Chapter 23.-DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION [New]-Con. 1657. Administrative provisions-Continued (g) Determination of personnel and property transfers to Secretary of Transportation; transfer of property and funds of Civil Aeronautics Board to National Transportation Safety Board. (h) Prohibition against reduction in classification or compensation of transferees for one year. (i) Lapse of transferred offices and agencies; compensation of executive positions upon continuity of service. (j) Administrative services; establishment of capital fund; transactions involving the capital fund. (k) Seal of office. (1) Authority to provide facilities and services for personnel stationed in remote localities. (m) Authority to accept and hold gifts and bequests for purposes of aiding or facilitating the work of the Department. (n) Authority to fill requests for statistical compilations cover- (0) Advisory committees; appointment, compensation. 1658. Annual reports. 1659. Separability of provisions. § 1651. Congressional declaration of purpose. (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. (Pub. L. 89-670, § 2, Oct. 15, 1966, 80 Stat. 931.) § 1652. Establishment of Department. (a) Designation and appointment of Secretary of Transportation. There is hereby established at the seat of government an executive department to be known as the Department of Transportation (hereafter referred to in this chapter as the "Department"). There shall be at the head of the Department a Secretary of Transportation (hereafter referred to in this chapter as the "Secretary"), who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. (b) Under Secretary; appointment; functions, powers, and duties. There shall be in the Department an Under Secretary, who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Under Secretary (or, during the absence or disability of the Under Secretary, or in the event of a vacancy in the office of Under 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 Under Secretary shall perform such functions, powers, and duties as the Secretary shall prescribe from time to time. (c) Assistant Secretaries; General Counsel; appointment; functions, powers, and duties. 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) Assistant Secretary for Administration; appointment; functions, powers, and duties. 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) Federal Highway Administration; Federal Railroad Administration; Federal Aviation Administration; establishment; Administrators and Deputy Federal Aviation Administrator; appointment, functions, powers and duties; transfer of functions. (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 Administrator 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 1341(b) of this title, and the qualifications and status of the Deputy Administrator specified in section 1342(b) of this title shall apply, respectively, to the Administrator and Deputy Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration. However, nothing in this chapter 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 chapter 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 chapter 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 or by statute. (f) National Traffic Safety Bureau; National Highway Safety Bureau; establishment; appointment of Directors; transfer and continuation of office of Federal Highway Administrator under title of Director of Public Roads. (1) The Secretary shall carry out the provisions of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 through a National Traffic Safety Bu reau (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 (including chapter 4 of Title 23) through a National Highway 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 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, 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. (Pub. L. 89-670, § 3, Oct. 15, 1966, 80 Stat. 931, amended Pub. L. 90-83, § 10(b), Sept. 11, 1967, 81 Stat. 224.) § 1653. General provisions. (a) Responsibilities of Secretary of Transportation; leadership, consultation, and coordination. The Secretary in carrying out the purposes of this chapter 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 maintenance 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) Congressional policy standards for transportation; prohibition against adoption of standards or policy without appropriate Congressional action. (1) In carrying out his duties and responsibilities under this chapter, the Secretary shall be governed by all applicable statutes including the policy standards set forth in the Federal Aviation Act of 1958, as amended; the national transportation policy of the Interstate Commerce Act, as amended; Title 23, relating to Federal-aid highways; and Title 14, titles LII and LIII of the Revised Statutes, the Act of April 25, 1940, as amended, and the Act of September 2, 1958, as amended, relating to the United States Coast Guard. (2) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to authorize, without appropriate action by Congress, the adoption, revision, or implementation of— (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 chapter, 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) Judicial review of orders of the Secretary, National Transportation Safety Board, and Administrators. Orders and actions of the Secretary or the National Transportation Safety Board in the exercise of functions, powers, and duties transferred under this chapter, and orders and actions of the Administrators pursuant to the functions, powers, and duties specifically assigned to them by this chapter, 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, action upon the record, or administrative review that apply to any function transferred by this chapter shall apply to the exercise of such functions by the Secretary, the Administrators, or the National Transportation Safety Board. (d) Carryover of authority to Secretary, Administrators, and National Transportation Safety Board from departments and agencies formerly exercising functions and duties. In the exercise of the functions, powers, and duties transferred under this chapter, the Secretary, the Administrators, and the National Transportation Safety Board 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) Safety record of applicants seeking operating authority from Interstate Commerce Commission. 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 made such additional inspections or safety compliance surveys which the Commission deems necessary or desirable in order to process an application or to determine the fitness of a carrier, and (C) if the Commission so requests, to intervene and present evidence in any proceeding in which a determination of fitness is required. (f) Maintenance and enhancement of natural beauty of land traversed by transportation lines. 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. The Secretary of Transportation shall cooperate and consult with the Secretaries of the Interior, Housing and Urban Development, and Agriculture, and with the States in developing transportation plans and programs that include measures to maintain or enhance the natural beauty of the lands traversed. After the effective date of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1968, the Secretary shall not approve any program or project which requires the use of any publicly owned land from a public park, recreation area, or wildlife and waterfowl refuge of national, State, or local significance as determined by the Federal, State, or local officials having jurisdiction thereof, or any land from an historic site of national, State, or local significance as so determined by such officials unless (1) there is no feasible and prudent alternative to the use of such land, and (2) such program includes all possible planning to minimize harm to such park, recreation area, wildlife and waterfowl refuge, or historic site resulting from such use. (g) Consultation with Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; annual report to the President for submission to Congress. The Secretary and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall consult and exchange information regarding their respective transportation policies and activities; carry on joint planning, research and other activities; and coordinate assistance for local transportation projects. They shall jointly study how Federal policies and programs can assure that urban transportation systems most effectively serve both national transportation needs and the comprehensively planned development of urban areas. They shall, within one year after the effective date of this Act, and annually thereafter, report to the President, for submission to the Congress, on their studies and other activities under this subsection, including any legislative recommendations which they determine to be desirable. The Secretary and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall study and report within one year after the effective date of this Act to the President and the Congress on the logical and efficient organization and location of urban mass transportation functions in the Executive Branch. (Pub. L. 89–670, § 4, Oct. 15, 1966, 80 Stat. 933; Pub. L. 90-495, § 18(b), Aug. 23, 1968, 82 Stat. 815.) § 1654. National Transportation Safety Board. (a) Establishment. There is hereby established within the Department a National Transportation Safety Board (referred to hereafter in this chapter as "Board"). (b) Functions, powers, and duties of Board. There are hereby transferred to, and it shall be the duty of the Board to exercise, the functions, section 1655 of this title and section 8 of this Act with regard to (1) determining the cause or probable cause of transportation accidents and reporting the facts, conditions, and circumstances relating to such accidents; and (2) reviewing on appeal the suspension, amendment, modification, revocation, or denial of any certificate or license issued by the Secretary or by an Administrator. (c) Aircraft accident investigations. The Board shall exercise the functions, powers, and duties relating to aircraft accident investigations transferred to the Secretary by section 1655 (d) of this title. (d) Transportation safety; investigation of transportation accidents; recommendations. The Board is further authorized to (1) make such recommendations to the Secretary or Administrators on the basis of the exercise of its functions, powers, and duties which, in its opinion, will tend to prevent transportation accidents and promote transportation safety; (2) conduct special studies on matters pertaining to safety in transportation and the prevention of accidents; (3) insure that in cases in which it is required to determine cause or probable cause, reports of investigation adequately state the circumstances of the accident involved; |