(The following article by Jennifer Brooks was posted on the Wilmington News Journal website on May 21.)
WASHINGTON — R. Hunter Biden, second son of Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., has been tapped by the Bush administration to serve a five-year term on the Amtrak Reform Board. His nomination now moves to the Senate for confirmation.
The younger Biden son is a Washington lobbyist who specializes in trade and technology issues. This would be his second presidential appointment — he served as executive director of e-commerce policy coordination in the Department of Commerce in the Clinton administration.
“I see this appointment as a great opportunity to turn around what can and must be a key component of our transportation system,” Biden said. “Amtrak should be one of our success stories; right now it is one of our biggest challenges.”
The Amtrak board is not one of Washington’s more glamorous postings. Board members are unpaid and meet every month to hash out the problems that confront an aging passenger rail system that is far from the administration’s top priority. In fact, the president routinely attempts to cut or eliminate the Amtrak budget.
“As a frequent commuter, I have literally logged thousands of miles on Amtrak,” said Biden, whose father has commuted by train back to Wilmington since his Senate career began. “I believe in the organization and its employees.”
Past members of the Amtrak board include Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del. Biden would take the seat last held by former Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis, whose term expired in 2002. It is one of three long-vacant seats on the eight-member board.
“This is a huge opportunity for him,” said Dukakis, noting that rising fuel prices are driving more and more people toward mass transit. “I hope he will walk in there and get them to stop this nonsense about privatization.”
No date has been set for Biden’s confirmation vote. A spokeswoman for Joe Biden said Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid suggested Hunter Biden’s name to the White House — not the nominee’s dad.