Elaine Lan Chao is an American businesswoman and former government official who served as United States secretary of labor in the administration of George W. Bush from 2001 to 2009 and as United States secretary of transportation in the administration of Donald Trump from 2017 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party,Chao was the first Asian American woman to serve in a presidential cabinet or as secretary of transportation.
Patricia Lynn Murray is an American politician who has served as president pro tempore of the United States Senate since 2023 and the senior United States Senator from Washington since 1993. A member of the Democratic Party,Murray served in the Washington State Senate from 1989 to 1993. She was Washington's first female U.S. senator and is the first woman in American history to hold the position of president pro tempore. Murray is also the youngest senator to occupy the office of president pro tempore in more than five decades. As president pro tempore,Murray is third in the line of succession to the U.S. presidency.
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose purpose is to enforce campaign finance law in United States federal elections. Created in 1974 through amendments to the Federal Election Campaign Act,the commission describes its duties as "to disclose campaign finance information,to enforce the provisions of the law such as the limits and prohibitions on contributions,and to oversee the public funding of Presidential elections."
The Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service is the governing body of the United States Postal Service (USPS). The board oversees the activities of the Postal Service,while the postmaster general actively manages its day-to-day operations.
Lisa Ann Murkowski is an American attorney and politician serving as the senior United States senator representing Alaska,having held that seat since 2002. She is the first woman to represent Alaska in the Senate and the Senate's second-most senior Republican woman,after Susan Collins of Maine. She became dean of Alaska's congressional delegation upon Representative Don Young's death.
A chemical accident is the unintentional release of one or more hazardous chemicals,which could harm human health and the environment. Such events include fires,explosions,and release of toxic materials that may cause people illness,injury,or disability. Chemical accidents can be caused for example by natural disasters,human error,or deliberate acts for personal gain. Chemical accidents are generally understood to be industrial-scale ones,often with important offsite consequences. Unintended exposure to chemicals that occur at smaller work sites,as well as in private premises during everyday activities are usually not referred to as chemical accidents.
The Texas City Refinery explosion occurred on March 23,2005,when a vapor cloud of natural gas and petroleum ignited and violently exploded at the isomerization (ISOM) process unit at the BP Texas City refinery in Texas City,Texas,killing 15 workers,injuring 180 others and severely damaging the refinery. The Texas City Refinery was the second-largest oil refinery in the state,and the third-largest in the United States with an input capacity of 437,000 barrels (69,500 m3) per day as of January 1,2000. BP acquired the Texas City refinery as part of its merger with Amoco in 1999.
Ghent is a census-designated place in Raleigh County,West Virginia,United States. As of the 2010 census,its population was 457.
Ladda Tammy Duckworth is an American politician and retired Army National Guard lieutenant colonel serving as the junior United States senator from Illinois since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party,she represented Illinois's 8th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 2013 to 2017.
The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (USCSB),generally referred to as the Chemical Safety Board (CSB),is an independent U.S. federal agency charged with investigating industrial chemical accidents. Headquartered in Washington,D.C.,the agency's board members are appointed by the president and confirmed by the United States Senate. The CSB conducts root cause investigations of chemical accidents at fixed industrial facilities.
The West Pharmaceutical Plant explosion was an industrial disaster that occurred on January 29,2003 at the West Pharmaceutical Plant in Kinston,North Carolina,United States. Six people were killed and thirty-six people were injured when a large explosion ripped through the facility. Two firefighters were injured in the subsequent blaze. The disaster occurred twelve years and 170 miles (270 km) from the 1991 Hamlet chicken processing plant fire,North Carolina's second-worst industrial disaster.
Deborah Ann Dingell is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who has been the U.S. representative for Michigan's 6th congressional district since 2015. She is the widow of John Dingell,her predecessor in the seat,who holds the record as the longest-serving member of Congress in U.S. history. She worked as a consultant to the American Automobile Policy Council. She was a superdelegate for the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte,North Carolina.
Caroline Critchfield Hunter is a former Republican member of the United States Federal Election Commission. She was appointed in June 2008,and served as chair in 2012,2018,and 2020. On June 26,2020,she resigned from the FEC,effective July 3,2020,leaving the FEC without a quorum.
Catherine Janet Kissee Sandoval is a former commissioner of the California Public Utilities Commission. Sandoval is a professor at Santa Clara University School of Law. As of February 2023,she has served as a member of the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board. In 1984,she was the first Latina Rhodes scholar.
Rafael Moure-Eraso is a former chairman and chief executive of the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB).
Vanessa Lorraine Allen Sutherland is a corporate lawyer and former chairperson of the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB).
On September 26,2020,President Donald Trump announced the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the position of Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States to fill in the vacancy left by the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. At the time of her nomination,Barrett was a Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago,Illinois. The Senate received word from the president on September 29.
Jennifer L. Homendy is an American government official who is the chair of the National Transportation Safety Board in the Biden administration. Homendy has been the 44th member of the NTSB as of 2018. She has been chairwoman since August 13,2021.
Stephen Alan Owens is an American attorney and politician. Originally from Memphis,Tennessee,he served as chief counsel and state director for U.S. Senator Al Gore before moving to the Phoenix,Arizona area during Gore's unsuccessful presidential run in 1988. He was a fundraiser for the Clinton-Gore campaign in 1992,and,from 1993 to 1995,was chair of the Arizona Democratic Party. He was the Democratic nominee for Arizona's 6th congressional district in 1996 and 1998,losing both times to incumbent J. D. Hayworth.
