We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
  • INDUSTRY PRESS ROOM
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • MEDIA FILE
  • Create Account
  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Newsletters
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • Webcasts
    • Blogs
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Global Logistics and Risk
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • Parcel Forum 2022
    • MODEX 2022
    • Upload Your Video
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • Webcasts
    • Blogs
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Global Logistics and Risk
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • Parcel Forum 2022
    • MODEX 2022
    • Upload Your Video
Home » LaHood will not remain as DOT secretary for second term
newsworthy

LaHood will not remain as DOT secretary for second term

January 29, 2013
Mark B. Solomon
No Comments

Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood said today he would not remain on the job in the second Obama administration.

LaHood, 67, said in an e-mail to Department of Transportation (DOT) employees that he would stay in the post until the Senate confirms his successor. The Illinois Republican, who served 14 years in the House of Representatives before taking the top DOT job in January 2009, is the only member of the opposition party in President Obama's cabinet.

"I've told President Obama, and I've told many of you, that this is the best job I've ever had. I'm grateful to have the opportunity to work with all of you and I'm confident that DOT will continue to achieve great things in the future," LaHood wrote in his e-mail.

Since the president won re-election, LaHood has been asked several times if he planned to remain in a second-term cabinet. His stock reply was that he would discuss the matter with President Obama in due course.

During LaHood's tenure, Congress passed and the president signed into law the first transportation funding reauthorization bill since 2005. LaHood had forecast in January 2011 that a funding bill could become law that summer, but that did not come to pass until July 2012.

LaHood had been sharply critical of a five-year, $260 billion reauthorization bill that had passed the Republican-led House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, calling it "the worst transportation bill I've ever seen in 35 years of public service." He instead supported the 27-month, $109 billion reauthorization measure that eventually became law.

Under LaHood, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), a subagency of DOT, took aggressive steps to improve driver and motor carrier safety. FMCSA launched CSA 2010, a far-reaching initiative to identify and, if necessary, remove substandard truck drivers from the roads. In addition, FMCSA made the first significant rewrite in a decade to the driver hours-of-service (HOS) regulations. The rules, which are scheduled to be enforced beginning July 1, 2013, are the subject of a court challenge.

In August 2012, LaHood announced the launch of the agency's Freight Policy Council. That group, which comprises officials from the various transport modes, is tasked with developing a national plan for improving freight movements, and with coordinating the implementation of the freight provisions in the reauthorization bill.

LaHood also launched a war on so-called "distracted driving" in a bid to keep motorists and commercial drivers alike from texting on cell phones while behind the wheel. In January 2010, he pushed through a directive banning all texting on cell phones by truck and bus drivers.

It has been reported that former Washington state Gov. Christine Gregoire and former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, both Democrats, would be considered for the DOT job should it become available. They reportedly also have been under consideration for the top posts at the departments of Labor and Interior, where successors will need to be named.

Transportation Regulation/Government
  • Related Articles

    LaHood waffles about staying as DOT Secretary in Obama second term

    White House to name Deborah Hersman, NTSB chairman, as next DOT Secretary

    Full Senate confirms Chao as DOT Secretary

Marksolomon
Mark Solomon joined DC VELOCITY as senior editor in August 2008, and was promoted to his current position on January 1, 2015. He has spent more than 30 years in the transportation, logistics and supply chain management fields as a journalist and public relations professional. From 1989 to 1994, he worked in Washington as a reporter for the Journal of Commerce, covering the aviation and trucking industries, the Department of Transportation, Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court. Prior to that, he worked for Traffic World for seven years in a similar role. From 1994 to 2008, Mr. Solomon ran Media-Based Solutions, a public relations firm based in Atlanta. He graduated in 1978 with a B.A. in journalism from The American University in Washington, D.C.

Recent Articles by Mark Solomon

Coming together for road safety: interview with Joshua Girard

Off the rails

Freight rate spikes shaking up the C-suite

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Most Popular Articles

  • Wireless technology could help electric trucks charge more safely, efficiently

  • Thoma Bravo completes $8 billion buyout of Coupa Software

  • Be like Fred

  • Fast DCs require layers of automation

  • WMS feels the squeeze

Now Playing on DCV-TV

2f715622 41f7 4b52 a574 f3a223194538

What’s really going on in the freight markets?

DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
There has been a lot of uncertainty about where the freight market is headed. We’re still seeing a mismatch of supply and demand in the freight market, along with conditions that call for scenario planning. Additionally, logistics and supply chain issues have continued to become a higher priority amongst...

FEATURED WHITE PAPERS

  • The Future of Fleet Management: 5 Trends and Influences That Will Drive Logistics in 2023

  • The five best applications for robotic lift trucks in warehouse environments

  • Fulfillment Facility Improved Efficiencies by 4x

  • 3PLs: Complete Orders Faster with Flexible Automation

View More

Subscribe to DC Velocity Magazine

GET YOUR FREE SUBSCRIPTION
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • NEWSLETTERS
  • ADVERTISING
  • CUSTOMER CARE
  • CONTACT
  • ABOUT
  • STAFF
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Copyright ©2023. All Rights ReservedDesign, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing