Kerry, Kennedy At Odds Over Appointment Of Katherine Higgins

Face it. In the world of politics, appointments to the National Transportation Safety Board are generally not hot news. But that changed this week, when Senators Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and Harry Reid (D-NV) nominated Katherine Higgins to serve on the board. The nomination drew immediate and heavy fire from Senator John Kerry (D-MA) and 32 other members of Congress, including the entire Massachusetts delegation to the House of Representatives.

They'd rather see Paul McCarthy, a former Navy pilot, Delta Airlines captain and former ALPA safety instructor.

Higgins' qualifications include working on transportation issues at the Clinton White House, working as a Kennedy staffer, as well as her friendship with the wife of long-time Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD). Daschle is a close friend of the current Minority Leader, Harry Reid.

''Mr. McCarthy's firsthand accident investigation experience and broad knowledge of our transportation system would be an asset for the NTSB and allow it to better conduct its mission," Kerry wrote March 8 in a letter to President Bush. The letter was quoted by the Boston Globe.

Sounds like a simple choice, right? Brains and experience over friendships and political connections? Well, it's NOT that easy.

Higgins' backers say McCarthy has such close ties to pilots and the pilots' union that he might have to recuse himself in some investigations. Higgins herself was the White House point person on the 1996 ValuJet crash in Florida and the downing of TWA Flight 800 off the coast of Long Island, NY.

But McCarthy's supporters say the need for technical expertise on the NTSB isn't just important -- it's vital.

''The board members not only need to know what the answers mean, they need to know if all the right questions are being asked," the Air Line Pilots Association said in a prepared statement quoted by the Globe. ''The consequences of not getting it right in an accident investigation can affect millions of passengers, so it is imperative for the safety interests of the public that the board include individuals with extensive technical backgrounds and expertise."

FMI: www.ntsb.gov