Information security rough going for STB

The most challenging part of the Surface Transportation Board Reauthorization Act of 2015 has been assuming the administrative and information technology functions previously housed under the DOT, according to STB Vice Chairman Deb Miller.    The House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials received testimony Tuesday morning on the implementation of the Surface Transportation Board Reauthorization Act of 2015.
   The legislation established the STB as a wholly independent federal agency on Dec. 18, 2015. Prior to the act, the STB was aligned administratively with the U.S. Department of Transportation, although it had been decisionally independent since it was established in 1996.
   The STB is responsible for resolving railroad rate and service disputes as well as reviewing proposed railroad mergers.
   “Because of the STB Reauthorization Act, the board has achieved greater efficiency, accountability and transparency,” STB Chairman Ann Begeman said during the hearing.
   As directed by the act, the board prepares quarterly reports on its rate review cases, its formal and informal service complaints, and unfinished regulatory proceedings, she explained. These reports and letters are available to the public on the board’s website.
   During Tuesday’s hearing, STB Vice Chairman Deb Miller said the most challenging part of the act for the board has been assuming the administrative and information technology functions, which previously were housed under the DOT.
   While the STB has made substantial progress on adopting processes and systems necessary for the successful functioning of an independent federal agency, there are still areas where it has work to do, particularly in information security, Miller explained.
   Just last week the full House passed H.R. 4921, the STB Information Security Improvement Act, which requires the board to implement an improvement plan for its information security system.
   Miller said that improving information security is a top priority of the board and that it has hired an information security system manager, who already has implemented corrective measures.
   The act also authorized the board to have five members instead of just three. However, the board is currently comprised of just two members. The president recently submitted two nominees to the Senate for consideration: Senior Senate legislative aide Patrick Fuchs and commuter railroad attorney Michelle Schultz.
   Fuchs and Schultz appeared before the Senate Commerce Committee last Wednesday for a confirmation hearing. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., pledged to move both nominations onto the Senate floor for consideration “as quickly as possible,” prior to the Memorial Day recess, the National Grain and Feed Association reported.
   The NGFA was one of the groups that sent a letter last Tuesday to Thune and the committee’s ranking member, Bill Nelson, D-Fla., expressing support for the nominations and calling for a full set of members on the STB board.