[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 9 (Wednesday, January 24, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S519]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    NOMINATION OF NORMAN Y. MINETA TO BE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION

  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I strongly support the nomination of Norman 
Mineta to be the next Secretary of Transportation. Throughout his very 
lengthy career in public service, Norman Mineta has demonstrated a true 
commitment to improving the quality of life for all Americans and a 
strong understanding of the elemental role that transportation plays in 
our national prosperity.
  Mr. Mineta began his public career in 1967 as the Mayor of the San 
Jose City Council in California. In 1971, he was elected Mayor of San 
Jose. Most of us know Mr. Mineta, however, from his very distinguished 
career in the House of Representatives, where he served for 21 years 
representing the Silicon Valley area. At the culmination of his career 
in the House, Mr. Mineta served as the Chairman of the Committee on 
Public Works and Transportation--the committee we now know as the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
  Once we succeed in confirming Norman Mineta today, we will usher in a 
Secretary with a very extensive grounding in both politics and 
transportation policy. Many of Mr. Mineta's most significant 
legislative accomplishments in the House were in the area of 
transportation. During the drafting of the Intermodal Surface 
Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991, Mr. Mineta served as Chairman of 
the Public Works Subcommittee on Ground Transportation. He has also 
been very involved in aviation policy, both during and after his career 
in Congress. President Clinton asked him to chair the National Civil 
Aviation Review Commission. This ``Mineta Commission'' made several 
significant recommendations for revamping the Federal Aviation 
Administration. At the request of Secretary of Transportation Rodney 
Slater, Mr. Mineta also chaired an ad hoc advisory committee on truck 
safety.
  Much has been accomplished in these two areas, but so much more 
remains to be done. Aviation delays have reached an all-time high. 
Secretary Mineta was quite frank with the members of the Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation Committee during his confirmation hearing 
in telling them that they should not expect to see these delays 
diminish any time soon. Many of us have read some frightening 
revelations regarding the inadequate enforcement efforts made by the 
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in maintaining truck 
safety. These are two areas where Secretary Mineta has committed 
himself to moving out quickly to implement a comprehensive series of 
improvements, and I support him in these efforts.
  When President-elect Bush announced his selection of Norman Mineta to 
be his Transportation Secretary, then-Commerce Secretary Mineta stated 
``Inadequate infrastructure is one of the chief threats to a thriving 
economy.'' This is a point that I have sought to make on the floor of 
the United States Senate numerous times, and Members can expect me to 
continue to make this case time and time again. I am glad that I will 
have an ally in Secretary Mineta in convincing my colleagues that we 
need to reverse the overall disinvestment in our nation's 
infrastructure that we have experienced over the last two decades. We 
have begun to make some progress by honoring the funding guarantees 
that I and other Senators included in the Transportation Equity Act for 
the 21st Century. However, much more needs to be done, and I look 
forward to working with Norman Mineta to see to it that we take a more 
aggressive approach in investing in America.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the question is, 
Will the Senate advise and consent to the nomination of Norman Y. 
Mineta of California to be Secretary of Transportation? The yeas and 
nays have been ordered, and the clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  The result was announced--yeas 100, nays 0, as follows:

                       [Rollcall Vote No. 5 Ex.]

                               YEAS--100

     Akaka
     Allard
     Allen
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Bennett
     Biden
     Bingaman
     Bond
     Boxer
     Breaux
     Brownback
     Bunning
     Burns
     Byrd
     Campbell
     Cantwell
     Carnahan
     Carper
     Chafee
     Cleland
     Clinton
     Cochran
     Collins
     Conrad
     Corzine
     Craig
     Crapo
     Daschle
     Dayton
     DeWine
     Dodd
     Domenici
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Edwards
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Fitzgerald
     Frist
     Graham
     Gramm
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Helms
     Hollings
     Hutchinson
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Inouye
     Jeffords
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Kerry
     Kohl
     Kyl
     Landrieu
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lincoln
     Lott
     Lugar
     McCain
     McConnell
     Mikulski
     Miller
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nelson (FL)
     Nelson (NE)
     Nickles
     Reed
     Reid
     Roberts
     Rockefeller
     Santorum
     Sarbanes
     Schumer
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Smith (NH)
     Smith (OR)
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stabenow
     Stevens
     Thomas
     Thompson
     Thurmond
     Torricelli
     Voinovich
     Warner
     Wellstone
     Wyden
  The nomination was confirmed.

                          ____________________