DOT ‘TIGER’ Team to Coordinate Role in Recovery Plan

The Department of Transportation has created a team to coordinate its role in President Obama’s economic recovery program, to ensure that funding is made available quickly for transportation infrastructure projects and that project spending is monitored and transparent.

To be known as the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery, or TIGER team, it is composed of officials from across DOT’s various operating administrations and offices.

“We created the TIGER team to make sure that DOT’s portion of recovery funding goes out to states and localities as quickly as possible in order to immediately create jobs and strengthen our economy and transportation systems,” Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement.

The team will identify and prioritize key highway, bridge, transit, rail, aviation and intermodal spending, and will develop reporting standards to accurately track the money as it is being spent and ensure that all accountability requirements are being met.

The team is being co-chaired by Lana Hurdle, deputy assistant secretary for budget and programs, and Joel Szabat, deputy assistant secretary for transportation policy.