Department of Transportation

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Coordinates: 38°52′32.92″N77°0′10.26″W / 38.8758111°N 77.0028500°W / 38.8758111; -77.0028500

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Federal executive department

"USDOT" redirects here. For U.S. Treasury Department, see United States Department of the Treasury.

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Seal of the USDOT | |
Flag of the USDOT | |
Show in full screenWikimedia | © OpenStreetMap | |
Headquarters of the U.S. Department of Transportation | | Department overview | | Formed | April 1, 1967; 59 years ago (1967-04-01) | | Jurisdiction | U.S. federal government | | Headquarters | 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, D.C.
38°52′32.92″N77°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] | | Secretary responsible | - Sean Duffy | | Deputy Secretary responsible | - Steven G. Bradbury | | Child agencies | - Federal Aviation Administration
- Federal Highway Administration
- Federal Railroad Administration
- Federal Transit Administration
- Maritime Administration
- Additional agencies | | Key document | - Department of Transportation Act | | Website | transportation.gov |

United States Department of Transportation 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](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Secretary_of_Transportati

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History

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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]