List of five new transportation players to watch in Washington

As 2015 ushers in Republican control of both houses of Congress for the first time since 2006, the Hill compiled a list of key players in the world of transportation.  It is expected that this 114th Congress will make important decisions on highway, aviation and rail funding, and the following legislators and federal administrators are expected to lead those debates:

1) Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) – Thune is the new chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. Thune has expressed an interest in issues related to the federal government’s regulation of freight trains that carry crude oil and the U.S. automobile industry’s handling of part recalls.

2) Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) – Inhofe is the new chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which will have a large role in crafting any new highway bill that passes Congress in the next two years. The current transportation funding bill is scheduled to expire in May.

3) Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) – DeFazio is the new top ranking Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. DeFazio has been vocal about the lack of a transportation funding increase in recent years, and he has pushed for replacing the 18.4 cents-per-gallon gas tax with an oil barrel tax to raise the additional road revenue.

4) National Highway Traffic Safety Administrator Mark Rosekind – Rosekind is the new chief of the highway safety agency, which has come under fire from lawmakers for its oversight of widespread recalls at auto companies like General Motors and Japan’s Takata. He will be tasked with repairing the highway safety agency’s image on Capitol Hill as Republicans promise to probe its handling of both GM and Takata’s problems.

5) President Obama’s eventual TSA pick – The Transportation Security Administration is starting off 2015 with an acting administrator, Melvin Carraway. Prior to his appointment, Carraway served as the agency’s Federal Security Director at the Albuquerque, N.M. International Airport.