NTSB, STB, CPSC and DOT CFO Nominations Hearing

Good morning. Good morning. The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation will come to order. Today we'll hear from five nominees. Thomas Chapman, for another term on the National Transportation Safety Board. Edward Epler, to serve as Chief Financial Officer of the Department of Transportation. Karen Hedlund for another term on the Surface Transportation Board. Brian Lorenz and Karen Sessions to serve on the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Mister Chapman, a Democrat nominee, has served on the NTSB since twenty twenty, where he has focused on highway and traffic safety, saying that quote " is where our greatest safety challenges lie." Prior to joining the board, Mister Chapman spent six years as Minority Aviation Counsel for this committee, where he worked on bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the FAA, TSA, and NTSB. He previously spent more than thirty years working in the aviation industry. Mister Epler, nominated to serve as Chief Financial Officer of the Department of Transportation, has spent decades as an investment banker, including as the global head of aerospace and defense at Goldman Sachs. This private sector experience will be an asset at DOT, and Mister Epler manages a more than one hundred billion dollar annual budget. We know that he can oversee a large and diverse portfolio. Karen Hedlund, a Democrat nominee, has served since twenty twenty-two on the STB, which oversees the economic aspects of railroads, including rail mergers. Ms. Headlands previously spent more than thirty years in private practice as a Bond Attorney and as a consultant advising state governments on transportation infrastructure projects. She also served as the Federal Railroad Administration's Deputy Administrator and as the Federal Highway Administration's Chief Counsel. Finally, we have two Republican nominees for the Consumer Product Safety Commission, Brian Lorenz and Karen Sessions. Mister Lorenz currently serves as the CPSC's Executive Director, where he works with Acting Chairman Peter Feldman to implement a data-first approach to enforcement. Mister Lorenz has previously worked in data analytics and held senior positions in government. Miss Sessions currently serves as a Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Department of Transportation. She also served in the first Trump administration, including as a senior appointee at the Millennium Challenge Corporation and worked in management roles in the telecommunication industry. She has held elected office in Florida. The CPSC has a straightforward mission, protecting American consumers from unsafe products. But under the Biden administration, the CPSC pursued a radical environmental and regulatory agenda. One Biden-appointed commissioner claimed that gas stoves posed unacceptable and hidden hazards. And when asked about the CPSC's authority to ban them, he said, quote, "Everything is on the table." The Biden administration tried to use the CPSC's regular pow- regulatory power to advance the Democrats' long-running war on oil and gas. I'm confident that Mr. Lorenz and Miss Sessions will help get the CPSC back to doing its job and to refocus it on protecting consumers from unsafe products, not advancing the leftist agenda to f- try to fiddle with the Earth's thermostat. I look forward to hearing from our nominees today. Ranking member Hickenweather.

Thank you, Chairman Cruz. Uh, thank all of you for being here. Um. Appreciate your your time and energy to get here and uh testify on these relevant issues. Um, I think we can just go move forward now, recognize well, I got two things to do first. Uh, I wanna have a letter here from the National Consumers League uh, that goes over in some detail um, some of the issues around facing the uh, consumer protections at various levels. Um, so I ask that this be um, uh read into the record um uh you know i'm trying to remember this is i'm not it might have to be wait until after i do my opening remarks to do that properly but i'll assume it's in the record now if someone will correct me

yeah

without objection thank you uh um alright now i'm gonna uh recognize senator welsh um to introduce our first uh witness and thank you for welcome back to commerce.

Well thank you very much and it's wonderful uh to be here with my colleagues on this wonderful committee. And I am here to introduce Ed Epler, the Department of Transportation's nominee to be Chief Financial Officer. Uh Senator Cruz made some very kind remarks that I endorse about Mister Epler. Uh he's got three decades of experience, uh a pilot's license, deep aviation uh background and that's gonna help uh him in his position where domestic aviation and innovation continue to be major challenges. For thirty years, uh, Mister Epler pardon me, has worked at an executive level with some of the world's uh I would say significant companies, Goldman Sachs I guess counts, uh is a big enterprise. Uh, and he's been very successful there in building their uh portfolio. Uh, but most recently, Ed served as CFO for Beta Technologies in South Burlington. And this is an incredible story about electronic aviation that began in the small state of Vermont. Um, when Ed was there it was a one billion dollar capitalization company, incredible work done by uh the leadership there. Uh, by the time Ed left it was seven billion dollars, and much of that historic feat uh is attributable to the very good work that ed did with the team that he built uh and by the way beta in vermont is on track to uh to have two thousand employees by the end of twenty twenty seven and uh i wanna thank uh mr epler for the significant contribution he made in that effort uh he's got a big background in aerospace and transportation uh financing through his work at beta and as i mentioned goldman sachs And Mister Epler really understands the needs and the shortfalls of our transportation system, and we all know that that needs attention, especially in rural areas, uh, like Vermont. Uh, he also is totally focused on innovation and maintaining US manufacturing leadership in the aviation and transportation sect uh sectors. So he's got incredible experience. Um, he comes to this at a point in his career where for him it's all about service. Uh, it's all about being there for, uh, our country. Uh, and I want to express my appreciation to Mr. Epler for taking, uh, the talents that he's developed over years and applying them to the benefit of all of America. So it's with great enthusiasm that I introduce Mr. Epler to the committee. Thank you, uh, ranking member, Hickenlooper.

Thank you, Senator Walz. Mr. Epler.

Thank you, Senator, for those very kind words. I appreciate them. Uh, so Chairman Cruz, Ranking Member Hickenlooper, uh, and members of the committee, uh, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you here today as you consider my nomination for the position of Chief Financial Officer of the US Department of Transportation. I'm grateful to President Trump for his trust in nominating me, uh, to Senator Welch, as I said, uh, for those very kind, uh, words of introduction, and to Secretary Duffy for his continued faith and support throughout this process. I also wanna introduce and thank my daughter, uh, Bea, and her husband, Nick, who are here with me today. Unfortunately, my two other children could not join us. Uh, one is expecting her third child any day now, and the other lives and works in London. As some of you know, my wife of nearly thirty-six years passed away recently, so having family support here today means a great deal to me. I'm deeply honored to have been nominated for this position. Sitting before you today on the eve of celebrating America's two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of independence, I hope to fulfill the role of citizen statesman as envisioned by our founding fathers. The civic ideal calls for successful professionals to step away from private lives to serve the nation, guided by reason rather than personal ambition, and contribute their talents for the good of the nation. In many respects, this opportunity comes at the ideal moment in my professional career, sitting squarely at the intersection of my professional experience and my long-standing passion for aviation. My career spans more than thirty years working alongside of some of the world's leading aerospace, defense and technology companies. I've served in a variety of senior finance and accounting roles, including as Chief Financial Officer of a high-growth aerospace company as you just heard Beta Technologies. And I've spent decades serving as a global investment banker, as you heard, at Goldman Sachs and other Wall Street firms. This background has given me a deep global understanding of the aviation industry through hands-on work with clients across North America, Europe, and Asia. Furthermore, my advisory work in the defense and industrial sectors has allowed me to collaborate closely with some of our nation's major shipbuilders as well as the engineering and construction firms driving transportation infrastructure forward. As the Chief Financial Officer of a high-growth, high-tech aerospace company, I managed budget development and execution, oversaw financial performance, ensured robust financial reporting and adherence to strict internal controls. I also led extensive capital raising initiatives and managed large capital projects. Crucially, this background gave me a firsthand look at the advanced air mobility industry, especially the technological, regulatory, and global competitive shifts impacting the FAA and DOT today. I believe this exact blend of fiscal discipline and industry insight will be highly valuable as the department's next CFO. On a personal note, I spent nearly thirty years working in New York. I have a deep familiarity with some of our nation's busiest and most vital transportation assets, which include a dense network of roads, bridges, tunnels, rails, and transit systems. And conversely, as you just heard from Senator Welsh, I spent four of the past five years living and working in Vermont. And this time in northern New England has given me first-hand appreciation of for the distinct challenges faced by rural communities, where a lack of sufficient infrastructure can directly impact economic opportunity. Finally, as an instrument rated pi private pilot, I understand how our complex national airspace operates. It leaves me with a profound commitment to air traffic modernization and the criticality of ensuring aviation safety for all everyone in this nation. If confirmed, I commit to working collaboratively with members of this committee to ensure that the nation's highest priority transportation goals are met. I will focus my office on accelerating project delivery wherever possible, and ensuring robust financial oversight. I look forward to working with Secretary Duffy, President Trump, and members of this committee to make our world-class transportation infrastructure work for America. Thank you. I look forward to your questions.

Thank you, Mr. Epler. Mr. Chapman.

Good morning, Senator. Morning, Senator, members of the committee, Senator, I'm born and raised in beautiful state of Colorado, so I considered it a particular privilege to have you presiding this morning. Um, thanks to all of you for the opportunity to appear before you. I'm honored to be nominated by the president to serve a full second term as a member of the National Transportation Safety Board. I very much appreciate the support of NTSB Board Chair Jennifer Homendy, who is here with us today. Likewise, I thank my colleague, Board Member Michael Graham, for being here and for his support. And I'm grateful to my remarkable colleagues at NTSB for all they do to promote safety and 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. I know you won't mind if I say a few words about the two people most important to me. My wife, Scotty O'Connell, is here and by my side. Scotty is my partner and my best friend, and she has been with me these past forty years. Our terrific son, Patrick, is watching online from Great Britain. Patrick recently graduated with his master's degree from the London School of Economics. He's now seeking to begin his professional career, and because he's very much enjoyed his time in London, He is hoping he might have an opportunity to remain and work here for uh work there for the next few years. Senator, my nearly five decades of experience, much of it in in the in the aviation industry, have prepared me well for the ta- 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. Virtually every aspect of aviation involves considerations of safety. Consequently, I came to NTSB with a keen awareness and sensitivity to the importance of safety culture. I have sought to apply 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 I 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 solutions that will accommodate seemingly conflicting points of view. 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 Commerce Committee. In two thousand fourteen, I left the airline industry and I 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, and our efforts resulted in passage of several significant legislative achievements. As an NTSB board member, I devote much of my attention to traffic safety because, as Chairman Cruz noted, I believe that is where our greatest safety challenges lie. I exp I speak extensively on the safe system approach to traffic safety, pedestrian safety, alcohol and drug impairments, and rail worker and highway rail grade crossing hazards. I am especially active on key initiatives to t- 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 these through additional service as a member of the board. That concludes my formal remarks and I'm happy to respond to questions.

Thank you, Mr. Chapman. Uh, now I get to introduce Miss Hedlund, who is a a resident of Colorado.

Thank you. And the uh members of of this uh committee for the opportunity to appear before you today. as the President's nominee for a second term on the Surface Transportation Board. I also wanna thank uh my family, my sons, Eric and Alex, they're remarkable, uh wives, and my grandchildren, uh Mira, Leo and Soleil who I wish had come today but they would have been a bit of a distraction. Um but they're all tuning in out there in radio land somewhere. Uh I'm also honored today uh to be joined by my fellow board members, Chairman Fuchs, and Vice Chairman Schultz, whom I've had a great, great pleasure of uh working closely with over the last four years. Uh my experience in serving on the board uh since January of twenty twenty-two has been one of the most fulfilling of my fairly long career. Um as uh Chairman Cruz mentioned, um I spent most of my life as a Project Finance Attorney. Bond lawyer, which meant I could uh work on projects uh all over the country, advising state and local governments, uh including most of the states uh represented by members of uh this committee. Um in Texas I worked on a privately developed uh toll road, uh I thirty five. I worked on an Anchorage uh airport matter. Um in the state of Colorado uh before I joined the Department of Transportation. I worked on I four seventy and the T-rex uh project and then in between uh DOT and here um I uh advised on the Front Range project, which I'm happy to see is going forward. Uh and in the state of Delaware, Senator, um I had the privilege of advising uh the Secretary of Transportation on how to structure uh a P three uh projects. Uh and in Minnesota. Uh, I also advised on some highway projects uh in the Senator's uh great state. Um, I began my federal government career in two thousand nine when I first served as Chief Counsel of the Federal Highway Administration and then moved over to the Federal Railroad Administration uh as Chief Counsel and Deputy Administrator. And one thing I wanna mention is that I served under Secretary uh, Ray LaHood, a great Republican from Peoria, Illinois, uh, and uh, learned a lot about the value of bipartisanship, which I uh, carry uh, with me today. And um, I remember on late night, one of the late night programs, um, the secretary was asked, you know, how could you as a Republican serve for uh for a democratic president. And he said, I have a lot of money, and they're all my friends. Uh, so I returned to the private sector, uh, twenty fifteen, uh, where I worked on the beginning of the Northeast Corridors Gateway project and the Portland and Seattle to Vancouver Rail project in the Pacific Northwest. And then in twenty twenty one, this committee advanced my nomination for my first term on the board. And I have to say, um, what a ride it has been. Uh, beginning, at the beginning of my first term it coincided with a service crisis that beset the railroad industry, which impacted, uh, the nation's supply chain, and our chairman served on the president's, uh, supply chain council. Um, and during several public hearings that we had on that matter, uh, that problem, uh, the board's focus was on improving rail service, strengthening competition and increasing transparency across the network. People need to know where their cars are. Uh, the class one railroads acknowledged that the service challenges had been exacerbated by a fairly deep workforce reduction that they had engaged in uh prior to the crisis, uh, and uh had trouble um getting back up to speed when after uh COVID uh, traffic came back faster than they expected. Um, but what we did is to require them to give us more detailed service reporting, uh, data-driven recovery plans, and greater public visibility into their operations. And these measures have contributed, I believe, to improved performance and clearer c- accountability, which we, uh, uh, get from them today. At the same, uh, time, Uh, we addressed competition issues and expanded transparency, uh, did an investigation into Amtrak's, uh, on-time performance, and then the largest railroad merger, uh, since two thousand one at the time, uh, CPKC, Canadian Pacific and and Kansas City. Um, I also want to, uh, mention how we are handling all this very important work of the agency with a relatively small but very capable staff uh which uh under um our current chairman, we have reorganized the efforts, particularly of our uh uh legal uh staff. Uh, so um the last thing I want to say is that in everything we do, we take guidance from the federal rail transportation policy set forth in forty nine USC one O one O one, which instructs us that in regulating the railroad industry, it is the policy of the United States government, among other things, to ensure the development and continuation of a sound rail

Thank you, Mister Lorenz, you are recognized for your opening statement.

Good morning, Chairman Cruz and distinguished members of the committee. Uh, I'm honored and humbled by President Trump's nomination to serve as Commissioner of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Before going forward, I would like to recognize my wife, Catherine, who is my strongest supporter and is the love of my life. Our children, Chloe, George, and Eloise are our greatest pride and joy, and I count myself very blessed every day. My experience in public service has prepared me to serve as Commissioner. Uh, as the current Executive Director, I have gained a deep understanding of the agency's mission, statutory responsibilities, and the challenges of protecting consumers in a complex and rapidly evolving marketplace. The mission of CPSC is critically important because consumer product safety affects every American every day. Effective consumer protection prevents injuries and saves lives, while strengthening public confidence in the products consumers use, and supports a fair, predictable marketplace for responsible businesses. Since I joined CPSC under the leadership of Acting Chairman Peter Feldman, and through the hard work of CPSC's men and women, the average number of monthly recalls is up seventy-three percent. The average number of monthly unilateral warnings is up a hundred and fifty nine percent. The average number of monthly product screens at ports of entry is up twenty percent. And the average number of monthly take downs is up two hundred and eight percent. If confirmed, I hope to build on these successes. Throughout my career, I have led organizations responsible for managing risks, improving performance and making evidence-based decisions. As a commissioner, I would use that experience to help ensure the agency remains an effective, accountable, and trusted consumer protection organization that delivers impact within the limits of its statutory authorities. If confirmed, I would focus on three priorities that are central to advancing CPSC's mis- mission. First, I would prioritize addressing hidden and complex hazards that consumers cannot reasonably identify or avoid on their own. Many of the most serious risks stem from design flaws, manufacturing defects, and other hazards that require specialized expertise to detect. Second, I would focus on strengthening CPSC's use of data, analytics, and technology to identify hazards earlier, improve enforcement and target resources. Advanced analytics will move the agency from a reactive approach to one that prevents injuries before they occur. Third, I would focus on insurance CPSC keeps pace with innovation and emerging product risks. New technologies, advanced materials, connected devices, and energy storage systems offer significant benefits, but can also create new safety challenges. The Commission's mission is simple but profoundly important, protecting Americans from unreasonable risk of injury. If confirmed, I will work every day to ensure CPSC carries out that mission with integrity, sound science, and a relentless focus on results. Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today.

Thank you. Miss Sessions, you're recognized.

Chairman Cruz, Ranking Member, Hickenlooper, and distinguished members of this committee. I am honored to appear before you today and profoundly grateful to President Trump for nominating me to serve our country as a commissioner. of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. I also wanna thank my husband, Pete, and my family, our five sons, for their unwavering support throughout my career in public service. The CPSC mission is to protect the public against unreasonable risks of injuries associated with consumer products. This is deeply meaningful work that affects millions of families every day and requires decisions grounded in facts, evidence, and the law. Throughout my career in both government and the private sector, I have held leadership roles involving organizational oversight, technology, regulatory matters, and public accountability. Those experiences have prepared me to address the challenges facing the commission, including increasingly complex global supply chains, the growth of Ecommerce marketplaces, and the expanding range of new and emerging products entering American homes at an accelerating pace. If confirmed, I will approach this role with integrity, sound judgment, and a respect for the authorities Congress has entrusted to the commission. I will work collaboratively with my fellow commissioners, agency staff, Congress, and stakeholders to advance the mission and ensure the agency remains an effective steward of the public trust. Thank you for the opportunity appear for before you today, and I look forward to your questions.

Thank you and welcome to each of the witnesses. Uh, Mr. Chapman, let's start with you. Yesterday, the Aviation Subcommittee held a hearing on near misses. It discussed existing technologies that improve safety both in the sky and on the runway. Captain Jason Jason Ambrose, the President of the Airline Pilots Association, noted that ADSBN has long been recommended by the NTSB is a proven technology in use and has the benefit of significantly quicker adoption to save lives. In your judgment, would equipping aircraft with ADS-BN improve situational awareness in the cockpit and would it improve safety overall?

That is absolutely my belief, Mr. Chairman.

The NTSB has recommended users of the national airspace system be equipped with ADS-BN. where ads be out is already required why is it critical for all users of the airspace including the military to operate with ads b n

it's essential that all the aircraft operating in particular airspace be seen and also be able to see each other and that is the uh the the reason that that element of the recommendation is so important that all aircraft operating in that aircraft should be equipped

Now I know you've seen the video recreation of the crash over DCA, that is overlaid with the communication with the cockpit. Uh, I played that video for members of this committee. Unfortunately, we could not play the audio publicly because of existing laws that prohibit the release of cockpit communications. That being said, I found it one of the most chilling things I've ever seen. In the video, you can clearly see that the American Airlines pilot cannot see the Black Hawk helicopter and the Black Hawk helicopter cannot see the American Airlines jet. The video demonstrated had ADS ADS-B-N been installed, the American Airlines pilot would have seen the Black Hawk helicopter roughly a minute before the collision and would very easily have avoided the helicopter in that circumstance. Likewise, the helicopter pilot would have seen the jet almost a minute. before the collision and again could have easily avoided the collision. Instead, as the simulation plays forward, it is apparent that the Black Hawk helicopter pilots never see the plane. They simply strike into it, explode and die, and they have no idea what they just hit. The American Airlines pilot does see the helicopter about a second and a half before impact. Pulls back on the stick rapidly, the plane jerks up but a second and a half is not time to avoid the accident uh the last words on the cockpit recording are an expletive as sixty-seven souls died in an instant in your judgment if adsbn had been installed and on in those two airplanes would that accident have been avoided

senator i do wanna note to start that i was required to recuse myself from that investigation because of an arrangement uh much earlier in my career involving american airlines and my continuing flight privileges. Having said that, I followed the investigation very closely, I'm I'm well aware of the uh uh the the what you just described. Uh, and I I do believe I believe ADSBN would have made a huge difference. By the way, I commend you and I commend the members of the committee for your work in advancing this. I I believe that is the centerpiece of the recommendations that were made uh, um, as a result of our investigation.

I fully agree. The Senate has passed the ROTER Act, bipartisan legislation, one hundred to nothing. The House, two thirds of the House has voted for it, a bipartisan vote. It failed by a single vote because twenty-six House members were absent the day of the vote. We're gonna get the ROTER Act passed, and I would note the House's Alert Act deliberately avoids requiring ADSB in. it deliberately avoids what you rightly described as the centerpiece of the NTSB's recommendations. The House's Alert Act would not have prevented the accident over DCA. We will get the Road Arrack signed into law. Uh, let me turn to another topic, Mr. Chapman. Autonomous vehicles have the potential to dramatically improve road safety. However, the federal government lacks regulations that specifically address AVs, leaving states and local governments to manage what should be a national Policy. Do you believe we need a national policy to regulate AVs?

I certainly do, and uh uh we are seeing benefits from autonomous vehicles. Uh, I believe we will see more. Um, and automation generally in our automobiles has uh has done a lot to help improve safety. But there are some significant issues, and we do not have a framework at this point for ensuring that the challenges of of deploying these vehicles are properly managed and monitored. So I think it's very important that we have a federal policy in that regard.

Thank you. Senator Baldwin.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um, thank you, Miss Hedlund, for meeting with me, uh, uh, last week. Um, as you heard, I'm very concerned about the merger, uh, between Union Pacific and, uh, North of uh, Southern as proposed, especially in light of some recent comments made by UP's CEO, uh, Jim Vina. Um, mister Vina, uh, speaking to investors just a week ago argued that, uh, statute requires the STB to complete its review within twelve months of accepting an application and that that clock is already running. He then said that if the board does not follow that twelve month requirement, then in his words, UP and NS does not have to follow the statute either. In reference to the public interest uh requirement. Miss Hedlund, can you clarify, is it the applicant's burden to to prove that this merger is in the public interest, something that they can just switch off? Um, if they disagree with the board's timeline? Is that something they can do?

Senator, I I don't uh want to comment on the substance, as you know, of the matter because it's pending before the board uh be because to do so might prejudice one or more of the parties.

Yeah, so the idea I don't wanna ask you a substance question.

But the statute requires uh that uh, any combination or acquisition be in public interest.

Thank you.

That is the statutory standard.

OK. The STB's post-two thousand and one major railroad, uh, consolidation procedures places a heightened emphasis on whether class one railroad mergers enhance rather than merely preserve competition. Will you commit to following the comprehensive evaluation required by these updated standards when evaluating the merger.

Uh, yes, I do.

Thank you. Um, and then I I I wanted to raise something else that Mr. Vina has been saying as he seeks approval of this railroad mega-merger. My office has received reports that Mr. Vina and Union Pacific are threatening retaliation against anyone who publicly opposes the merger. So I want your commitment to ensure that shippers, unions, short lines, and other stakeholders can participate freely and openly in the STB's merger review process without fear of retaliation. Can I have that commitment?

Yes, Senator, you do. And, uh, I would like to say any kind of retaliation against shippers or other parties to a proceeding would be utterly unacceptable.

Thank you. Uh, Mister Epler, um, funding in the bipartisan infrastructure law is available only for a limited window, uh, before it lapses. Uh, fiscal year twenty three, uh, twenty twenty three raise grants, including awards, um, to Wisconsin's Department of Transportation, um, Milwaukee and Kenosha, Wisconsin, must be obligated through an executive grant agreement by September thirtieth of next year, twenty twenty seven. Last year, the Government Accountability Office found that the Department of Transportation had obligated only fifty-nine percent of its available bipartisan infrastructure law grant funding, the IIJ or II, yes, IIJA grant funding. The Chief Financial Officer is the department's steward of these dollars. If confirmed, will you commit to carefully tracking these obligation deadlines, flagging awards that are at risk of lapsing, and working across the department's sub-agencies that uh grant funding uh t- so that grant funding gets out the door before it expires?

Uh I I will, Senator. Um

I I will, Senator, I'm I'm well aware that there's a backlog of grants that need to be um uh released and and will absolutely commit to working with you and your office to see what the status is of each of those and to transparency in the process.

Great. If confirmed, will you also commit to giving this committee a regular public accounting of how much IIJA f- grant funding remains unobligated and how close each year's funds are to their deadline.

So, uh, yes, Senator, so one of the things that I'm keen to really dig into is to understand what is the status of grants that were obligated and where they stand and if that i- if they're gonna be impacted by the expiration of the IIJA so i- it's a big task but I'm certainly committed to digging in.

Thank you. Last question. I'm very concerned about the efforts of President Trump to remove the heads of independent agencies in opposition to long-standing Supreme Court precedent. So, um, Mrs. Sessions and, uh, Mr. Lorenz, if confirmed, um, will you take directives from the White House or will you use your independent judgment on matters that come before the commission? Mr. Lorenz?

Yeah, we'll we'll use our independent, uh, judgment.

And Mrs. Sessions. Mrs. Sessions.

I will use my independent judgment. Thank you.

Thank you. Mr. Chairman, I yield.

Thank you, Senator Blunt-Rochester.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman and ranking member Klobuchar, and thank you uh to all of the nominees uh and your families uh both in the room and also watching live around the world uh thank you for participating as well. Um we have a lot of ground to cover so uh let's get started. Uh, member Chapman, I understand that you weren't involved in the tragic DCA mid-air collision. investigation, um, but that you are fully supportive of the final recommendations. Correct?

That is correct.

Um, thank you for confirming that, and you've touched already on, um, this with Senator Cruz and his questions, but for everyone watching here today, can you please identify the most urgent recommendation from the final report in your estimation?

Yeah, absolutely, the the centerpiece of the, uh, of the recommendations, and we made, I believe, fifty recommendations, NTSB made fifty recommendations, but The centerpiece is absolutely one, uh, rec- uh, uh, recommending requiring ADSB in and all airspace where ADSB out is currently required.

Thank you. Um, that is why, uh, as was said by our chairman, it's so important that we push for the path forward with the House to pass the bipartisan Rotor Act uh which implements the NTSB's recommendations to um to close safety gaps and address systemic failures. Uh, it's a mission critical focus and we owe it to the victims' families, um, in particular to get this right. Um, Member Chapman, I'd also, uh, like to stay with you and, um, shift to the Key Bridge collapse in Maryland,

Mm-hmm.

where six construction workers lost their lives. Uh, as a result of the investigation, the NTSB published the safeguarding bridges from vessel strikes. Need for vulnerability assessment and risk reduction strategies report. The report found that sixty-eight bridges, including three in Delaware, have an unknown level of risk of collapse from a vessel collision. I understand that the NTSB has received responses from bridge owners based on these recommendations as they develop risk reduction plans. What should Congress do to support the NTSB's recommendation and bridge owners to ensure our bridges meet the highest safety standards.

Thank you, Senator, it's a good question. First of all, it's certainly my impression that bridge owners are responding uh to to the recommendations we made in this area. Now there's work to be done there uh and it's not uniform across you know across the board, but we we are encouraged by the response. I think what Congress can do in the surface transportation legislation coming up may uh maybe a a good place to do that. Just ensure that um uh that there's reinforce reinforcement of the concern about bridge protections included and continue to monitor that and and engage in some oversight over those issues. It is very important as we saw with the Key Bridge collapse, very tragic that we lost any lives. It could have been so so much worse.

Mm-hmm.

Uh and uh we don't wanna see that kind of tragedy repeated uh elsewhere.

Thank you. Um, I'm gonna shift to Ms. Sessions and Mr. Lorenz. Um, the rapid growth of online marketplaces, increasingly complex supply chains, and rapidly evolving technologies have transformed how Americans purchase consumer products, and created new challenges for consumer safety regulators. That's why Senator Curtis and I introduced the bipartisan Consumer Safety Technology Act, which would establish a pilot program to explore how artificial intelligence could help the CPSC identify emerging hazards, detect recalled products being sold online, and better target unsafe imports. If confirmed, how would you leverage technology and data analytics to modernize the CPSC and better protect consumers in an increasingly complex marketplace.

Senator, thank you very much for your question. And you are certainly highlighting a very important and, uh, accelerating, uh, issue, which is the sheer volume of, uh, consumer goods that are entering, uh, the country at an accelerated pace. Uh, I believe that the, uh, commission uh through data driven risk assessment decision making it's very important for uh the modernization of the tools to be able to do targeted uh inspection enforcement uh to the standards that exist and I would look forward to bringing my skills to that effort.

Thank you, Mister Sessions.

Thank you uh thank you for your question. Yes, this is an important topic, one that we're paying a great deal of attention to, and we are doing a lot. to use data uh for evidence-based decision making. One of our great achievements in the last uh a year has been to use uh better used data. Uh, when it comes to death certificates. We were getting death certificates up to three years after uh after the fact. Uh, we are now for more than half the states getting it in near real time. It was taking us about four months to get that data into our system. We're now getting that data into our system in minutes. uh we are vastly increasing the use of data, also the number of take downs that I mentioned,

Mm-hmm.

the two hundred and eight uh uh percent increase in in take downs is largely due to the way that we are marrying both uh uh humans and and our staff with AI to identify uh where there are dangerous products sitting out there in the ecosystem.

Thank you so much. I think this is one of the issues that it's touching everybody. I mean we're shopping online, we're doing all these things. sometimes people don't even know what's unsafe and as you mentioned even getting that real-time data back is important to be able to provide that consumer protection so i hope our committee will have an opportunity uh to consider our bipartisan consumer safety technology act this summer, and thank you mister chairman and i yield back.

thank you uh few more questions for the witnesses uh mister lorenz as the executive chairman of the cpsc you have had a front row seat to acting chairman feldman's crackdown on illicit products and the commission's approach to the digital environment. The agency reish recently issued its one hundred thousand take-down notice for recalled or banned products listed online. In your view, how should the CPSC think about the regulation of products with an artificial intelligence component, such as an AI-powered lawnmower or toy? the cpsc should focus on the physical components of the product. Is that correct?

That is correct.

Uh, no.

That is where that is where our authorities lay. Uh, we think this is an important topic, one that these products are gonna be innovating. There's gonna be uh many more products that have ai components to them. We need to be uh attent attentive to that and vigilant. Uh, and we look forward to working with you and members of the committee to address what we see in the data in terms of the emerging risks that appear.

So elaborate on what that would mean in practice.

Uh, so, so, for example, we we will look at where we we're gonna start getting into pro, you know, being able to look at data, large amounts of data, parsing through it, and identifying signals of where there is actually, uh, products that are causing death or or hazard. As we zero in on that, we'll be able to uh assess that and come back to you and and be able to show where there is an ai component that may be leading to physical injury. And if so, we have the uh uh the authorities to deal with physical injuries today.

Physical in injuries, but from the physical components.

That's correct.

Uh, Miss Miss Hedlund, the STB's merger rules require applicants seeking approval of major class one rail mergers. to demonstrate that such merger will quote " enhance competition". What factors or evidence are relevant to whether a merger enhances competition? If you can turn your microphone on.

Thank you for the question, and it is a a key provision uh in the regulations that were adopted in uh two thousand one. However, those regulations have not been applied uh in any case before the one that is currently pending before us. Uh, we have recently asked the uh the applicants to give us more information on uh their view uh of how they would uh enhance competition. I'm sure we'll receive comments from other parties, but I really hesitate to uh comment further on an issue that I think will be subject to some discussion in the proceeding.

I assume evidence that the merger would result in an increase in price to customers would be powerful if not compelling evidence on the question of whether it is competition enhancing.

Uh, that would be an issue that uh the I would not be surprised that uh parties would raise. Uh, the railroad industry, uh, the class one railroad industry is highly concentrated today. We have, you know, Duopoli in the east, Duopoli in the west, Duopoli north and south. Uh, and how we maintain competition in a concentrated industry, uh, is going to be a matter of significant concern for us.

Uh, Mister Epler, you recently worked at a leading advanced air mobility company. If confirmed, you will join the Department of Transportation as it implements the most ambitious air traffic control modernization project in decades. How will your experience in the private sector inform your approach to managing the finances of a large government agency like the Department of Transportation?

Senator, thank you for the question. Um, modernization of air traffic control is an enormous priority for our nation, and it's an enormous project. um there are hardware and software elements um what i would say is first and foremost just associated with any project um you have to make sure that you have very clear you know performance indicators kpis you very clear timelines very clear budgets and that you track that extremely closely and hold the people who are responsible for the implementation of it uh accountable one of the things as you mentioned my experience with advanced air mobility um our airspace is changing and we're seeing you know the introduction of of new of aircraft and including some that may be uh remote piloted, autonomous, maybe other kinds of systems. And I think one of the things we wanna think about is this is such a major lift that we're prepared for the future. And so not just do we have the best technology today, but how will we design systems that can incorporate changes in technology. So um as as someone who's managed large budgets and large capital programs, uh I'm you know, committed to bringing financial rigor to the way that we do this. Personally as a pilot, I'm committed in wanting to see this happen broadly across the nation as quickly as possible. And I think my experience in the AAM industry has given me a a good understanding of what's to come and what we need to be doing so it can be future-proofed.