Washington—Today, the American Trucking Associations applauded the Senate Commerce Committee for voting in support of Derek Barrs to serve as administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. His nomination will now be considered by the full Senate.
“Over the past 20 years, Derek Barrs has built his career in law enforcement and the commercial motor vehicle industry around one singular goal: to make our roads safer for all motorists,” said ATA President & CEO Chris Spear. “We appreciate the members of the Senate Commerce Committee recognizing Derek’s laudable commitment by voting to approve his nomination to be FMCSA administrator. This role is vitally important to the 8.5 million Americans who work in trucking-related jobs. Derek has the qualifications and expertise that will make him exceptionally well prepared to take on this challenge, and under his leadership, the trucking industry is confident that FMCSA will make significant progress towards achieving our shared priorities of improving highway safety and efficiently delivering the nation’s freight. We urge the Senate to confirm him to this position at the earliest possible opportunity.”
Barrs has served in various law enforcement capacities for the Florida Department of Transportation and Florida Highway Patrol. Most recently, he has been a consultant on traffic-related and commercial motor vehicle safety projects across numerous states. He also joined ATA’s Law Enforcement Advisory Board in 2021, and he has been an active member of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance in multiple roles, including serving as the President of the Associate Members, where he represented motor carriers and suppliers to the industry.
In January, ATA, the Truckload Carriers Association, and the National Tank Truck Carriers sent a letter to U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to express full support for Barrs. Following the Committee’s action today, ATA sent another letter to the leaders of the Senate urging them to swiftly hold a vote on Barrs’ nomination.