Industry groups yesterday were quick to praise the choice of Rep. Ray LaHood as the next U.S. Transportation Secretary, and leading lawmakers stressed that he is the right man for the job even though he has not had a high profile on transportation issues.

LaHood — a Republican from Illinois — will be an “excellent” DOT head, said House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar (D-Minn.) This position “needs more than anything, high-level effective management,” and LaHood has the “managerial ability” that is more important than deep transportation policy knowledge, Oberstar said.

It is the White House and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) — not the DOT Secretary — that set the tone for transportation policy, Oberstar noted. He even acknowledged that Bush nominees for FAA Administrator — Marion Blakey and Robert Sturgell — “were simply pawns” carrying out White House policy dictates.

LaHood did serve on the T&I Committee for six years before switching to Appropriations, and he was also on the aviation subcommittee, Oberstar noted. He praised LaHood’s record of bipartisanship, and he believes that LaHood is “a person you couldn’t say that in any fashion is an ideologue.” Oberstar spoke to LaHood after news of his selection broke, and he told LaHood that one of his first tasks should be to resolve the contract dispute that still exists between FAA and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association. Such a move should not have to wait for the appointment of a new FAA Administrator, Oberstar believes.

Meanwhile, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) also praised the LaHood selection, saying he is “one of our country’s finest public servants.” He noted that LaHood has long recognized that “bipartisan compromises often provide the best solutions to the problems facing our country.” McCain observed that the U.S. is facing “pressing challenges” in the transportation sector — including ATC modernization — and LaHood’s “experience will be critical to forging reasonable solutions to these challenges.” McCain urged that LaHood be quickly confirmed.

Photo: LaHood-U.S. Congress