We weren't exactly jumping for joy when the Obama administration named Illinois Congressman Ray LaHood as Secretary of Transportation. We didn't know if he had the vision needed to rethink and revamp our transportation system. Two months in, we're still not sure.
In his first months on the job, LaHood has rolled out ideas and proposals for a range of different transportation issues. Some are inspiring, others less so, but one thing many of them have in common is that they're partnerships with other government agencies. In some cases, the Department of Transportation (DOT) will take a backseat, something LaHood himself has admitted. While we appreciate the advantages of a team approach, we're also concerned that without a strong, highly visible leader leading the DOT, transportation issues might become buried underneath the other challenges facing the administration.
Since taking over as Secretary, LaHood has done some good things. He's looking for money to end a three year pay dispute with air traffic controllers. He's trying to fix theMexican trucker mess before it turns into a bigger issue. He showed up at the National Bike Summit sporting a bicycle brooch and promising to fight for "livable communities," and he's formed an oversight committee to ensure that his share of the stimulus isn't spent on thousand dollar shovels or worksite omlette stations.
That's all good, but bigger picture, it seems as if Obama might be marginalizing LaHood and the DOT. LaHood himself has admitted that his agency will play second fiddle in achieving Obama's climate change goals, leaving the tough work to the Environmental
Protection Agency. The Secretary is on a committee that will decide what to do about GM and Chrysler, but he doesn't do much. And with Obama considering rolling fuel efficiency standards up into a larger group of national environmental restrictions, the DOT may not even have all that much say in that.
If this loss of power worries LaHood, he certainly isn't saying so – not publicly, at least.
Part of that caution might be due to a recent smackdown from the
White House. In February LaHood suggested that he might support taxing drivers on a per-mile basis. "We should look at the vehicular miles program where people are actually clocked on the number of miles that they traveled," he said.
That didn't go over well with his boss. "It is not and will not be the policy of the Obama administration," a White House said a short time later.
No wonder LaHood has been choosing his words carefully since, peppering his public comments with phrases like "that is not an endorsement" and "I'm speaking for myself now, ok?" That may prevent further gaffs, but it also sends the message that LaHood doesn't have the authority to take the leadership role the DOT so desperately needs.
It's great that LaHood is talking about high speed rail, bikes, and transit in addition to roads and bridges. But with so many things on Obama's plate, we want to know that there's someone running the DOT who has the authority to do more than talk.
it's early, but so far we're not sure if LaHood is that guy.
Photo: US DOT
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