In The News

Ray H. LaHood Becomes 16th Secretary of Transportation

Ray H. LaHood became the 16h U.S. Secretary of Transportation Friday afternoon.


The full Senate confirmed LaHood by voice vote late Thursday, following his being reported out of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee just the day before, on Jan. 21.


LaHood, 62, was a seven-term congressman from central Illinois' 18th Congressional District who had previously announced his retirement. He is the only Republican in the Obama cabinet who is not a holdover from the Bush administration.


According to published reports, during his confirmation hearing, LaHood promised to be a "hands on" transportation secretary who would focus on using infrastructure projects to help jump-start the economy.


According to the Washington Post, LaHood also said he sympathized with a Democratic member who said the previous Transportation Department had been "arrogant" in rejecting Congress' input. Perhaps one of the most apparent examples of that was the cross-border trucking pilot program. Even after Congress passed legislation to block the program, the DOT insisted that because the law said the department could not "establish" such a program, there was nothing blocking them from continuing the existing program.

LaHood also reportedly agreed with the ranking committee Republican, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson of Texas, that the previous administration had put too much emphasis on financing transportation projects with private tolls.


When LaHood was first tapped for the position last month, Bill Graves, president and CEO of the American Trucking Associations, noted that in his time representing Illinois, LaHood led efforts to enhance the state's infrastructure, including the reconstruction of Interstate 74, expansion of U.S. Route 67, and completion of Route 336.


Reacting to last week's news, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials said that "clearly, President Obama chose Secretary LaHood for his years of legislative experience, first on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and later on the House Appropriations Committee. We trust that this valuable insight will serve the Secretary well, as he works to meet the demands of the current economic crisis and chart the course to authorization of a new transportation bill later this year."



LaHood was joined for an official swearing-in ceremony in his new office by his wife Kathy, son Sam and fellow Illinoisan and Assistant Majority Leader, U.S. Senator Richard J. Durbin. A ceremonial swearing-in will be scheduled at a later date.