James Oberstar: “I rise in support of H.R. 5076, the National Transportation Safety Board Reauthorization Act of 2006. This Agency's…”

“I rise in support of H.R. 5076, the National Transportation Safety Board Reauthorization Act of 2006. This Agency's roots go back to 1926 when the Air Commerce Act vested the Department of Commerce with the authority to investigative aircraft accidents. During the 1966 consolidation of various transportation agencies into the Department of Transportation (DOT), the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) was created as an independent agency within DOT to investigate accidents in all transportation modes. In 1974, Congress further demonstrated its resolve to ensure that NTSB would retain its independence by re-establishing the Board as a totally separate entity, distinct from DOT. Since its inception in 1967, the NTSB has investigated more than 124,000 aviation accidents and over 10,000 surface transportation accidents, making it the world's premier accident investigation agency. In the last six years alone, the NTSB has investigated, or caused to be investigated, over 11,000 aviation accidents, 205 highway accidents, 91 railroad accidents, 33 pipeline accidents, 38 marine accidents; and a total of 1129 safety recommendations have been issued. This is no small feat, given the size of this agency: only 396 employees in 10 regional offices.”