[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 181 (Tuesday, November 7, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S7056]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      CONFIRMATION OF KYLE FORTSON

  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, last week the Senate confirmed Kyle 
Fortson to be a member of the National Mediation Board.
  The National Mediation Board, established by the 1934 amendments to 
the Railway Labor Act of 1926, is an independent U.S. Federal 
Government agency that facilitates labor-management relations within 
the Nation's railroad and airline industries.
  Pursuant to the Railway Labor Act, National Mediation Board programs 
help to resolve disputes to promote the flow of interstate commerce in 
those industries through mediation, representation, and arbitration of 
labor-management disputes.
  A dedicated public servant, Kyle Fortson is eminently qualified to 
serve on the National Mediation Board. I am fortunate to say that Mrs. 
Fortson currently serves on my staff as labor policy director at the 
U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions--HELP--Committee, 
after serving in that position from 2010 to 2013 for Senator Mike Enzi. 
I have benefitted from Mrs. Fortson's experience, knowledge, and 
counsel.
  Mrs. Fortson previously served as labor counsel at the same committee 
from 2004 to 2010. Before that, she was a policy analyst at the Senate 
Republican Policy Committee from 2003 to 2004 and served as counsel to 
Senator Tim Hutchinson from 2001 to 2003. She also served as judiciary 
counsel to Congressman Spencer Bachus from 1999 to 2001.
  Mrs. Fortson graduated with a B.A. in history from the University of 
Colorado in 1996 and with a J.D. from George Washington University in 
1999.
  Mrs. Fortson was nominated on June 26, 2017. On July 3, 2017, the 
committee received Mrs. Fortson's Office of Government Ethics 
paperwork, including her public financial disclosure and ethics 
agreement. Based on these documents, the Office of Government Ethics 
wrote to me that Kyle Fortson ``is in compliance with applicable laws 
and regulations governing conflicts of interest.'' The committee 
received Mrs. Fortson's HELP Committee application on July 27, 2017. 
Mrs. Fortson was favorably reported out of the HELP Committee on 
October 18, 2017.
  While the National Mediation Board will be very fortunate to have 
Mrs. Fortson as a member, her departure will be a loss to the U.S. 
Senate and the HELP Committee. I am proud to support Kyle's nomination, 
and she will serve on the National Mediation Board with distinction.

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