Ray LaHood became the 16th Secretary of Transportation on January 23, 2009. Secretary LaHood’s primary goals in implementing President Obama’s priorities for transportation include safety across all modes, restoring economic health and creating jobs, sustainability – shaping the economy of the coming decades by building new transportation infrastructure, and assuring that transportation policies focus on people who use the transportation system and their communities.
As Secretary of Transportation, LaHood leads an agency with more than 55,000 employees and a $70 billion budget that oversees air, maritime and surface transportation missions.
Secretary LaHood said he would bring President-elect Obama’s priorities to the Department and see them effectively implemented with a commitment to fairness across regional and party lines and between people who come to the issues with different perspectives.
Before becoming Secretary of Transportation, LaHood served for 14 years in the U.S. House of Representatives from the 18th District of Illinois (from 1995-2009). During that time he served on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and, after that, on the House Appropriations Committee. Prior to his election to the House, he served as Chief of Staff to U.S. Congressman Robert Michel, whom he succeeded in representing the 18th District, and as District Administrative Assistant to Congressman Thomas Railsback. He also served in the Illinois State Legislature.
Before his career in government, Secretary LaHood was a junior high school teacher, having received his degree from Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois. He was also director of the Rock Island County Youth Services Bureau and Chief planner for the Bi-States Metropolitan Planning Commission in Illinois.
LaHood and his wife, Kathy, have four children (Darin, Amy, Sam, and Sara) and nine grandchildren.
Secretary Ray LaHood's Posts
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A Resurgent America on Display at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show
January 9, 2012 at 6:13 PM EDTThe 2012 Detriot Auto Show offers an impressive display of innovation, but more importantly celebrates the resurgence of the American auto industry.
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President Obama Opens 2012 by Advancing Pipeline Safety
January 3, 2012 at 8:04 PM EDTNew legislation will help keep America's communities safer and give pipeline operators the certainty they need to run their systems more effectively
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TIGER Projects Remind Us What America Can Do
December 16, 2011 at 4:02 PM EDTThe Department of Transportation continues its TIGER grant program, sending $511 million to 46 transportation projects in 33 states.
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President Obama Urges Congress: Put Construction Workers Back on the Job
November 2, 2011 at 1:49 PM EDTSpeaking in front of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, President Obama urged Congress to pass the infrastructure provisions in the American Jobs Act.
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American Transportation Built by American Workers
October 5, 2011 at 11:18 AM EDTTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood calls on Congress to pass the American Jobs Act to create jobs and invest in American infrastructure.
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President Obama stands up for the American Jobs Act at the Ohio River's Brent Spence Bridge
September 22, 2011 at 4:07 PM EDTSecretary of Transportation Ray LaHood joins President Obama in calling on Congress to pass the American Jobs Act to put construction workers back on job sites rebuilding roads, rails, and runways across the country.
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Back on the Job Thanks to Federal Transportation Investments
September 13, 2011 at 9:58 AM EDTThe American Jobs Act will help put construction workers like Kirk Bergstrom, a construction engineer from Centennial, Colorado, back to work rebuilding America.
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Ten Years Later: Rescue at Water’s Edge
September 7, 2011 at 3:30 PM EDTTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood commends merchant mariners who used their skills and vessels to help evacuate more than 300,000 people from Lower Manhattan on September 11th, ten years ago.
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The Clock is Ticking for a Clean Extension of the Transportation Bill
September 6, 2011 at 6:42 PM EDTAllowing funding for America's roads and bridges to expire would cost nearly one million construction workers their jobs over the next year. See how many jobs are at stake in your state if Congress fails to pass a clean extension of the transportation bill.
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Ten Years Later: Air Traffic Controllers Remember 9/11
September 6, 2011 at 2:33 PM EDTTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood commends air traffic professionals who used their training and experience to bring thousands of planes safely out of harm's way on September 11th, ten years ago.
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