REMARKS
FOR
THE
HONORABLE NORMAN Y. MINETA
SECRETARY
OF TRANSPORTATION
WOMEN
IN GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
WASHINGTON,
D.C.
JULY
19, 2002
8
AM
Thank
you for that kind introduction, Ms. Becker.
And
thank you for inviting me here today to share some thoughts on transportation
and where it’s headed in light of the horrific terrorist attacks on September
11th.
Today,
we confront a more dangerous world than any of us contemplated just 10 short
months ago. At the DOT, we have
worked literally day and night since September 11th to prevent
terrorists from ever again using any facet of our transportation system as a
weapon against any American.
As
a part of that commitment, President Bush and the Congress worked together to
create a new Transportation Security Administration, or TSA, within the DOT.
At
the direction of the Congress, we have developed plans to transfer aviation
security from the airlines to the federal government, and we have begun to close
the security holes in our Nation’s air transportation system.
We
are at war and the risk is real.
So we have worked hard to stand up the TSA.
Now we are in the first weeks of a federal deployment that has teams
working simultaneously in 300 airports across the country, including recruiting
new federal employees at some 245 airports.
However,
we are dependent on the Congressional supplemental spending bill to pay for the
security we have put in place.
We
cannot afford a shutdown of services –
or even a modest slowdown. If
that did happen, we could not recover quickly.
The economic impact would be difficult to overestimate.
I
am sure that Congress will act and pass the Supplemental Appropriations Bill, so
that we can continue our work. And
when this budgetary crisis is resolved, I believe the larger story of standing
up the Transportation Security Administration will offer management lessons for
government executives for some time to come.
We
have learned valuable lessons –
sometimes the hard way –
that will assist in standing up the new Department of Homeland Security.
We have designed a flat organization at the TSA with well-trained
managers, and we will support them with an array of services deployed from
Washington, thereby creating an organization emphasizing front-line security and
excellent service delivery.
Our
goal in hiring is to not only find the most qualified workforce, but to make
sure that it reflects the face of America.
TSA is committed to hiring a
workforce that is ethnically, racially and gender diverse.
To date, almost 30 percent of our hires have been women, and I have every
confidence that those numbers will increase.
The Department of Transportation has a long-standing record of attracting
high quality women candidates.
For example, two of my
assistant secretaries are women: Read
Van de Water who heads up our Aviation and International Affairs division, and
Donna McLean who heads up our budget division.
In addition, the current
head of the Federal Aviation Administration, Jane Garvey, is a woman, as is her
successor; Mary Peters is our
Federal Highways Administrator; Jennifer
Dorn, our Federal Transit Administrator;
and Ellen Engleman, our Research
and Special Programs Administrator.
Our
current hiring includes Federal Security Directors, or FSDs, which are now at
most of our Nation’s busiest airports. Others
are in training and on the way. These
FSDs will be our personal representatives on the ground, responsible for
ensuring the safety of our skies and helping fulfill the DOT's role in keeping
America moving.
By
this November, if Congress provides the necessary funding, the TSA will have
hired tens of thousands of new employees to screen passengers and baggage at all
429 commercial airports nationwide.
We
will also have a security network of trained law enforcement officers, new
detection technologies, and an unprecedented number of federal air marshals
flying in planes that have reinforced cockpit doors.
Although
much of the media attention has focused on our aviation security efforts, we are
also developing heightened security procedures and awareness across every mode
of transportation, including rail, highways, transit, maritime, and pipelines.
In
addition to all of these plans, the Department of Transportation has not lost
sight of its original purpose — to ensure a safe, secure, and efficient
transportation system for all Americans.
As
part of the effort to build a transportation system for the 21st
century, Congress must reauthorize surface and air transportation programs by
the end of fiscal year 2003.
I
expect key elements of the Administration’s surface transportation
reauthorization proposal will seek to preserve and build upon the reforms of the
Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991, or ISTEA, and the
Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, or TEA-21, which
passed Congress in 1998.
Together,
these two landmark pieces of legislation revolutionized federal surface
transportation programs and funding. Now
we have an opportunity to do even more.
DOT
has begun the process of developing the successor to TEA-21.
We want to achieve several goals, which include:
Providing
adequate and predictable funding for investment in the Nation’s surface
transportation system,
Expanding
and improving innovative finance programs,
Emphasizing
the security of the nation’s surface transportation system,
Developing and deploying innovative technology, and
Simplifying
Federal transportation programs by continuing efforts to streamline project
approval and implementation.
In
addition, the Department of Transportation is working on the reauthorization of
aviation legislation, AIR-21, that is due to expire in Fiscal Year 2003.
DOT is actively engaged in the preparation of a reauthorization proposal
covering airport and airway development, air traffic control operations,
security, safety, airport capacity and competition, airline service and
environmental conformity.
The
DOT has established a process to solicit the views and comments of state and
local government, interested parties and other stakeholders with an interest in
and concern for the safety, operational performance and development of the
Nation’s airport and aviation systems. Now,
is the time to get involved.
While
we are still in the earliest stages for AIR-21 proposals, make no mistake — we
will be focused on safety and security issues, but we have not forgotten that
passengers must be treated with the utmost respect and that aviation is a
business that must remain viable.
Our
goal is to provide world-class security with world-class customer service.
We do not want to turn our checkpoints into “chokepoints.”
Thank
you for coming out this morning. I
appreciate your time and attention. Now,
I am happy to take your questions.
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