Oberstar to NTSB Chief: Reconsider 35W Bridge Hearing
Squaring off with U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chairman Mark Rosenker made little effort to hide his discomfort. "I have great respect for you," Rosenker told the Minnesota Democrat during a public hearing Wednesday. "And I don't enjoy being in your doghouse, believe me." Oberstar, chairman of the House Transportation Committee, had come to the NTSB hearing armed with a list of questions about the government's investigation into the Interstate 35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis. As he has before in their public feud, Oberstar made no secret of his displeasure with the NTSB's decision... » Read More
Oberstar Wants to Run Out the Clock on Merger
The man who will be leading the charge in Congress against the world's biggest airline merger is a flinty miner's son from Minnesota's Iron Range. Jim Oberstar, the chairman of the House Transportation Committee, brings four decades in Washington and a lifetime of hard-knuckled labor politics to his post. And in the proposed Delta-Northwest Airlines merger, which could cost jobs and competition in Minnesota, he doesn't like what he sees. The 73-year-old native of Chisholm... » Read more
Oberstar Cites 'Complacency' at FAA
Southwest Airlines flew planes past safety inspection deadlines. Two United Airlines jets skidded off a runway because of faulty wiring. A US Airways flight lost a chunk of a wing in midflight. Those were among the recent safety lapses that Rep. Jim Oberstar, D-Minn., on Thursday demanded that the airline industry and its regulators in the Bush administration explain. The chairman of the House Transportation Committee blasted the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for what he called its "cozy" relationship with the nation's airline industry during a hearing on Capitol Hill. "This is the most egregious lapse... » Read more
NTSB Dissent Reveals Multiple Causes of 35W Bridge Collapse
Politics, just like rust, never sleeps. Both may be factors in the collapse of the 35W bridge. But there's a chance you'll never get the full story on either of those factors, thanks to the National Transportation Safety Board's decision not to hold an interim public hearing on the disaster that took 13 lives. The NTSB recently voted... » Read more
Congressman Oberstar Announces Energy Assistance Funds for Northern Minnesota
Minnesota seniors and low-income families will receive additional assistance to help pay their heating bills. Congressman Jim Oberstar announced today (Thursday, Jan. 17) that Minnesota will receive nearly $20 million in emergency funding for heating assistance programs. The funding is Minnesota's share of a $450 million disbursement of emergency funding from the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).... » Read more
Congressman Oberstar Tours Duluth Aviation Facilities
U.S. Congressman Jim Oberstar and a high ranking Federal official spent the day in Duluth today in support of the region's rapidly growing aviation industry. They toured Cirrus, Northstar Aerospace, and the Duluth airport... » Read more
