Meera Joshi confirmation vote set for next week

The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation is scheduled to have an executive session next week to vote on whether Meera Joshi should be confirmed as the next administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

The committee hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. Eastern on Wednesday, Oct. 20, and will consider the presidential nomination of Joshi.

Joshi, a former chairperson and CEO of the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission, has served as FMCSA’s acting administrator since Jan. 20. In April, President Joe Biden nominated Joshi to take the permanent role of FMCSA administrator. A confirmation hearing was held in September.

Joshi used her opening remarks during the hearing to discuss the goal of improving highway safety.

“Ensuring the safety of the women and men literally driving the commercial motor vehicle industry and all those that they share the road with is my personal and utmost priority,” Joshi said. “Sadly, since 2009, commercial motor vehicle-related roadway fatalities in the United States have steadily risen, resulting in the loss of thousands of lives of men, women and children. And every year over 800 of these victims are large truck or bus drivers. I am deeply committed to the undisputed work ahead, reversing this fatal trend.”

If confirmed, Joshi would become FMCSA’s first permanent administrator since Ray Martinez stepped down from the post in October 2019. Since then, the agency has been led by Jim Mullen, Wiley Deck, and Joshi as acting administrators.

Joshi would become the seventh permanent FMCSA administrator since the agency was established in 2000. Previous administrators were Joseph Clapp, Annette Sandberg, John H. Hill, Anne Ferro, and Scott Darling. Julie Cirillo served as FMCSA leader when the agency was formed in 2000 but only did so as an “acting” administrator. LL