49 C.F.R. § 1.4 General responsibilities.
Title 49 - Transportation
(a) Office of the Secretary. Provides for: (1) Leadership in formulating and executing well-balanced national and international transportation objectives, policies, and programs; (2) Stimulating and promoting research and development in all modes and types of transportation, with special emphasis on transportation safety; (3) Coordinating the various transportation programs of the Federal Government; (4) Encouraging maximum private development of transportation services; (5) Responsive, timely, and effective liaison with Congress, and public and private organizations on transportation matters; (6) Innovative approaches to urban transportation and environmental enhancement programs; and (7) Effective management of the Department as a whole. (b) The Federal Aviation Administration. Is responsible for: (1) Promulgating and enforcing regulations on all safety matters relating to the manufacture, operation, and maintenance of aircraft; (2) Registering aircraft and recording rights in aircraft; (3) Developing, modifying, testing, and evaluating systems, procedures, facilities, and devices needed for the safe and efficient navigation and traffic control of aircraft; (4) Locating, constructing or installing, maintaining, and operating Federal aids to air navigation, wherever necessary; (5) Developing air traffic regulations, and administering air traffic control of civil and military air operations within U.S. airspace; (6) Providing grants-in-aid for developing public airports; (7) Promoting and encouraging civil aviation abroad through technical aviation assistance to other governments; and (8) Promulgating and enforcing regulations on all safety matters relating to commercial launch activities. (c) The Federal Highway Administration. Is responsible for: (1) Planning, in cooperation with the States, the national highway system; (2) Providing for improving, in cooperation with the States, roads on the Federal-aid primary, secondary, and interstate highway systems and urban extensions thereof; (3) Highway beautification and scenic enhancement of the Federal-aid highway systems; (4) Surveying and constructing forest highway system roads, defense highways and access roads, and parkways and roads in national parks and other federally administered areas; (5) Developing and administering uniform State standards for highway safety programs with respect to identification and surveillance of accident locations; highway design, construction, and maintenance, including highway related aspects of pedestrian safety; and traffic control devices. (d) The Federal Railroad Administration. Is responsible for: (1) Operating and managing the Alaska Railroad; (2) Conducting research and development activity in support of improved rail transportation; (3) Regulating safety functions pertaining to railroads, express companies, and water carriers operating in connection with railroads under a common control, management, or arrangement for continuous carriage or shipment; and (4) Investigating and issuing reports concerning collisions, derailments, and other railroad accidents resulting in serious injury to persons or to the property of a railroad. (e) The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Is responsible for: (1) Promulgating uniform standards for developing State highway safety programs, except for those standards the development and administration of which are delegated to the Federal Highway Administration. (2) Establishing, prescribing, and enforcing National standards for improving safety in the operation and performance of motor vehicles and equipment. (3) Informing the public of the comparative characteristics and operational cost of passenger motor vehicles and requiring display of comparative insurance costs by automobile dealers. (4) Administering a program of mandatory automotive fuel economy standards for passenger and non-passenger automobiles for model year 1978 and beyond. (5) Establishing safeguards for the protection of purchasers with respect to the sale of motor vehicles having altered or reset odometers and enforcing the prohibition against tampering with odometers. (f) The Federal Transit Administration. Is responsible for: (1) Exercising the authority vested in the Secretary for developing comprehensive and coordinated public transportation systems that serve the public. (2) Administering Federal transportation assistance programs and functions; and (3) Assuring appropriate liaison and coordination with other Federal agencies, state and local governmental authorities, with respect to the foregoing. (g) The St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation. Is responsible for the development, operation, and maintenance of that part of the St. Lawrence Seaway within the territorial limits of the United States. (h) The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. Is responsible for: (1) Administering a national program of safety in natural gas and hazardous liquid pipeline transportation including identifying pipeline safety concerns, developing uniform safety standards, and promulgating and enforcing safety regulations. (2) Administering a national program of safety, including security, in multi-modal hazardous materials transportation including identifying hazardous materials safety concerns, developing uniform safety standards, and promulgating and enforcing safety and security regulations. (i) The Maritime Administration. Is responsible for: (1) Fostering the development and maintenance of an American merchant marine sufficient to meet the needs of the national security and of the domestic and foreign commerce of the United States; (2) Awarding and administering construction-differential subsidy contracts and operating-differential subsidy contracts to aid the American merchant marine, and trade-in allowances for new ship construction; (3) Entering into and administering agreements for capital contruction funds (excepting fishing vessels) and construction reserve funds; (4) Providing insurance on construction loans and ship mortgages or guarantees on ship financing obtained from private sources for ship construction and reconstruction (excepting fishing vessels); (5) Providing assistance to the shipping industry to generate increased trade and cargo shipments on U.S. flag ships; (6) Promoting development of ports and intermodal transportation systems; (7) Promoting development of the domestic waterborne commerce of the United States; (8) Overseeing the administration of cargo preference statutes; (9) Entering into and administering charters and general agency agreements for operation of Government-owned merchant ships; (10) Maintaining custody of, and preserving, ships in the National Defense Reserve Fleet; (11) Selling surplus Government-owned ships; (12) Supervising design and construction of ships for Government account; (13) Furnishing war risk insurance on privately owned merchant ships; (14) Administering the foreign transfer program regarding ships and other maritime properties; (15) Training merchant marine officers; (16) Conducting research and development to improve and promote the waterborne commerce of the United States; and (17) Issuing rules and regulations with respect to the foregoing functions. (j) The Maritime Subsidy Board (within the Maritime Administration). Is responsible for: (1) Making, amending, and terminating subsidy contracts, which shall be deemed to include, in the case of construction-differential subsidy: (i) The contract for the construction, reconstruction, or reconditioning of a vessel, and (ii) the contract for the sale of the vessel to the subsidy applicant or the contract to pay a construction-differential subsidy and the cost of the national defense features, and, in the case of operating-differential subsidy, the contract with the subsidy applicant for the payment of the subsidy. (2) Conducting hearings and making determinations antecedent to making, amending, and terminating subsidy contracts, under the provisions of titles V, VI, and VII, and sections 301 (except investigations, hearings, and determinations, including changes in determinations, with respect to minimum manning scales, minimum wage scales, and minimum working conditions), 708, 805(a), and 805(f) of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, as amended (the “Act”). (3) Approving the sale, assignment, or transfer of any operating subsidy contract under section 608 of the Act. (4) Performing so much of the functions with respect to adopting rules and regulations, subpoenaing witnesses, administering oaths, taking evidence, and requiring the production of books, papers, and documents, under sections 204 and 214 of the Act, as they relate to the functions of the Board. (5) Performing as much of the functions specified in section 12 of the Shipping Act, 1916, as amended, as the same relate to the functions of the Board under paragraphs (k) (1) through (4) of this section. (k) The Research and Innovative Technology Administration. Is responsible for: (1) Coordinating, facilitating, and reviewing the Department's research and development programs and activities, except as limited by section 4(b)(1) of the Norman Y. Mineta Research and Special Programs Improvement Act (Pub. L. 108–426, 118 Stat. 2423 (November 30, 2004)). (2) After consultation with modal and OST offices, making recommendations to the Secretary on all modal and OST research budgets. (3) Serving as the focal point for Departmental research, development, and technology endeavors, in coordination with the Under Secretary for Policy. (4) Planning, developing, initiating and managing programs in transportation research and development. Programs undertaken by RITA shall not be duplicative of similar programs undertaken by any modal or OST office. Maintaining the capability to perform research, development, and analysis in transportation planning and socio-economic effects, program management, and provide advice on technology in DOT policy development. Particular efforts will be made on analyzing transportation systems problems and developing innovative research products, processes and applications to solve them, advanced transportation concepts, and multimodal transportation. RITA will develop and maintain vital statistics and related transportation information databases. (5) Providing leadership on technical, navigation, communication, and systems engineering activities. (6) Providing a point of contact for the Department with the academic community to encourage transportation research. (7) Providing university transportation research grants. (8) Managing a Transportation Safety Institute which designs and conducts training programs responsive to the requirements of Government and industry as expressed by the operating administrations of the Department. (9) Carrying out comprehensive transportation statistics research, analysis, and reporting. (10) Providing oversight of the activities of the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. (11) Providing oversight of the activities of the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center. (12) Coordinating intermodal research initiatives and planning activities. (13) Serving as a focal point within the Federal government for coordination of intermodal transportation research and development policy, in coordination with the Under Secretary for Policy. (l) The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Is responsible for: (1) Managing program and regulatory activities, including administering laws and promulgating and enforcing regulations on safety matters relating to motor carrier safety; (2) Carrying out motor carrier registration and authority to regulate household goods transportation; (3) Developing strategies for improving commercial motor vehicle, operator, and carrier safety; (4) Inspecting records and equipment of commercial motor carriers, and investigating accidents and reporting violations of motor carrier safety regulations; and (5) Carrying out research, development, and technology transfer activities to promote safety of operation and equipment of motor vehicles for the motor carrier transportation program. [Amdt. 1–113, 40 FR 43901, Sept. 24, 1975] Editorial Note: For
Title 49: Transportation
PART 1—ORGANIZATION AND DELEGATION OF POWERS AND DUTIES
Subpart A—General
§ 1.4 General responsibilities.
