Message from U.S. Department of Transportation Deputy Secretary Maria Cino

BROADCAST MESSAGE

TO: All U.S. Department of Transportation Employees

RE: Message from Deputy Secretary Maria Cino

Last week, senior executives from DOT gathered together to discuss major issues our Department could address to change the lives of Americans. We spent two days discussing policy issues that included safety, security, the environment, and how the Nation’s different modes of transportations were working. Both career and political staff reviewed data, listened to experts, and met with members of other agencies.

Our goal was to review how DOT was fulfilling its mission and to identify one or two agenda items that we could focus our energy on to show real results to the American people.

I wanted to report back to you that there was a unanimous consensus, led by Secretary Mineta, that the people working for the Department of Transportation are doing an extraordinary job. The Secretary said he believed our current organization is the best-performing Department of Transportation since the agency was created in 1967.

It was clear that this is the perfect group to tackle one of the Nation’s most daunting transportation challenges – congestion. Traffic jams, freight tie ups, and airport delays waste energy, reduce air quality, and cause Americans to be less productive and spend less time with their families.

We can identify and help build projects that reduce congestion, and we have the ability to design a public policy that makes congestion-reducing infrastructure easier to build. So in addition to continuing our hard work on the strategic objectives announced in 2003 and other important transportation measures, we have determined that reducing major congestion chokepoints throughout America should be a major DOT priority moving forward.

Secretary Mineta then asked me to prepare a report in 45 days to outline how the Department could accomplish this goal. We have begun that effort. In the coming months all of us in the Department are going to be asked to contribute to this effort.

Over the days and weeks ahead, more information and modal involvement will be forthcoming. Please know all modes will have a role in this project. As always, I look forward to working with all of you as we accomplish what will be one of the Department’s greatest achievements.