United States Department of Transportation

United States Department of Transportation (USDOT or DOT) is a federal Cabinet department of the United States government concerned with transportation. It was established by an act of Congress on October 15, 1966, and began operation on April 1, 1967. It is administered by the United States Secretary of Transportation.
Its mission is to "Serve the United States by ensuring a fast, safe, efficient, accessible and convenient transportation system that meets our vital national interests and enhances the quality of life of the American people, today and into the future."



History


Prior to the Department of Transportation, the Under Secretary of Commerce for Transportation administered the functions now associated with the DOT. In 1965, Najeeb Halaby, administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), suggested to President Lyndon B. Johnson that transportation be elevated to a cabinet-level post, and that the FAA be folded into the DOT.




Divisions


Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)
Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)
Federal Transit Administration (FTA)
Maritime Administration (MARAD)
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
Office of Inspector General (OIG)

New headquarters building for the U.S. Department of Transportation, which opened in
 Spring 2007 in Southeast Washington, near the Washington
 Navy Yard and Nationals Park

Office of the Secretary of Transportation (OST)
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA)
Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA)
Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (SLSDC)
Surface Transportation Board (STB)




Former divisions






The seal of the US Department of Transportation prior to 1980
Transportation Security Administration – transferred to Department of Homeland Security in 2003
United States Coast Guard – transferred to Department of Homeland Security in 2003




Related legislation


1806 – Cumberland Road
1862 – Pacific Railway Act
1887 – Interstate Commerce Act
1916 – Adamson Railway Labor Act
1935 – Motor Carrier Act
1946 – Federal Airport Act PL 79-377
1950 – Federal Aid to Highway PL 81-769
1954 – Saint Lawrence Seaway Act
1956 – Federal-Aid to Highway/Interstate Highway Act PL 84-627
1957 – Airways Modernization Act PL 85-133
1958 – Transportation Act PL 85-625
1958 – Federal Aviation Act PL 85-726
1959 – Airport Construction Act PL 86-72
1964 – Urban Mass Transportation Act PL 88-365
1965 – Highway Beautification Act PL 89-285
1966 – Department of Transportation established PL 89-670
Uniform Time Act
1970 – Urban Mass Transportation Act PL 91-453
1970 – Rail Passenger Service Act PL 91-518
1970 – Airport and Airway Development Act PL 91-258
1973 – Federal Aid Highway Act PL 93-87
1973 – Amtrak Improvement Act PL 93-146
1973 – Federal Aid Highway Act PL 93-87
1974 – National Mass Transportation Assistance Act PL 93-503
1976 – Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act PL 94-210
1976 – Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act PL 94-435
1978 – Airline Deregulation Act PL 95-504
1980 – Motor Carrier Act PL 96-296
1980 – Staggers Rail Act PL 96-448
1982 – Transportation Assistance Act PL 97-424
1982 – Bus Regulatory Reform Act PL 97-261
1987 – Surface Transportation Act PL 100-17
1991 – Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act PL 102-240
1998 – Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century PL 105-178
2000 – Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century PL 106-181
2002 – Homeland Security Act (PL 107-296)
2005 – Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (PL 109-59)




Budget


The DOT will award $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, New York, and a bus rapid transit system in Springfield, Oregon. The funds subsidize a heavy 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.[2] (DOT had previously agreed to subsidize the Silver Line construction to Reston, Virginia.)
President Barack Obama's budget request for fiscal year 2010 also includes $1.83 billion in funding for major transit projects, of which more than $600 million will go towards 10 new or expanding transit projects. The proposed budget provides additional funding for all of the projects currently receiving Recovery Act funding, except for the bus rapid transit project. It also continues funding for another 18 transit projects that are either currently under construction or soon will be.