[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 57 (Thursday, March 31, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S1902]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                        TRIBUTE TO BRIAN W. NESS

 Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, along with my colleagues Senator Jim 
Risch, Representative Mike Simpson and Representative Russ Fulcher, we 
congratulate Brian Ness on his retirement after 13 years of outstanding 
service as director of the Idaho Transportation Department, ITD.
  In 2009, Brian Ness was appointed to serve as director of the Idaho 
Transportation Department, and he has been responsible for an annual 
budget of approximately $800 million and leading 1,650 employees. We 
have greatly valued his input on advancing Idaho transportation 
priorities, including through the Federal appropriations process and 
other infrastructure-related proposals. He also testified before the 
U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Research and Technology 
in 2019 on ``The Need for a National Surface Transportation Research 
Agenda.''
  Director Ness has devoted considerable time utilizing his experience 
as a transportation professional to help lead a number of related 
organizations. He has served on the boards of directors and in many 
other leadership roles for the American Association of State Highway 
and Transportation Officials, AASHTO; the Western Association of State 
Highway and Transportation Officials, WASHTO; the Transportation 
Research Board, TRB; the American Road and Transportation Builders 
Association, ARTBA; and the Idaho Rural Partnership. His leadership 
roles include the Governor appointing Director Ness to chair the Idaho 
Autonomous and Connected Vehicle Testing and Deployment Committee. 
Additionally, in 2019, Director Ness became president of the ARTBA's 
Transportation Officials Division. He also served as president of 
WASHTO in 2015.
  Throughout his career, he has earned many recognitions for his 
remarkable work and led teams that have received many honors. For 
example, since Director Ness joined the ITD, it has received nearly 170 
national awards for its programs and projects, including the 
prestigious Francis B. Francois Award for Innovation. ITD has also won 
an extraordinary 17 AASHTO President's Transportation Awards. Director 
Ness also received the 2016 Navigator Award from the national 
organization, Route Fifty; was named Trine University's--formerly Tri-
State University--2014 Alumni of the Year; AASHTO's President's Award 
for Administration in 2013; and was honored in 2012 as Leader of the 
Year by the Treasure Valley Chapter of Women's Transportation Seminar.
  Before becoming director at ITD, Director Ness worked for 30 years at 
the Michigan Department of Transportation, holding a variety of 
positions in research, operations, aeronautics, construction, and 
project development. He earned a bachelor of science degree in civil 
engineering from Tri-State University and a master's degree in public 
administration from Western Michigan University, and he is a licensed 
professional engineer in Michigan and Idaho.
  We understand the ITD's employee-driven innovation program started 
during Director Ness's leadership is credited with saving nearly $35 
million, creating 691 customer-service improvements, and saving 540,000 
contractor and employee hours. Thank you, Brian, for your focus on 
ingenuity, efficiency, accountability, and results all these years at 
the helm of the ITD. Your work to empower employee-driven innovation 
and support emerging leaders will no doubt have lasting effects on 
government efficiency and countless individual careers. Thank you, 
especially, for your service to Idaho, the transportation department 
and its employees, and congratulations on your retirement.

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