WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate confirmed four nominees for the Amtrak board of directors early today, the first time the legislative body has confirmed a majority of the 10-member board in almost a decade.
Senate records indicate David Capozzi, Elaine Clegg, Ronald Batory, and Lanhee Chen were confirmed by voice vote during a Friday session that lasted until 1:24 a.m. today (Saturday, Dec. 21).
U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), chair of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, said in a press release that she “applauds today’s confirmations” and looks forward to working with the four new board members “to ensure Amtrak wisely uses the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s investments to improve the passenger experience by purchasing new railcars, improving accessibility, and upgrading station and tracks.” The Commerce Committee had approved the nominations on Dec. 12.
Batory, a former Federal Railroad Administration administrator, and Clegg, CEO of the Boise, Idaho, area’s Valley Regional Transit, were nominated by President Joe Biden in May [see “Biden to nominate …,” Trains News Wire, May 2, 2024]. Capozzi, a retired federal executive, was first nominated for the board in 2022, along with four others, and was renominated in January 2023. Two members of the 2022 group — incumbent board chair Anthony Coscia and Normal, Ill., Mayor Christopher Koos — were confirmed earlier this year, along with Joel Szabat, a former Department of Transportation official who had served on the board from 2019 to 2021 [see “Senate confirms three nominees …,” Trains News Wire, Jan. 24, 2024]. Those were the first new board members confirmed since 2015.
Chen, nominated in September, is a fellow in American Public Policy Studies at the Hoover Institution and Director of Domestic Public Policy Studies at Stanford University. He was a Republican candidate for California State Controller in 2022, and has serviced as a senior advisory to the National Republican Senatorial Committee during the 2014 and 2018 campaigns.
Well we see better geographically diverse representation across the USA. Not ideal but much better. No new board member since 2015? Our political system of governing sure gets a black eye for this board’s makeup. Now will these new members really take their responsibilities of governing and understandings Amtrak? More importantly the responsibility of providing the best service for riders potential and regular now and in the future.
addendum: The SE and southern tier thru Arizona is still not represented