DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION ACT

(as amended through 1980)

AN ACT To establish a Department of Transportation, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may be cited as the "Department of Transportation Act".

DECLARATION OF PURPOSE

SEC. 2. (a) The Congress hereby declares that the general welfare, the economic growth and stability of the Nation and its security require the development of national transportation policies and programs conducive to the provision of fast, safe, efficient, and convenient transportation at the lowest cost consistent therewith and with other national objectives, including the efficient utilization and conservation of the Nation's resources.

(b)(1) The Congress therefore finds that the establishment of a Department of Transportation is necessary in the public interest and to assure the coordinated, effective administration of the transportation programs of the Federal Government; to facilitate the development and improvement of coordinated transportation service, to be provided by private enterprise to the maximum extent feasible; to encourage cooperation of Federal, State, and local governments, carriers, labor, and other interested parties toward the achievement of national transportation objectives; to stimulate technological advances in transportation; to provide general leadership in the identification and solution of transportation problems; and to develop and recommend to the President and the Congress for approval national transportation policies and programs to accomplish these objectives with full and appropriate consideration of the needs of the public, users, carriers, industry, labor, and the national defense.

(2) It is hereby declared to be the national policy that special effort should be made to preserve the natural beauty of the countryside and public park and recreation lands, wildlife and waterfowl refuges, and historic sites.

ESTABLISHING OF DEPARTMENT

SEC. 3. (a) There is hereby established at the seat of government an executive department to be known as the Department of Transportation (here-after referred to in this Act as the "Department"). There shall be at the head of the Department a Secretary of Transportation (here-after referred to in this Act as the "Secretary"), who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.

(b) There shall be in the Department a Deputy Secretary, who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Deputy Secretary (or, during the ab

sence or disability of the Deputy Secretary, or in the event of a vacancy in the office of Deputy Secretary, an Assistant Secretary or the General Counsel, determined according to such order as the Secretary shall prescribe) shall act for, and exercise the powers of the Secretary, during the absence or disability of the Secretary or in the event of a vacancy in the office of Secretary. The Deputy Secretary shall perform such functions, powers, and duties as the Secretary shall prescribe from time to time.

(c) There shall be in the Department four Assistant Secretaries and a General Counsel, who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and who shall perform such functions, powers, and duties as the Secretary shall prescribe from time to time.

(d) There shall be in the Department an Assistant Secretary for Administration, who shall be appointed, with the approval of the President, by the Secretary under the classified civil service who shall perform such functions, powers, and duties as the Secretary shall prescribe from time to time.

(e)(1) There is hereby established within the Department a Federal Highway Administration; a Federal Railroad Administration; and a Federal Aviation Administration. Each of these components shall be headed by an Administrator, and in the case of the Federal Aviation Administration there shall also be a Deputy Administrator. The Administrators and the Deputy Federal Aviation Administration shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.

(2) The qualifications of the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Agency specified in section 301(b) of the Federal Aviation Act of 1958, as amended (72 Stat. 744; 49 U.S.C. 1341), and the qualifications and status of the Deputy Administrator specified in section 302(b) of the Federal Aviation Act of 1958, as amended (72 Stat. 744; 49 U.S.C. 1342), shall apply, respectively, to the Administrator and Deputy Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration. However, nothing in this Act shall be construed to preclude the appointment of the present Administrator of the Federal Aviation Agency as Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration in accordance with the provisions of the Act of June 22, 1965, as amended (79 Stat. 171).

(3) In addition to such functions, powers, and duties as are specified in this Act to be carried out by the Administrators, the Administrators and the Commandant of the Coast Guard shall carry out such additional functions, powers, and duties as the Secretary may prescribe. The Administrators and the Commandant of the Coast Guard shall report directly to the Secretary.

(4) The functions, powers and duties specified in this Act to be carried out by each Administrator shall not be transferred elsewhere in the Department unless specifically provided for by reorganization plan submitted pursuant to provisions of chapter 9 of title 5, United States Code, or by statute.

(f)(1) The Secretary shall carry out the provisions of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 (80 Stat. 718) through a National Traffic Safety Bureau (hereafter referred to in this paragraph as "Bureau"), which he shall establish in the Department of Transportation. The Bureau shall be headed by a Director who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice

and consent of the Senate. All other provisions of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 shall apply.

(2) The Secretary shall carry out the provisions of the Highway Safety Act of 1966 (80 Stat. 731) (including chapter 4 of title 23 of the United States Code) through a National Highway Safety Bureau (hereinafter referred to in this paragraph as "Bureau"), which he shall establish in the Department of Transportation. The Bureau shall be headed by a Director who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Sente. All other provisions of the Highway Safety Act of 1966 shall apply.

(3) The President is authorized, as provided in section 201 of the Highway Safety Act of 1966, to carry out the provisions of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 through the Bureau and Director authorized by section 201 of the Highway Safety Act of 1966.

(4) The office of Federal Highway Administrator, created by section 303 of title 23, United States Code, is hereby transferred to and continued within the Department under the title Director of Public Roads. The Director shall be the operating head of the Bureau of Public Roads, or any other agency created within the Department to carry out the primary functions carried out immediately before the effective date of this Act by the Bureau of Public Roads.

GENERAL PROVISIONS

SEC. 4. (a) The Secretary in carrying out the purposes of this Act shall, among his responsibilities, exercise leadership under the direction of the President in transportation matters including those affecting the national defense and those involving national or regional emergencies; provide leadership in the development of national transportation policies and programs, and make recommendations to the President and the Congress for their consideration and implementation; promote and undertake development, collection, and dissemination of technological, statistical, economic, and other information relevant to domestic and international transportation; consult and cooperate with the Secretary of Labor in gathering information regarding the status of labor-management contracts and other labor-management problems and in promoting industrial harmony and stable employment conditions in all modes of transportation; promote and undertake research and development relating to transportation, including noise abatement, with particular attention to aircraft noise; consult with the heads of other Federal departments and agencies on the transportation requirements of the Government, including the procurement of transportation or the operation of their own transport services in order to encourage them to establish and observe policies consistent with the maintenence of a coordinated transportation system; and consult and cooperate with State and local governments, carriers, labor, and other interested parties, including, when appropriate, holding informal public hearings.

(b)(1) In carrying out his duties and responsibilities under this Act, the Secretary shall be governed by all applicable statutes including the policy standards set forth in the Federal Aviation Act of 1958, as amended (49 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.); the national transpor

tation policy of the Interstate Commerce Act, as amended (49 U.S.C., preceding §§ 1, 301, 901, and 1001); title 23, United States Code, relating to Federal-aid highways; and title 14 U.S.C., titles LII and LIII of the Revised Statutes (46 U.S.C., chs. 2A, 7, 11, 14, 15, and 18), the Act of April 25, 1940, as amended (54 Stat. 163; 46 U.S.C. 526-526u) and the Act of September 2, 1958, as amended (72 Stat. 1754; 46 U.S.C. 527-527h), relating to the United States Coast Guard.

(2) Nothing in this Act shall be construed to authorize, without appropriate action by Congress, the adoption, revision, or implementation

(A) any transportation policy, or

(B) any investment standards or criteria.

(3) In exercising the functions, powers, and duties conferred on and transferred to the Secretary by this Act, the Secretary shall give full consideration to the need for operational continuity of the functions transferred, to the need for effectiveness and safety in transportation systems, and to the needs of the national defense. (c) Orders and actions of the Secretary in the exercise of functions, powers, and duties transferred under this Act, and orders and actions of the Administrators pursuant to the functions, powers, and duties specifically assigned to them by this Act, shall be subject to judicial review to the same extent and in the same manner as if such orders and actions had been by the department or agency exercising such functions, powers, and duties immediately preceding their transfer. Any statutory requirements relating to notice, hearings, actions upon the record, or administrative review that apply to any functions transferred by this Act shall apply to the exercise of such functions by the Secretary and the Administrators. This subsection shall not apply to functions, powers, and duties transferred to the Secretary from the Interstate Commerce Commission under sections 1655(e) 1 through (4) and (6) of this Act. (d) In the exercise of the functions, powers, and duties transferred under this Act, the Secretary and the Administrators shall have the same authority as that vested in the department or agency exercising such functions, powers, and duties immediately preceding their transfer, and their actions in exercising such functions, powers, and duties shall have the same force and effect as when exercised by such department or agency.

(e) It shall be the duty of the Secretary

(1) to promptly investigate the safety compliance records in the Department of each applicant seeking operating authority from the Interstate Commerce Commission (referred to in this subsection as the "Commission") and to report his findings to the Commission;

(2) when the safety record of an applicant for permanent operating authority, or for approval of a proposed transaction involving transfer of operating authority, fails to satisfy the Secretary, to intervene and present evidence of such applicant's fitness in Commission proceedings;

(3) to furnish promptly upon request of the Commission a statement regarding the safety record of any applicant seeking temporary operating authority from the Commission; and

(4)(A) to furnish upon request of the Commission a complete report of the safety compliance of any carrier, (B) to have