U.S. SENATE CONFIRMS MINETA AS SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION

U.S. SENATE CONFIRMS MINETA AS SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION    The U.S. Senate has unanimously confirmed Norman Mineta as Secretary of Transportation in the Bush administration. The swift Senate action followed a morning hearing held January 24th by the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.
   At his confirmation hearing yesterday morning, Mineta declared transportation safety as his “number one job at the Department of Transportation.” He said his second priority “is to close the gap between demand for transportation and the capacity of our transportation infrastructure.”
   Mineta cited congestion along highways, railroads and ports as “struggling with constrain landside transportation access.”
   The Senate action brought a statement of congratulations from Sonny Hall, president of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO. “He’s a man of great stature and caliber, and we are pleased the Senate gave him this unanimous vote of confidence,” Hall said. “We look forward to working with Secretary Mineta, a strong supporter of transportation workers during his career in public service. We have a number of important issues … such as infrastructure investment, safety, and worker protection.”