At a Senate Commerce Committee hearing before the Congressional recess, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) asked President Trump’s nominees about shielding Federal Aviation Administration inspectors from threats of disciplinary action following examinations.
00:00Chairman, gentlemen, you know, I could probably fill like this roster here with reports from GAO or inspector generals about a problem we had in FAA where organizational design authorization was given to Boeing to have inspectors review the work and work with the FAA.
00:20Now, that is still the system we have today, but what we found is that there were those who were retaliating against those ODA members and basically saying, you know, you might lose your job or this might happen if you take a strong enforcement measure.
00:36So we learned in aviation that was a big mistake, big mistake.
00:40So we've corrected that by passing a new FAA law that basically protects those ODA members from retaliation.
00:46This Department of Transportation has issued a new rule basically saying that you can retaliate against the inspectors in your agencies.
00:55So I want to know from you whether you believe that you are going to protect these inspectors from that kind of retaliation.
01:02Will you commit to being a strong policeman on the beat and making sure there's no political interference at your agencies on those inspectors?
01:12Senator Campbell, thank you for the question.
01:14I can tell you that throughout my career in law enforcement, I mentioned earlier, that enforcement is key in making sure that the bad actors, as was mentioned here, are dealt with accordingly.
01:25And the inspectors and officers that work within FMCSA have a diligent job to do in making sure that they can carry out the missions and place these bad actors out.
01:34And it's extremely important to me that we make sure that we do that and we work together collaboratively with them to give them the tools and the toolbox that they need to address these issues that you're referring to.
01:46So no political retaliation?
01:50Senator, I'm looking forward to working with them and making sure that they're able to do their job.
01:54And I think that's what's important.
01:56From my experience working with the fantastic investigators, both in the Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance and the Office of Defects Investigation, you know, you really need a robust, honest, back and forth relationship with them.
02:10We need the data.
02:11We need to analyze the data to determine whether or not there might be a defect or noncompliance.
02:16And so ensuring that that level of trust is critical.
02:18And making sure they're not harassed by somebody.
02:20Absolutely.
02:21Great.
02:22Mr. Bertie.
02:22Senator Cantwell, I would say that in my history at PHMSA, the inspection enforcement teams know how important I think what they do is to carrying out the mission of safety.
02:40And I certainly would impose no chilling effects on them exercising their duty subject to oversight.
02:46My oversight as administrator to make sure that we are fair, transparent, and impartial in the way we cite operators for violations of federal standards.
02:58Quickly, Mr. Morrison, could you, because I have a question from Mr. Roberti.
03:00What are your priorities in setting regulations, the emergency brake issues for trucks?
03:07What are your first priorities?
03:10I think we first need to get in.
03:12I'm not in the building now.
03:13And so I need to make sure that I get up to speed with the agency.
03:17Is there anything that bothers you right now that you think we need a regulation on?
03:20I think one thing we need to explore, and I mentioned this in my testimony, during the first term, we had worked on autonomous vehicle safety framework,
03:32taking comment from the public, working with industry to get a sense of the state of technology.
03:36I think the state of technology has moved forward now, and I think we're at the point now where we need to start looking to find ways we can build a public trust,
03:45and that includes guidance documents and regulation once we're at that point.
03:48Yeah, I'll ask some more for the record on that.
03:51But Mr. Roberti, you mentioned the cybersecurity problem, and pipelines are now—you don't threaten the United States anymore by—well, you might,
04:00but you might—sending a sub into our waters or a plane into our airspace.
04:04You basically use the pipeline system or some other system to cause failure.
04:09So what do we need to do to accelerate our protections of our U.S. pipelines?
04:16Well, the cybersecurity jurisdiction resides within the Department of Homeland Security.
04:23During my last time at PHMSA, we negotiated and executed an interagency,
04:31the interdepartmental agreement to help bolster our presence in control rooms working with the Transportation Security Administration.
04:42We also engaged directly with the Department of Energy.
04:46I think that across the federal landscape, there needs to be full engagement, information sharing,
04:53and thinking about how we can leverage each other's resources.
04:57And PHMSA has inspectors out in the field.
05:01TSA doesn't.
05:02So we work to partner with them to bring more visibility and put an eye on some of the important factors of what operators should be doing on the pipeline front.
05:14Collaborating with—
05:14Doesn't Colonial tell us we need some sort of task force?
05:17You mentioned the private sector.
05:20I'm a big believer in encouraging that dialogue back and forth.
05:25But the problem is here you're way down in the bowels of DOT,
05:29and yet this is a big infrastructure issue for the U.S.,
05:32and how do we get it elevated so that we are putting the best cyber minds onto this particular task?
05:40Yes.
05:40So as I said in my testimony, this is a top priority for me.
05:46The threat vectors are always—they're constant, and they're always changing, and they're always evolving.
05:54I think what you need are people who come into these positions to have that at top of mind.
06:01Those are the things that should wake any administrator up at 2 a.m.
06:05That should drive extra activity towards coordinating with other federal agencies,
06:13the FBI, the Department of Energy, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,
06:18the Department of Homeland Security, so that we have constant information sharing,
06:24and to be thinking about in the field, both from a physical and cyber perspective,
06:30where is the next wave of attack going to be based upon what we have witnessed.
06:35But remember this.
06:36In my experience, I have a lot of experience with this, working in prior positions.
06:44It is never the moment that the attack of today is an indicator of future threats,
06:54but does not necessarily replicate what that next threat vector and attack will be.
07:00And that's where we need tremendous vigilance.
07:04There's not enough—
07:05Thank you. I'm out of—we're way out of time, but that is a very important—
Be the first to comment