Biography

Daniel B. Maffei, of New York, was designated by President Joseph Biden as Chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) on March 29, 2021. He was first nominated to serve on the FMC by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the United States Senate on June 29, 2016. He was then nominated by President Donald Trump and confirmed by the United States Senate on January 2, 2019. Commissioner Maffei was subsequently nominated by President Biden to serve another term on the Commission and was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 14, 2024.

As a Commissioner, Mr. Maffei has shown a particular interest in addressing the vulnerability of the global transportation system to industry-wide financial and security risks. He has spoken at national and international conferences on the changing nature of the economics of international shipping due to technological advances and the pressures that newer and larger carriers have placed on U.S. transportation infrastructure.

A native of Syracuse, New York, Commissioner Maffei’s career in government spans more than twenty years. He was elected to two terms in the United States House of Representatives from 2009 to 2011 and from 2013 to 2015. Immediately prior to his initial appointment to the FMC, Mr. Maffei was a Senior Advisor at the United States Department of Commerce.

Commissioner Maffei’s time in Congress included service on the House Armed Services Committee, House Financial Services Committee, and House Judiciary Committee. His priority on the Armed Services Committee was to improve the military’s capacity to defend the country from terrorist and cyber threats. He worked on several provisions in the 2013 and 2014 armed services authorization bills to support and promote new and better technologies. On the Financial Services Committee, he focused on consumer protection and helped improve and pass, with increased bipartisan support, the Credit Cardholder’s Bill of Rights of 2009, a law that took important steps to level the playing field between customers and card issuers. Commissioner Maffei also served on the House Committee on Science and Technology and was Ranking Member of its Oversight Subcommittee.

While serving in Congress, Commissioner Maffei’s Central New York district included the Port of Oswego, the first U.S. port of call and deepwater port on the Great Lakes. Working closely with Representative Richard L. Hanna and New York’s Senators, he was able to secure vital funding to improve the port’s rail link and the resources to better dredge the port.

Commissioner Maffei has substantial experience teaching and researching at universities and think tanks. In 2018, Mr. Maffei spent six months away as a Professor of Practice at the George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management before returning to the FMC. He has taught on the faculty of the New York State College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF) and has been a Senior Fellow at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress (CSPC) and a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Third Way. For several years, he served on the American Board of Advisors for Global Panel, a Prague-based organization that works primarily behind the scenes to facilitate solutions to various international conflicts and crises.

Commissioner Maffei’s private sector experience includes time as an independent consultant, a Senior Policy Advisor at Manatt, Phelps, Phillips LLP, and an executive at Pinnacle Capital Management, LLC (Syracuse, NY).

From 1998 to 2005, Commissioner Maffei worked on the Democratic staff of the House Ways and Means Committee. Previously, he had been Press Secretary for U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan from 1997 to 1998 and Press Secretary for U.S. Senator Bill Bradley in 1996.

Commissioner Maffei received his bachelor’s degree in History and American Civilization from Brown University and holds master’s degrees from the Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

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