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Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity

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28-586: Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity ( RAISE ) is an American federal government program administered by the United States Department of Transportation . Originally known as Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery ( TIGER ), it began as supplementary discretionary grant program included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 . Initial legislation provided $ 1.5 billion for

56-729: A commuter rail extension and a subway project in New York City , and a bus rapid transit system in Springfield, Oregon . The funds subsidize a heavy rail project in northern Virginia , completing the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority 's Metro Silver Line to connect Washington, D.C., and the Washington Dulles International Airport (DOT had previously agreed to subsidize

84-463: A National Surface Transportation System through September 30, 2011, "to be awarded on a competitive basis for capital investments in surface transportation projects". The program has been extended several times, and was renamed as Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development ( BUILD ) in 2018 before taking its current name in 2021. The U.S. government designed TIGER grants in order to incentivize bettering environmental problems and reducing

112-528: A state within, or a regional or metropolitan area. According to Title 23 of the United States Code , eligible projects could include improvements to interstate highways , reworking of interchanges , bridge replacements, earthquake -related improvements, relocating roads, upgrading rural collector roads , certain transit projects, passenger and freight rail transportation projects, and port infrastructure. Selected projects might improve

140-538: Is headed by a secretary whose title echoes the title of their respective department, with the exception of the Department of Justice , whose head is known as the attorney general . The heads of the executive departments are appointed by the president and take office after confirmation by the United States Senate , and serve at the pleasure of the president . The heads of departments are members of

168-584: The Cabinet of the United States , an executive organ that normally acts as an advisory body to the president. In the Opinion Clause (Article II, section 2, clause 1) of the U.S. Constitution , heads of executive departments are referred to as "principal Officer in each of the executive Departments". The heads of executive departments are included in the line of succession to the president, in

196-538: The U.S. federal government . It is headed by the secretary of transportation , who reports directly to the president of the United States and is a member of the president's Cabinet . The department's fiscal year 2022–2026 strategic plan states that its mission is "to deliver the world's leading transportation system, serving the American people and economy through the safe, efficient, sustainable, and equitable movement of people and goods." In 1965, Najeeb Halaby ,

224-689: The Constitution, the Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration primarily provided funding for state and local projects, without significant influence over road construction and operation. Halaby emphasized the need for improved coordination and expressed frustration at the lack of an overall plan. "One looks in vain", he told Johnson, "for a point of responsibility below the President capable of taking an evenhanded, comprehensive, authoritarian approach to

252-455: The District of Columbia and Guam in 2021, 166 projects across 50 states and various territories in 2022, and 162 projects across 50 states and various territories in 2023. In 2023, the program received $ 2.2 billion in federal funding. United States Department of Transportation The United States Department of Transportation ( USDOT or DOT ) is one of the executive departments of

280-406: The District of Columbia were selected for funding that totaled more than $ 584 million. In 2015, the seventh round of TIGER grants generated 625 applications requesting $ 9.8 billion worth of projects; of those projects, 60 were road projects, 18 percent were transit projects, and eight percent were rail projects, and port and bicycle and pedestrian projects made up six percent of the total. In 2016,

308-586: The Silver Line construction to Reston, Virginia ). President Barack Obama 's budget request for 2010 also included $ 1.83 billion in funding for major transit projects. More than $ 600 million went towards ten new or expanding transit projects. The budget provided additional funding for all of the projects currently receiving Recovery Act funding, except for the bus rapid transit project. It also continued funding for another 18 transit projects that are either currently under construction or soon will be. Following

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336-416: The United States' dependence on energy . On the economic front, the United States hopes infrastructure investment will encourage job creation , a pressing political priority; this would likely require the project to be shovel-ready . Applicants eligible to receive funding for surface transportation projects include: Qualified projects should result in "desirable, long-term outcomes" for the United States,

364-452: The act: "Transportation has truly emerged as a significant part of our national life. As a basic force in our society, its progress must be accelerated so that the quality of our life can be improved." In 2012, the DOT awarded $ 742.5 million in funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to 11 transit projects. The awardees include light rail projects. Other projects include both

392-490: The chief of the independent Federal Aviation Agency strongly urged President Lyndon Johnson to set up a cabinet-level Department of Transportation. Halaby proposed merging the responsibilities of the undersecretary of commerce for transportation and the Federal Aviation Agency to achieve this goal. While the federal government was granted authority over aviation and railroads through the commerce clause of

420-497: The development of transportation policies or even able to assure reasonable coordination and balance among the various transportation programs of the government." Johnson convinced Congress to act and The Department of Transportation was authorized in October 1966 and launched on 1 April 1967, with a mission to ensure that federal funds were effectively used to support the national transportation program. Johnson proclaimed upon signing

448-493: The domain of state governments (i.e., education , health and welfare services , housing , and transportation ), Congress frequently authorized only funding for grants which were voluntary, in the sense that state or local government agencies could choose to apply for such grants (and accept conditions attached by Congress) or they could decline to apply. In the case of HHS's Medicare program, Congress chose to contract with private health insurers because they "already possessed

476-622: The economy of the entire country, transportation safety, and quality of life for communities. The annual grant programs from 2009 through 2017 were generally referred to as TIGER I, TIGER II, etc. though TIGER IX. The program was then renamed as BUILD for 2018, and renamed as RAISE for 2021. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood announced the TIGER discretionary grants program on February 4, 2009. Lana T. Hurdle, deputy assistant secretary for budget and programs, and Joel Szabat, deputy assistant secretary for transportation policy, co-chaired

504-550: The eighth round of grants awarded 40 capital projects to 32 states plus two American territories. In 2017, the ninth round of grants awarded 41 capital projects to 43 states. The program used the BUILD name for three years, awarding 91 capital projects in 49 states plus the District of Columbia in 2018, 55 capital projects across 35 states in 2019, and 70 projects across 44 states in 2020. The program has been known as RAISE since 2021, and has awarded 90 projects across 47 states plus

532-622: The event of a vacancy in the presidency, after the vice president , the speaker of the House , and the president pro tempore of the Senate . They are included in order of their respective department's formation, with the exception of the Secretary of Defense, whose position in the line of succession is based on when the Department of War was formed. To enforce a strong separation of powers ,

560-472: The federal Constitution's Ineligibility Clause expressly prohibits executive branch employees (including heads of executive departments) from simultaneously serving in Congress , and vice versa. Accordingly, in sharp contrast to virtually all other Western democracies (parliamentary systems) where ministers are selected to form a government from members of parliament , U.S. legislators who are appointed by

588-523: The five-year period of fiscal years 2022–2026. In the latest Center for Effective Government analysis of 15 federal agencies which receive the most Freedom of Information Act FOIA requests, published in 2015 (using 2012 and 2013 data, the most recent years available), the Department of Transportation earned a D by scoring 65 out of a possible 100 points, i.e., did not earn a satisfactory overall grade. United States federal executive departments The United States federal executive departments are

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616-548: The funding allocations as TIGER grants, the US DOT continued to allocate these funds according to the same formula and continued to use the TIGER name. In 2013, 51 projects received TIGER funds, totaling approximately $ 458.3 million. In 2014, the US Congress appropriated $ 600 million for TIGER funds. The US DOT received 797 applications requesting more than $ 9.5 billion. Seventy-two capital and planning projects in 46 states and

644-646: The president and confirmed by the Senate to serve as heads of executive departments must resign from Congress before assuming their new positions. If the emoluments for a new appointee's executive branch position were increased while the appointee was previously serving in Congress (e.g., cost of living adjustments), the president must implement a Saxbe fix . As is evident from the chart below, several executive departments (Education, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, and Transportation) have disproportionately small employee headcounts in contrast to

672-472: The principal units of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States . They are analogous to ministries common in parliamentary or semi-presidential systems but (the United States being a presidential system ) they are led by a head of government who is also the head of state . The executive departments are the administrative arms of the president of the United States . There are currently 15 executive departments. Each department

700-665: The same, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2014 delegated $ 600 million for Infrastructure Investments, referred to as Discretionary Grants. The Department of Transportation was authorized a budget for Fiscal Year 2016 of $ 75.1 billion. The budget authorization is broken down as follows: In 2021, President Joe Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act . The $ 1.2 trillion act included over $ 660 billion in funding for transportation-related infrastructure projects over

728-439: The size of their budgets. This is because many of their employees merely supervise contracts with private independent contractors or grants (especially categorical grants ) to state or local government agencies who are primarily responsible for providing services directly to the general public. In the 20th century, when the federal government began to provide funding and supervision for matters which were historically seen as

756-613: The team responsible for selecting projects and monitoring spending. Out of nearly 1,400 applications who collectively submitted $ 60 billion in applications, the Department of Transportation was only able to award $ 1.5 billion in TIGER grant funds to a just 3% of applicants—51 innovative projects. The U.S. Departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development , and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for 2010 made $ 600 million available for transportation infrastructure investment. On June 30, 2011, Secretary LaHood announced that nearly $ 527 million would go towards

784-665: The third round of TIGER fund disbursal. On December 15, 2011, that $ 511 million from the TIGER grant program would fund 46 transportation projects in 33 states and Puerto Rico . In 2012, the fourth round of TIGER funding—close to $ 500 million—went to 47 transportation projects in 34 states and the District of Columbia . For fiscal year 2012, Democratic districts won projects that concern ports , multimodal transport , and freight rail transport ; receiving 24% of total funds, rural areas also performed strongly. Although federal funding no longer referred to

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