James H. Burnley IV

James Horace Burnley IV (born July 30, 1948) is an American politician and lawyer. He served as the United States Secretary of Transportation from 1987 until 1989, during the administration of President Ronald Reagan. He is a partner at Venable LLP in Washington, D.C.

Early life

Burnley was born in High Point, North Carolina, on July 30, 1948, to Dorothy Mary (Rockwell) and James H. Burnley III. He attended High Point Central High School from 1963 to 1966 and participated in the school's debate team in the National Forensic League. According to The New York Times, he was the only member of the team to earn a double ruby, the highest medal.

He matriculated to Yale University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude in 1970. He received his Juris Doctor from Harvard University in 1973. He also helped to produce the department's policies on aviation safety and security. While Secretary, Burnley emphasized programs to eliminate drug use by issuing regulations requiring drug tests for employees in safety or security-sensitive positions in transportation-related industries. He also set up policies to encourage greater private-sector participation in meeting transportation needs, and supported Coast Guard efforts to upgrade equipment and facilities. The review concluded that Texas Air and the two subsidiaries still met the DOT's economic fitness criteria.

As to Eastern Airlines, the review determined that the acrimonious relationships between the company and its unions increased the risk that safety could be jeopardized. Burnley appointed former Secretary of Labor Bill Brock to "try to build the lines of communication and cooperation inside the company that are essential to safety." Burnley also served as General Counsel of the Department of Transportation in 1983.

Board affiliations Burnley holds several board affiliations in the transportation industry. He is board chair of the Eno Center for Transportation. He served as the vice chairman of the board of commissioners of the Virginia Port Authority for five years, and also served on the board of directors of Infrasoft, Inc., which produced software for the engineering industry. He was chairman of the Port Study Panel of the National Chamber of Commerce Foundation. He is also a member of the business advisory committee of the Transportation Center at Northwestern University. He served on the board of directors for MTA Safety Training Systems, a company involved in truck driver training, until the sale of the companies. He is a trustee and former chairman of the Jamestown Foundation and also a past chairman of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. He is a member of the Washington Legal Foundation's Legal Policy Advisory Board.