Contributor
Ned S. Holmes, Chairman, Transportation Transformation Group (T2)
Related Link:
http://www.trans2group.com
Biography provided by participant
Ned S. Holmes is a commissioner of the Texas Transportation Commission, which oversees statewide activities of the Texas Department of Transportation. Holmes was appointed commissioner by Gov. Rick Perry on January 8, 2007.
Holmes is chairman and CEO of Ned S. Holmes Investments, Inc., a company that develops and manages real estate nationwide. He previously served on the City of Houston's planning commission and served as chairman of the Port of Houston Authority from 1988-2000. In April 2003, Holmes was appointed by Gov. Perry to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission. He resigned that position to serve on the Texas Transportation Commission.
He also served as chairman, board member and as an executive committee member of the Greater Houston Partnership, and as chairman of Commercial Bancshares, Inc. from 1986 to 2000, when the company merged with Prosperity Bancshares. He was chairman of Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. from 2001 to 2006. Holmes received his bachelor's degree and law degree from the University of Texas at Austin. His term will expire February 1, 2011.
February 5, 2009 08:56 PM
Current federal transportation law authorizes hundreds of separate programs, all of which the Congress enacted to serve a particular, often isolated, purpose. While the individual goals might be laudable, the proliferation of federally-funded transportation programs only serves to dilute the power of national transportation policy. Currently, our nation's transportation policy and programs serve too many masters in an attempt to cover every possible need. The problem is that the federal transportation program should NOT serve every need. It should focus on those truly national strategic functions that cannot be effectively handled by other levels of government or the private sector.…
Read moreJanuary 29, 2009 02:48 PM
Congress is currently poised to challenge states and regions to an important test; will stimulus objectives be carried out as intended and can those results be measured? Both the House and Senate versions of the stimulus bills focus on accountability, something that has been missing from the federal transportation program for some time. Congress is showing faith by not earmarking funds and not being much more prescriptive than current law. If states, regions, and the private sector can prove to Congress and the Administration they can deliver on commitments in this stimulus package, the benefits of focusing on system…
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