Elliott Takes Office as STB Chairman

Daniel R. Elliott was sworn in as chairman of the Surface Transportation Board (STB) on August 13, six days after he was confirmed by the Senate.

President Obama announced his selection July 6 and sent the nomination to the Senate July 20. His board term expires at the end of 2013.

Elliott was previously associate general counsel for the United Transportation Union (UTU) that represents train conductors and is the largest rail labor group. He is the first labor official to chair the STB.

Senator Jay Rockefeller, chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, ranking member, had temporarily placed a hold on Elliott’s nomination after the United Transportation Union issued a news release that suggested its campaign donations helped ensure the nomination.

In a letter of apology to Chairman Rockefeller, UTU spokesman Frank Wilner said, “The statement that appears to attribute Mr. Elliott’s nomination to the influence of UTU PAC (Political Action Committee) was not in any way appropriate and is certainly not an accurate reflection of the facts surrounding his nomination.

“I deeply regret my comments because it sullied Dan’s years of hard work, experience and sense of fairness that I believe would make him a great chairman of the STB. It is my sincere hope that my badly chosen words will not derail his confirmation.”

Upon receipt of the apology, the senators withdrew their hold and allowed the nomination to proceed to the full Senate for consideration.

In his nomination hearing, Elliott was admonished by Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., who chairs the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee that oversees the STB and other rail transport agencies, to actively try to improve on how regulators treat captive shippers in their disputes with railroads.

Elliott had said he would use his chairmanship to improve the often contentious relationships between shippers and railroads. While unions have sometimes sided with shippers against railroads on policy issues, he told the committee he would be neutral in STB cases and favor neither side.

Rockefeller, however, pressed him to help shippers, saying the 1980 deregulation law has been applied to favor railroads over customers that are tied to a single rail line and have found little relief at the STB. Elliott assured senators he would be “pro-active” to address captive shipper issues.