[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Page 17578]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      NOMINATION OF THO DINH-ZARR

  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, today I address the Senate on the 
nomination of Dr. Tho ``Bella'' Dinh-Zarr of Texas to be a Member of 
the National Transportation Safety Board, NTSB.
  Dr. Dinh-Zarr is uniquely qualified to serve as a Member of the NTSB. 
Dr. Dinh-Zarr currently holds the position of Director of the U.S. 
office of the FIA Foundation, an independent nonprofit charity based in 
the United Kingdom which supports activities that promote international 
road safety research and sustainable mobility. I have been informed 
that, prior to assuming her current role, Dr. Dinh-Zarr also served as 
the Foundation's Road Safety Director from 2007-2014. Dr. Dinh-Zarr has 
extensive professional experience with traffic and highway safety 
issues, working previously as Director of North America's Make Roads 
Safe Campaign for Global Road Safety, a scientist at the National 
Highway and Traffic Safety Administration, and as National Director of 
Traffic Safety Policy for the American Automobile Association.
  I would like to highlight some of Dr. Dinh-Zarr's connections to our 
shared home State of Texas--in particular, her education and work 
experience at some of our well-known academic and research 
institutions. Dr. Dinh-Zarr and her family escaped Vietnam in 1975, 
eventually taking up residence along the Gulf Coast in Galveston, TX. 
From an early age, Dr. Dinh-Zarr developed an awareness of the region's 
extensive multi-modal transportation network and the importance of 
rail, marine, and pipeline safety in her community. One of her first 
jobs was working at the Galveston Railroad Museum, an institution 
dedicated to preserving the region's storied history of rail 
transportation through educational exhibits and programs. Dr. Dinh-Zarr 
earned both a Masters of Public Health and a Ph.D. in Health Policy and 
Injury Prevention from the University of Texas School of Public Health. 
She is a graduate of Rice University and worked as a Research Associate 
at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, TTI, widely recognized as 
one of the premier transportation research agencies in the country.
  The NTSB plays a critical role in advancing transportation safety. 
The agency is charged with investigating transportation-related 
accidents and making recommendations aimed at preventing future events. 
In order to best meet its goal of improving safety across our Nation's 
transportation system, the NTSB must ensure safety recommendations are 
reasonable, balanced and evidence-based. The agency's investigative and 
advocacy responsibilities must be considered in light of the unique and 
diverse safety challenges confronting our States, where innovative and 
tailored solutions can often more effectively reduce or eliminate the 
likelihood of future incidents or injury versus a one-size-fits-all 
approach. Toward this end, NTSB must place a high priority on 
transparency and accountability, working to ensure communities, 
individuals, small businesses, and all others impacted by its work are 
provided adequate opportunities to be heard.
  I am confident that Dr. Dinh-Zarr is up to the challenge. She will 
not only bring to the position a wealth of knowledge and experience, 
but also a Texan's sense of compassion and dedication to the service of 
others. I am pleased to join her friends and family, members of 
Vietnamese American community in Texas and across the country, and many 
others in support of this well-qualified nominee.

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