49 U.S.C. § 102

(a) The Department of Transportation (referred to in this section as the “Department”) is an executive department of the United States Government at the seat of Government. (b) The head of the Department is the Secretary of Transportation (referred to in this section as the “Secretary”). The Secretary is appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. (c) The Department has a Deputy Secretary of Transportation appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Deputy Secretary— (1) shall carry out duties and powers prescribed by the Secretary; and (2) acts for the Secretary when the Secretary is absent or unable to serve or when the office of Secretary is vacant. (d) The Department has an Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Under Secretary shall provide leadership in the development of policy for the Department, supervise the policy activities of Assistant Secretaries with primary responsibility for aviation, international, and other transportation policy development and carry out other powers and duties prescribed by the Secretary. The Under Secretary acts for the Secretary when the Secretary and the Deputy Secretary are absent or unable to serve, or when the offices of Secretary and Deputy Secretary are vacant. (e) Assistant Secretaries; General Counsel.— (1) Appointment .— The Department has 8 Assistant Secretaries and a General Counsel, including— (A) an Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs, an Assistant Secretary for Governmental Affairs, an Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology, an Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy, and an Assistant Secretary for Aviation Consumer Protection, who shall each be appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate; (B) an Assistant Secretary for Budget and Programs who shall be appointed by the President; (C) an Assistant Secretary for Administration, who shall be appointed by the Secretary, with the approval of the President; (D) an Assistant Secretary for Tribal Government Affairs, who shall be appointed by the President; and (E) a General Counsel, who shall be appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate. (2) Duties and powers .— The officers set forth in paragraph (1) shall carry out duties and powers prescribed by the Secretary. An Assistant Secretary or the General Counsel, in the order prescribed by the Secretary, acts for the Secretary when the Secretary, Deputy Secretary, and Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy are absent or unable to serve, or when the offices of the Secretary, Deputy Secretary, and Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy are vacant. (f) Office of Tribal Government Affairs.— (1) Establishment .— There is established in the Department an Office of Tribal Government Affairs, under the Assistant Secretary for Tribal Government Affairs— (A) to oversee the tribal self-governance program under section 207 of title 23 ; (B) to plan, coordinate, and implement policies and programs serving Indian Tribes and Tribal organizations; (C) to coordinate Tribal transportation programs and activities in all offices and administrations of the Department; and (D) to be a participant in any negotiated rulemakings relating to, or having an impact on, projects, programs, or funding associated with the Tribal transportation program under section 202 of title 23 . (2) Reservation of trust obligations.— (A) Responsibility of secretary .— In carrying out this title, the Secretary shall be responsible to exercise the trust obligations of the United States to Indians and Indian tribes to ensure that the rights of a tribe or individual Indian are protected. (B) Preservation of united states responsibility .— Nothing in this title shall absolve the United States from any responsibility to Indians and Indian tribes, including responsibilities derived from the trust relationship and any treaty, executive order, or agreement between the United States and an Indian tribe. (g) Office of Climate Change and Environment.— (1) Establishment .— There is established in the Department an Office of Climate Change and Environment to plan, coordinate, and implement— (A) department-wide research, strategies, and actions under the Department’s statutory authority to reduce transportation-related energy use and mitigate the effects of climate change; and (B) department-wide research strategies and actions to address the impacts of climate change on transportation systems and infrastructure. (2) Clearinghouse .— The Office shall establish a clearinghouse of solutions, including cost-effective congestion reduction approaches, to reduce air pollution and transportation-related energy use and mitigate the effects of climate change. (h) Interagency Infrastructure Permitting Improvement Center.— (1) Definitions .— In this subsection: (A) Center .— The term “Center” means the Interagency Infrastructure Permitting Improvement Center established by paragraph (2). (B) Project .— The term “project” means a project authorized or funded under— (i) this title; or (ii) title 14, 23, 46, or 51. (2) Establishment .— There is established within the Office of the Secretary a center, to be known as the “Interagency Infrastructure Permitting Improvement Center”. (3) Purposes .— The purposes of the Center shall be— (A) to implement reforms to improve interagency coordination and expedite projects relating to the permitting and environmental review of major transportation infrastructure projects, including— (i) developing and deploying information technology tools to track project schedules and metrics; and (ii) improving the transparency and accountability of the permitting process; (B) (i) to identify appropriate methods to assess environmental impacts; and (ii) to develop innovative methods for reasonable mitigation; (C) to reduce uncertainty and delays with respect to environmental reviews and permitting; and (D) to reduce costs and risks to taxpayers in project delivery. (4) Executive director .— The Center shall be headed by an Executive Director, who shall— (A) report to the Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy; (B) be responsible for the management and oversight of the daily activities, decisions, operations, and personnel of the Center; and (C) carry out such additional duties as the Secretary may prescribe. (5) Duties .— The Center shall carry out the following duties: (A) Coordinate and support implementation of priority reform actions for Federal agency permitting and reviews. (B) Support modernization efforts at the operating administrations within the Department and interagency pilot programs relating to innovative approaches to the permitting and review of transportation infrastructure projects. (C) Provide technical assistance and training to Department staff on policy changes, innovative approaches to project delivery, and other topics, as appropriate. (D) Identify, develop, and track metrics for timeliness of permit reviews, permit decisions, and project outcomes. (E) Administer and expand the use of online transparency tools providing for— (i) tracking and reporting of metrics; (ii) development and posting of schedules for permit reviews and permit decisions; (iii) the sharing of best practices relating to efficient project permitting and reviews; and (iv) the visual display of relevant geospatial data to support the permitting process. (F) Submit to the Secretary reports describing progress made toward achieving— (i) greater efficiency in permitting decisions and review of infrastructure projects; and (ii) better outcomes for communities and the environment. (6) Innovative best practices.— (A) In general .— The Center shall work with the operating administrations within the Department, eligible entities, and other public and private interests to develop and promote best practices for innovative project delivery. (B) Activities .— The Center shall support the Department and operating administrations in conducting environmental reviews and permitting, together with project sponsor technical assistance activities, by— (i) carrying out activities that are appropriate and consistent with the goals and policies of the Department to improve the delivery timelines for projects; (ii) serving as the Department liaison to— (I) the Council on Environmental Quality; and (II) the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council established by section 41002(a) of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act ( 42 U.S.C. 4370m–1(a) ); (iii) supporting the National Surface Transportation and Innovative Finance Bureau (referred to in this paragraph as the “Bureau”) in implementing activities to improve delivery timelines, as described in section 116(f), for projects carried out under the programs described in section 116(d)(1) for which the Bureau administers the application process; (iv) leading activities to improve delivery timelines for projects carried out under programs not administered by the Bureau by— (I) coordinating efforts to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the environmental review and permitting process; (II) providing technical assistance and training to field and headquarters staff of Federal agencies with respect to policy changes and innovative approaches to the delivery of projects; and (III) identifying, developing, and tracking metrics for permit reviews and decisions by Federal agencies for projects under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 ( 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). (C) NEPA compliance assistance.— (i) In general .— Subject to clause (ii), at the request of an entity that is carrying out a project, the Center, in coordination with the appropriate operating administrations within the Department, shall provide technical assistance relating to compliance with the applicable requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 ( 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and applicable Federal authorizations. (ii) Assistance from the bureau .— For projects carried out under the programs described in section 116(d)(1) for which the Bureau administers the application process, the Bureau, on request of the entity carrying out the project, shall provide the technical assistance described in clause (i). (i) Chief Travel and Tourism Officer.— (1) Establishment .— There is established in the Office of the Secretary of Transportation a position, to be known as the “Chief Travel and Tourism Officer”. (2) Duties .— The Chief Travel and Tourism Officer shall collaborate with the Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs to carry out— (A) the National Travel and Tourism Infrastructure Strategic Plan under section 1431(e) of Public Law 114–94 ( 49 U.S.C. 301 note); and (B) other travel- and tourism-related matters involving the Department of Transportation. (j) Office of Aviation Consumer Protection.— (1) Establishment .— There is established in the Department an Office of Aviation Consumer Protection (in this subsection referred to as the “Office”) to administer and enforce the aviation consumer protection and civil rights authorities provided to the Department by statute, including the authorities under section 41712— (A) to assist, educate, and protect passengers; and (B) to monitor compliance with, conduct investigations relating to, and enforce, with support of attorneys in the Office of the General Counsel, including by taking appropriate action to address violations of aviation consumer protection and civil rights. (2) Leadership .— The Office shall be headed by the Assistant Secretary for Aviation Consumer Protection (in this subsection referred to as the “Assistant Secretary”). (3) Transition .— Not later than 180 days after funding is appropriated for an Office of Aviation Consumer Protection headed by an Assistant Secretary, the Office of Aviation Consumer Protection that is a unit within the Office of the General Counsel of the Department which is headed by the Assistant General Counsel for Aviation Consumer Protection shall cease to exist. The Secretary shall determine which employees are necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of the new Office of Aviation Consumer Protection and such employees shall be transferred from the Office of the General Counsel, as appropriate, to the newly established Office of Aviation Consumer Protection. (4) Coordination .— The Assistant Secretary shall coordinate with the General Counsel appointed under subsection (e)(1)(E), in accordance with section 1.26 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation), on all legal matters relating to— (A) aviation consumer protection; and (B) the duties and activities of the Office described in subparagraphs (A) through (C) 1 1 So in original. Paragraph (1) does not contain a subparagraph (C). of paragraph (1). (5) Annual report .— The Assistant Secretary shall submit to the Secretary, who shall submit to Congress and make publicly available on the website of the Department, an annual report that, with respect to matters under the jurisdiction of the Department, or otherwise within the statutory authority of the Department— (A) analyzes trends in aviation consumer protection, civil rights, and licensing; (B) identifies major challenges facing passengers; and (C) addresses any other relevant issues, as the Assistant Secretary determines to be appropriate. (6) Funding .— There is authorized to be appropriated $12,000,000 for fiscal year 2024, $13,000,000 for fiscal year 2025, $14,000,000 for fiscal year 2026, $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2027, and $16,000,000 for fiscal year 2028 to carry out this subsection.