President Barack Obama announces Mayor Anthony Foxx, of Charlotte, N.C., as his nominee for Transportation Secretary, in the East Room of the White House, April 29, 2013. Outgoing Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood applauds at right. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
By Doug Palmer
WASHINGTON, June 27 (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate on Thursday voted 100-0 to approve Charlotte, N.C., Mayor Anthony Foxx to head the U.S. Transportation Department, handing him the job as tight budgets are forcing lawmakers to rethink how to fund huge U.S. infrastructure needs.
The 42-year-old Foxx joins President Barack Obama’s Cabinet after four years as mayor of the 17th-largest U.S. city and four years on the Charlotte city council.
Under his leadership, Charlotte was selected host city for the 2012 Democratic party convention, which propelled Obama to a second term in the White House and brought Foxx national fame.
He now will oversee a department with about 53,000 full-time employees and over $72 billion in budget authority. In addition, over 12 million Americans are employed in transportation-related jobs that could be affected by decisions Foxx makes.
Foxx is the third member of Obama’s second-term Cabinet approved in the past two weeks with broad bipartisan support, unlike the battle over approval of former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel to be defense secretary.
The Senate voted 97 to 1 on Tuesday to approve Chicago billionaire businesswoman Penny Pritzker to be commerce secretary and voted 93 to 4 last week to give Obama’s international economic affairs adviser Mike Froman the job of U.S. trade representative. Hagel, in contrast, was approved 58-41 after an acrimonious confirmation battle.
Two other Obama cabinet nominees – Tom Perez to head the Department of Labor and Gina McCarthy to head the Environmental Protection Agency – face a rough ride in the Senate.
Perez, who is currently assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, was barely approved in committee by a 12-10 vote, with Republicans all voting no.
McCarthy, who heads EPA’s air and radiation office, was approved in committee by a 10-8 party line vote, and Republican opposition has been intensified by Obama’s announcement this week of plans to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from existing power plants.
Foxx will succeed current Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, a Republican and former member of Congress who has spent much of his adult life in Washington.
He has promised to continue LaHood’s focus on safety, including a program to reduce distracted driving, while working with Congress and the transportation community to find new ways of funding highway projects and other infrastructure needs.
A recent study from the American Society of Civil Engineers estimated the United States needs to spend $2.75 trillion by 2020 to maintain and improve highways and other important infrastructure. That’s roughly 66 percent more than the $1.66 trillion in expected funding over that period.
For decades, Congress has relied on the federal gasoline tax to fund highway projects, but that is seen as an increasingly ineffective way of raising revenue because rising fuel efficiency means less gas is sold. The gas tax is currently 18.4 cents per gallon and has not been raised since 1993.
Congress will confront the issue again next year when the current two-year highway bill expires. (Reporting by Doug Palmer; Editing by Vicki Allen and Cynthia Osterman)
(Bloomberg) — Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s invasion has entered a new phase, pitting homegrown drone technology against a 2,000 kilometer (1,200 mile) swathe of largely Soviet-era oil facilities. At least...
March 19 (Reuters) – Tanker company Euronav will exit Belgium’s blue-chip Bel-20 index after just two days of trading, as it no longer meets the membership conditions after its takeover by Compagnie Maritime...
MOSCOW, March 19 (Reuters) – The new head of Russia’s Navy was formally presented in his new role for the first time on Tuesday at a pomp-filled ceremony, the state RIA news agency reported,...
March 19, 2024
Total Views: 2487
Why Join the gCaptain Club?
Access exclusive insights, engage in vibrant discussions, and gain perspectives from our CEO.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.