President Donald Trump nominated Erhard Chorle, a Chicago attorney, to serve a five-year term as chairman of the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) on July 27.
Chorle’s confirmation would fill a vacancy that was created in August 2015 by the retirement of Michael Schwartz after Schwartz’s 12 years as RRB chairman.
Chorle serves as a partner in the corporate and business counseling practice group of Pedersen & Houpt in Chicago, and a biography published on Pedersen & Houpt’s website says Chorle specializes in corporate securities, regulatory and government advice and counsel.
“It’s an honor to be nominated,” Chorle said when reached by email.
According to his biography, Chorle served the Illinois state government as senior assistant to the director of labor, deputy secretary of state and as the state’s securities commissioner. He served as executive assistant for financial and regulatory affairs in Gov. Jim Edgar’s administration beginning in 1991 and had experience overseeing the state’s major financial regulations department, including banks, trusts and insurance, as well as the state’s various financing authorities and pension funds.
Chorle also was chairman of the Illinois state Board of Investment, a $10 billion fund investing the assets of three Illinois state pension systems. He received his B.S. from DePaul University in 1978 and a juris doctorate from John Marshall Law School in 1984 and joined Pedersen & Houpt in July 2017.
If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Chorle’s term would run through Aug. 28, 2022.
Tag: nomination
SMART TD opposes the recent nomination of former U.S. Rep. Lynn A. Westmoreland of Georgia by the Trump administration to serve on the Board of Directors of Amtrak.
As a longtime member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials, Westmoreland has a hostile voting record against Amtrak, which includes efforts to eliminate federal funding for Amtrak entirely. In addition. Westmoreland has been an original cosponsor of the “National Right-to-Work Act” on multiple occasions, which would significantly weaken our ability to collectively bargain. For these reasons, we oppose his nomination as it would undermine the core mission of Amtrak and its employees.
Please see below former Representative Lynn Westmoreland’s extreme voting record on Amtrak in the 114th Congress (2015-2016):
- RCV#110: Voted YES on McClintock Amendment to H.R. 749 — Eliminate ALL Amtrak Funding (3/4/15)
- RCV#303: Voted YES on Brooks Amendment to H.R. 2577 — Eliminate Amtrak Operating Grants (6/4/15)
- RCV#304: Voted YES on Brooks Amendment to H.R. 2577 — Eliminate Amtrak Capital/Debt Service Grants (6/4/15)
- RCV#314: Voted YES on Sessions Amendment to H.R. 2577 — Prohibit Funds for Sunset Limited Line (6/9/15)
- RCV#315: Voted YES on Sessions Amendment to H.R. 2577 — Prohibit Funds for Amtrak Routes 2x Cost/Revenue (6/9/15)
Earlier this year, Trump’s budget proposal to Congress for fiscal year 2018 called for eliminating federal support for Amtrak’s long distance train services, which would result in the immediate loss of 10,000 non-Northeast Corridor Amtrak jobs and the destabilization of the Railroad Retirement trust fund.
Washington — The pending nominee to be the next administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) will provide testimony at a U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation confirmation hearing on Thursday, September 17 at 9:45 a.m.
Ms. Feinberg has served as the Acting Administrator of the FRA since January 2015 and the president formally nominated her to be the next administrator at FRA on May 29, 2015. Her nomination questionnaire is available here.
Nomination Under Consideration:
Sarah Feinberg, to be the Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration
Hearing Details:
Thursday, September 17, 2015
9:45 a.m.
Full Committee Nomination Hearing
This hearing will take place in Senate Russell Office Building, Room 253 and a live video of the hearing will be available.