confirmed.

“And finally, Mr. Chairman, I think we're still waiting to receive complete financial disclosure and ethics papers, so I would hope that we would get all that information from these nominees prior to the final Committee process.

“Thank you, Mr. Chairman.”

Video of Sen. Cantwell’s opening remarks, Q and A and full transcript can be found HERE.

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