President Bush will nominate Marion Blakey to the National Transportation Safety Board,
according to an announcement by White House spokesman Ari Fleischer.
Blakey, a former administrator at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, will serve as a member of the board for a term that ends in December 2005, and then she will become chairman.
The NTSB is an independent agency charged with investigating transportation accidents and recommending safety regulations. It does not write rules, like the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, but its recommendations figure significantly in the rulemaking process. Under the leadership of former chairman Jim Hall, for instance, the board has been an aggressive advocate for mandatory onboard recorders in trucks.
Blakey currently runs a transportation policy and communications consulting business in Washington, D.C., Blakey & Associates. She has an extensive background in public affairs, including serving as assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Transportation during the previous Bush administration, before her term at NHTSA.
Bush also will nominate John Hammerschmidt to complete a term on the board that ends in December 2002.