United States Department of Transportation

Seal of the USDOT
Flag of the USDOT
Headquarters of the U.S. Department of Transportation
Department overview
Formed	April 1, 1967; 55 years ago (1967-04-01)
Jurisdiction	United States of America
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; -77.0028500Coordinates: 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]
Department executives	Pete Buttigieg, Secretary Polly Trottenberg, Deputy Secretary
Child agencies	FAA FHWA FRA FTA Maritime Administration Additional agencies
Website	www.transportation.gov

The seal of the U.S. Department of Transportation before 1980.

The flag of the U.S. Department of Transportation before 1980.

The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT or DOT) 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.

The department's mission is "to develop and coordinate policies that will provide an efficient and economical national transportation system, with due regard for need, the environment, and the national defense."^[2]

History

Prior to the creation of the Department of Transportation, its functions were administered by the under secretary of commerce for transportation. In 1965, Najeeb Halaby, administrator of the Federal Aviation Agency (predecessor to 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.^[3]

It was established by Congress in the Department of Transportation Act on October 15, 1966.^[4] The department began operation on April 1, 1967. ^{[5] [6]}

The idea of having a federal department of transportation was first proposed by former President Woodrow Wilson in 1921–22.^[7]

Agencies

• 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)
• Office of the Secretary of Transportation (OST)
• Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA)
• Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (SLSDC)
• John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center
• Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS)

Former agencies

• Transportation Security Administration – transferred to Department of Homeland Security in 2003
• United States Coast Guard – transferred to Department of Homeland Security in 2003
• Surface Transportation Board (STB) – spun off as an independent federal agency in 2015

Budget

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 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.^[8] (DOT had previously agreed to subsidize the Silver Line construction to Reston, Virginia.)^[9]

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.^[8] 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:^[10]

In 2021, President Joe Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The $1.2 trillion act included over $250 billion in funding for transportation-related infrastructure projects.^[11]

Related legislation

Freedom of Information Act processing performance

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.^[13]