The United States Department of Transportation (USDOTorDOT) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation, who reports directly to the president of the United States and is a member of the president's Cabinet.
Seal of the USDOT
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Flag of the USDOT
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 Headquarters of the U.S. Department of Transportation | |
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| Formed | April 1, 1967; 57 years ago (1967-04-01) |
| Jurisdiction | U.S. federal government |
| Headquarters | 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, D.C. 38°52′32.92″N 77°0′10.26″W / 38.8758111°N 77.0028500°W / 38.8758111; -77.0028500 |
| Employees | 58,622 |
| Annual budget | US$87.6 billion (FY2021, enacted)[1] |
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| Website | www |
The department's fiscal year 2022–2026 strategic plan states that its mission is "to deliver the world's leading transportation system, serving the American people and economy through the safe, efficient, sustainable, and equitable movement of people and goods."[2]
In 1965 Najeeb Halaby, the chief of the independent Federal Aviation Agency strongly urged President Lyndon Johnson to set up a cabinet-level Department of Transportation. Halaby proposed merging the responsibilities of the undersecretary of commerce for transportation and the Federal Aviation Agency to achieve this goal. While the federal government was granted authority over aviation and railroads through the commerce clause of the Constitution, the Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration primarily provided funding for state and local projects, without significant influence over road construction and operation. Halaby emphasized the need for improved coordination and expressed frustration at the lack of an overall plan. "One looks in vain", he told Johnson, "for a point of responsibility below the President capable of taking an evenhanded, comprehensive, authoritarian approach to the development of transportation policies or even able to assure reasonable coordination and balance among the various transportation programs of the government." Johnson convinced Congress to act and The Department of Transportation was authorized in October 1966 and launched on 1 April 1967, with a mission to ensure that federal funds were effectively used to support the national transportation program. Johnson proclaimed upon signing the act: "Transportation has truly emerged as a significant part of our national life. As a basic force in our society, its progress must be accelerated so that the quality of our life can be improved."[3][4][5][6]
In 2012, the DOT awarded $742.5 million in funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to 11 transit projects. The awardees include light rail projects. Other projects include both a commuter rail extension and a subway project in New York City, and a bus rapid transit system in Springfield, Oregon. The funds subsidizeaheavy rail project in northern Virginia, completing the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's Metro Silver Line to connect Washington, D.C., and the Washington Dulles International Airport[7] (DOT had previously agreed to subsidize the Silver Line construction to Reston, Virginia).[8]
President Barack Obama's budget request for 2010 also included $1.83 billion in funding for major transit projects. More than $600 million went towards ten new or expanding transit projects. The budget provided additional funding for all of the projects currently receiving Recovery Act funding, except for the bus rapid transit project. It also continued funding for another 18 transit projects that are either currently under construction or soon will be.[7] Following the same, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2014 delegated $600 million for Infrastructure Investments, referred to as Discretionary Grants.
The Department of Transportation was authorized a budget for Fiscal Year 2016 of $75.1 billion. The budget authorization is broken down as follows:[9]
| Agency / Office | Funding (in millions) | Employees (FTE) |
|---|---|---|
| Federal Aviation Administration | $16,280.7 | 45,988 |
| Federal Highway Administration | $43,049.7 | 2,782 |
| Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration | $580.4 | 1,175 |
| National Highway Traffic Safety Administration | $869.0 | 639 |
| Federal Transit Administration | $11,782.6 | 585 |
| Federal Railroad Administration | $1,699.2 | 934 |
| Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration | $249.6 | 575 |
| Maritime Administration | $399.3 | 835 |
| Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation | $28.4 | 144 |
| Office of the Secretary | $935.4 | 1,284 |
| Office of the Inspector General | $87.5 | 413 |
| TOTAL | $75,536.1 | 55,739 |
In 2021, President Joe Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The $1.2 trillion act included over $660 billion in funding for transportation-related infrastructure projects over the five-year period of fiscal years 2022–2026.[10]
In the latest Center for Effective Government analysis of 15 federal agencies which receive the most Freedom of Information Act FOIA requests, published in 2015 (using 2012 and 2013 data, the most recent years available), the Department of Transportation earned a D by scoring 65 out of a possible 100 points, i.e., did not earn a satisfactory overall grade.[12]
