Guest post by Michael LaChance at American Lookout:
Ronald Batory has years of experience in the railroad industry and would be perfect to lead the Federal Railroad Administration. He has met all of the qualifications and is ready to be approved by the Senate but Democrat Chuck Schumer is standing in the way.
The Washington Free Beacon reports:
Schumer Continues to Block Pick to Lead Top Railroad Regulation Agency
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) ended the Senate’s legislative year blocking the Trump administration’s pick to head the Federal Railroad Administration due to his demand that the federal government provide billions of dollars in funding for a major tunnel project between New York and New Jersey.
Ronald Batory, a widely respected former railroad executive with over four decades of experience in the industry, was approved unanimously for the FRA post by members of the Senate Commerce Committee in early August, but Schumer has blocked efforts to get the confirmation vote to the Senate floor.
The latest action by Schumer came late Thursday afternoon, when he objected to a motion by Sen. John Thune (R., S.D.) for unanimous consent to have a vote on Batory’s nomination…
“[Schumer] said that the Department of Transportation is not pushing federal PTC hard enough,” Thune said. “Well, if you truly believe that DOT needs to do more, why is he, along with a few of his colleagues, standing in the way of Mr. Batory’s nomination.”
“When finally confirmed [Batory] will play a significant role in successful Positive Train Control implementation,” he said.
“The time for playing political games with this agency should be over,” Thune said just before Schumer blocked the nomination.
Here’s the video:
You would think after the recent train crash in Washington state, everyone would want to get this position filled.
