Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Obama Nominations of Dye and Cordero to FMC Confirmed by Senate

The United States Senate has confirmed President Barack Obama's nomination of Port of Long Beach Harbor Commissioner Mario Cordero and renomination of current FMC Commissioner Rebecca Dye to seats on the Federal Maritime Commission.

The president first renominated Commissioner Dye for a third term as a Federal Maritime Commissioner, and announced the nomination of Cordero, in September 2010. This submission lapsed with the end of the previous Congressional session. The president resubmitted both nominations to the current Senate in February.

The FMC is an independent regulatory agency of the United States government charged with the administration of the regulatory provisions of federal shipping laws and responsible for the regulation of ocean-borne transportation in the foreign commerce of the US.

Commissioner Dye was first nominated to the five-seat FMC board in 2002 by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the United States Senate in November 2002. She was nominated to her second term, which expired on June 30, 2010, by President Bush in July 2005, and confirmed by the Senate later the same month. Her new term on the commission will run through June 30, 2015.

Prior to joining the FMC, Commissioner Dye was Counsel to the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee of the US House of Representatives from 1995 until 2002.

“I am honored to have been re-nominated by President Obama and confirmed by the United States Senate for another term at the Commission," Dye said. "I also deeply appreciate the support of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. I look forward to working with my fellow Commissioners to increase the efficiency and reliability of the international supply chain for U.S. importers and exporters.”

Cordero, a first time FMC nominee, is an attorney currently serving his second six-year term as a Port of Long Beach harbor commissioner. The five-member harbor commission is the governing body for the port, setting policy and providing oversight for the operation and maintenance of the port. During his tenure on the port board, where has served as both president and vice-president, Cordero has been involved in the harbor commission's approval of numerous environmental remediation programs designed by port staff to cut harmful pollution generated by port activities.

“I am honored that President Obama and the Senate have given me the opportunity to serve on the Federal Maritime Commission," Cordero said. "The Commission’s work is vital in assisting the economic recovery by facilitating international trade through the nation’s ports, as well as supporting increases in the efficiency and sustainability of shipping and port operations.”

Cordero, a staunch defender on the port board of local government rights superseding federal interstate commerce laws, ironically, now prepares to take a position setting national maritime policy. His term on the maritime commission will run through June 30, 2014.

Both Dye and Cordero will be sworn in as commissioners within the next several weeks.
"Commissioner Dye has made invaluable contributions during her tenure here – both to the Commission and the shipping public," FMC Chariman Richard Lidinsky said. "Long Beach Port Commissioner Cordero has been a leader in the Port’s innovative trade promotion and environmental policies, and I welcome having his valuable experience and perspective from our West Coast ports. I very much look forward to working with them for the benefit of US exporters, importers, and consumers. I also thank President Obama, Chairman Rockefeller, Ranking Member Hutchison, and the US Senate for their efforts to ensure the FMC has a full complement working to ensure a fair, efficient, and reliable international ocean transportation system.

The confirmation of Dye and Cordero fills all the seats on the five-member FMC. The other commissioners are: Chairman Lidinsky, appointed by President Obama in 2009; Joseph Brennan, appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1999 and reappointed by President George Bush in 2004; Michael Khouri, appointed by President Obama in 2009.