On Wednesday, September 11th, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation met to discuss President Biden’s nominations of four individuals to Amtrak’s Board of Directors. The nominees included the following: 

• David Capozzi  
• Samuel Lathem  
• Ronald Batory  
• Elaine Clegg  

While the hearing was not without a few pointed back-and-forth exchanges and lines of questioning, it was overall a very pro-Amtrak conversation amongst a group of pro-Amtrak individuals. Topics of concern or focus noted for nominees for the board specifically included transparency (particularly related to executive compensation), regional representation by board members, and operations and expansion generally. Additional topics, like labor and safety, were drilled down on during Q&A based on certain members’ backgrounds. 

Pay Transparency  

The first two topics were touched on heavily throughout the hearing due to a few outstanding news headlines in recent years. Amtrak was the talk of the town (DC at least) earlier this summer for some questionable executive compensation practices. Fourteen C-suite level employees received more than $200,000 each in end of year bonuses despite the federally chartered corporation’s more than $1.7 billion in losses in the same year – a less than stellar public image issue when one notes performance and project delivery challenges as well as the receipt of over $11 billion in federal funding, as members like Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) were quick to flag.  

Regional Representation 

The regional representation question is slightly more complex. Legally, the IIJA included regional representation limitations for the eight presidential nominees on the 10-member board. Of these eight individuals, two must reside in or near a location served by regular Amtrak service. Of the remaining six, four must reside outside the Northeast Corridor (two from states with long-distance service and two from states with state-supported operations). The remaining two must be either in the northeast corridor or in states with long-distance or state-supported routes. The Biden Administration, due to communication issues with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s office, nominated too many individuals from the Northeast Corridor in recent years which has led to the (bipartisan) blocking of earlier nominees and tension on the subject. Members repeatedly noted this and emphasized the need for a nationwide, connected network which serves those beyond the northeast corridor.  

Operations and Expansion 

With an overarching commitment to safety, each of the nominees expressed to members their support of a connected system with long-distance and reliable service. When asked about how to improve service, like addressing the 64 percent on time rate of the Cascades route, the nominees shared thoughts related to preventative maintenance, improved equipment testing, mission focus, stakeholder engagement, and operational transparency.  

Meet the Team 

Capozzi (Maryland) 

Mr. Capozzi kicked off the panel on the testimony front, sharing his extensive background at the intersection of accessibility and transportation. Capozzi worked as a member of the legal team on behalf of the disability community which helped to develop the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). His resume includes experience updating ADA requirements for rapid, light, commuter, intercity, and high-speed rail. 

He doubled and tripled down on the need for accessibility, discussing how only about a third of Amtrak’s nearly 400 stations comply with the ADA, but he also approached this in a very no-nonsense way. He described the need to invest ADA equipment for railcars now, given the service lives of 40 years or more, but he also noted difficulties in adhering to some requirements.  

Clegg (Boise, Idaho) 

Skipping to our fourth panelist, Ms. Elaine Clegg from Boise, Idaho also did not ruffle any feather. Clegg is an Idaho native and brought a very clear western perspective to train travel and the importance of Amtrak for this region. Her background has extensively focused on land use and transportation, as well as city operations. She has chaired a national committee related to infrastructure and is the current CEO of Valley Regional Transit, providing service throughout Boise to over a million riders annually. She noted the importance of Amtrak for connectivity and access for residents and visitors and really honed in on new service expansion.  

Batory (Santa Fe, New Mexico) 

On a slightly more interesting note, the board’s Republican nominee brought some interesting and valuable experience to the table. Mr. Batory has 46 years of experience in various railroad positions – primarily related to Class I railroads and freight. A seasoned operation professional, Batory was also Administrator for the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) under President Trump. In this role, his most notable accomplishment was in meeting requirement for installation of positive train control (PTC) on nearly 58,000 miles of track. He worked closely with railroads to ensure all 41 had met this goal in the required timeline.  

Where things became more interesting was in some of the Q&A with members like Chair Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA). While Batory seemed to hold the perspective that railroad operators were best positioned to determine some safety measures based on their specific situations, members pushed back on safety related topics like minimum crew size and liquified natural gas transport. After an exchange with Chair Cantwell, Batory reassured members that he is committed to safety and has always take recommendations, like those of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), seriously.  

Lathem (Delaware) 

Of the back-and-forth exchanges with members, those with Mr. Lathem were the most interesting and surprising. Lathem has a lengthy track record in workers’ rights issues, including a stint as the President of the Delaware State AFL-CIO. His decades of advocacy on behalf of workers have culminated in his current role as a Commissioner of the Delaware River Bay Authority (DRBA), reflecting his familiarity in transportation service provision and labor.  

The news headlines struck again, and a few trips from 2009 and 2011, which Republicans centered on, were brought up by multiple members. Sen. Schmitt was the first to rip off the Band-Aid on this topic bringing up 2009 and 2011 trips Lathem took to Venezuela to attend political rallies for Hugo Chavez. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) brought up a separate issue related to wasteful and improper spending by the DRBA, including more than a million dollars for trips and entertainment over a three-year period. Sen. Blackburn claimed Lathem was quoted complaining about the idea of having to fly coach overseas. While I have not located these news articles, Lathem stumbled through many of these exchanges stating he did not say certain things, did not know the political stances of certain groups with whom he traveled, and something about a Kennedy and oil for those who could not afford it which was not easily understood.  

Steps Forward 

These individuals were representative of an array of interests relevant to Amtrak operations like planning and operations, funding and finance, labor issues, accessibility, and others. While there are specific interest areas for each, the overall goal seems to be to bring a greater level of transparency to Amtrak while building out service and capitalizing on IIJA investments.   

The Commerce Committee will have to meet formally in a few weeks to approve the nominees, at which point their names will be placed on the Executive Calendar for eventual Senate confirmation. For nominees like this (that don’t rise to the level of importance high enough for the Senate to justify brute-forcing them through one at a time via the cloture process), the chairman will try to get them through as part of the large nomination packages that the Senate does before long recesses and before year-end adjournments.