The U.S. Senate yesterday confirmed Patrick Fuchs and Martin Oberman as Surface Transportation Board (STB) commissioners.

Fuchs has been a senior professional staff member working on surface transportation and maritime issues for the Senate Commerce Committee. He also has served as a policy analyst and Presidential Management Fellow at the Office of Management and Budget, where he managed railroad and maritime regulatory reviews. He will serve a five-year term as an STB commissioner.

Oberman is the former chairman of Metra. An attorney and former alderman in Chicago, he joined Metra’s board in September 2013. He was elected chairman in 2014 and served in the post until October 2017.

Oberman will serve the remainder of a five-year term that expires Dec. 31, 2023.

Association of American Railroads President Ian Jefferies issued a statement congratulating both commissioners on their Senate confirmation.

“As Congress helps the board get closer to a full complement of five members, we believe that the agency is now one step closer to realizing its congressional charter to maintain a proven economic framework that allows the industry to earn the revenues it needs to serve a vast set of customers, while providing appropriate regulatory protections for these same rail shippers,” Jefferies said.