Norman Y. Mineta Transportation Department Established: 1966 2003 Budget: $12.9 billion Full-time Employees: 59,200 Mineta's Salary: $171,900 Web Site: www.dot.gov Overall Grade: B Back To Overview And Other Cabinet Grades

National Journal
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Friday, Jan. 24, 2003

Few members of the Bush Cabinet saw their profiles and responsibilities elevated more by the events of September 11 than did Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta. Before the terrorist attacks, most Americans knew little about the former congressman from California -- except perhaps that he was a Japanese-American who had spent part of his childhood in a World War II internment camp and that he was the Cabinet's only Democrat. During the first eight months of the administration, Mineta worked on mundane issues that kept him out of the national spotlight: aircraft noise, Mexican trucks, and Amtrak. He even had time to fill in as a first-base coach for children's T-ball games on the White House South Lawn.

But 9/11 changed everything. On that terrifying day, Mineta and his department's Federal Aviation Administration shut down the nation's air system and then issued new temporary security rules. In the weeks that followed, the White House deployed the secretary to Capitol Hill, where he lobbied Congress as it assembled a landmark airport security bill. After that bill passed, things didn't slow down. Mineta's department was put in charge of building a brand-new 60,000-person sub-Cabinet agency, the Transportation Security Administration, and meeting deadlines to improve aviation security. "He's had a huge load dumped in his lap," said Rep. Harold Rogers, R-Ky., chairman of the House Appropriations Transportation Subcommittee.

President Bush obviously had no idea that his choice for Transportation secretary would have to carry such a huge load. But in Mineta he picked a man who, with decades of experience in the field, was arguably the right candidate for the job. Mineta had spent more than 20 years in Congress and chaired the House's transportation committee (then called the Public Works and Transportation Committee). After that, he was a lobbyist for Lockheed Martin, and he even served a brief stint as President Clinton's Commerce secretary. Yet despite praise for his transportation expertise and for meeting airport security deadlines (or at least coming close), Mineta has also received a fair share of criticism, especially from members of Congress.

Today, the biggest story about Mineta is his health. For most of the past six weeks, Mineta, 71, has been in the hospital with chronic back pain, and he was due to have surgery on January 24. In 2001, the secretary had to check himself in to the hospital to deal with a persistent nosebleed, which some observers suggest was caused by his nonstop work schedule after 9/11. From an office set up at the hospital, Mineta told National Journal by phone that he was feeling better. While he has told department officials that he expects to return to his job, he deflected a question about how much longer he would stay in the Cabinet. "I serve at the pleasure of the president," he said.

Inside Influence Grade: B
Because he's the lone Democrat in the Cabinet and heads a traditionally second-tier department, the conventional wisdom is that Mineta has little clout within the administration. But that's not the case. After only a couple of days on the job, for instance, Mineta won an important victory for his department by persuading the Office of Management and Budget to restore millions of dollars in airport-construction funds.

Another victory was getting clearance last year to fire John W. Magaw, the White House's first choice to run the TSA. According to sources, Magaw had poor relations with aviation interest groups and with Mineta himself. The secretary went to White House Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr. -- with whom he reportedly has an excellent relationship -- and eventually got the green light to ax the TSA chief. Magaw resigned in July and was succeeded by Adm. James Loy, who so far has received high marks from aviation stakeholders.

Nevertheless, Mineta has suffered his share of defeats in battles with OMB. After Mineta blamed Congress for cutting some supplemental funds for the TSA, the OMB backed Congress's cut. In addition, Democrats on the Hill have complained that OMB's paltry budget requests for Amtrak have tied Mineta's hands in making substantial reforms to the passenger rail service. "The Flat Earth Society at the OMB has kept [the department] from articulating anything that makes sense," said one senior Democratic Senate aide.

Mineta and those close to him explain that, despite being a Democrat, he enjoys good relations with Bush and has even gained the president's trust. Mineta said that at a Cabinet meeting earlier this month, he received a handwritten note from Bush, congratulating him for building the TSA and meeting the airport-security deadlines. "You did a heck of a job," the note read.

Hill Clout Grade: C
In view of his experience and stature on the Hill, the expectations for Mineta in this category were off the charts. But many members and staffers say they have been disappointed with his performance. Early on, Mineta drew flak from members by suggesting that his department might miss an early security deadline to screen all checked passenger baggage. "They begged for the responsibility [for airport security]. And then, within a week afterwards, they say, `By the way, the law we signed, we're not going to comply,' " barked Sen. Ernest F. Hollings, D-S.C., at the time.

Furthermore, Mineta received an angry phone call from Rogers after the secretary complained publicly about cuts in highway spending in the final fiscal 2002 transportation appropriations bill. On the sensitive subject of security, members blasted Mineta for saying that other deadlines might be missed because Congress wasn't giving the TSA enough money, and the TSA was excoriated on the Hill for moving slowly and wasting funds. Some members have griped that Mineta has failed to alert them about controversial decisions coming from the administration -- such as the one permitting Mexican trucks to travel throughout the entire United States, a development that upset many Democrats.

Yet despite his missteps, Mineta is still well liked on Capitol Hill. "I think he has done a good job under very difficult circumstances," said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. "And I have very high regard and affection for him." Moreover, Mineta won praise for working hard for the administration as the controversial airport security bill made its way through Congress. Although many Democrats supported a federal workforce of airport screeners, Mineta helped the House Republicans who wanted a privatized workforce. In the end, however, the forces for federalization won the day.

Mineta admits that he has come up short in some of his dealings on Capitol Hill, and he traces these problems to the historic rift in Congress, particularly in the House, between authorizers and appropriators. The secretary says that as the former chair of the Public Works and Transportation Committee, he's still an authorizer at heart, and that has often angered appropriators. He says he is working hard to develop better relations.

Political Imperatives Grade: A
There's a saying in transportation circles: There are no such things as Democratic roads or Republican bridges. Transportation has always been a mostly bipartisan issue. But there's no question that after September 11 it became much more political. The failure to upgrade airport security or to prevent another terrorist attack would likely be devastating to the president's standing. But neither has happened, and Mineta deserves credit for keeping the administration out of trouble.

The airport security bill imposed 36 mandates on the Transportation Department, the most important of which called for placing federal screeners on the job by last November at the nation's 429 commercial airports, and inspecting all baggage by explosive-detection machinery by the end of December. Despite some early doubts, the department met those mandates, but it had to resort to some creative methods -- using dogs, hand searchers, and bag-matching techniques -- on the explosive-detection front because airports still don't have enough of these machines.

Airport lobbyist Todd Hauptli argues that although it wasn't a smooth process, the security overhaul has worked. "Has the process been messy? Yes. Has DOT taken too long? Yes. Will the operation ever be perfect? No," said Hauptli. "But the fact of the matter is that the security system in place is vastly superior today than it was in January 2002. And it'll keep getting better."

Running The Department Grade: B
With its different agencies that oversee every mode of transportation -- like the FAA, the Federal Highway Administration, and the Federal Transit Administration -- the department may seem like a bureaucratic zoo. But things appear to be running smoothly. For instance, transportation has received high marks on an OMB scorecard that measures a department's progress in meeting the president's management initiatives.

Also, top aides to Mineta, especially Deputy Secretary Michael P. Jackson, have earned high praise. While Mineta serves essentially as the chairman of the board, Jackson is the chief operating officer, with a hand on almost all of the high-profile issues: the TSA, Mexican trucks, and Amtrak. There have been complaints that Jackson is spread too thin, making it hard for the department to address all of its many tough issues. But Jackson dismisses such criticism, saying he relies on many less-visible staffers to handle key matters.

Within the administration, said Nicholas E. Calio, former White House director of legislative affairs, Mineta and Jackson "are viewed as worthy of sainthood, they are such good soldiers, and they are very good at their jobs. They know how to get things done."

Inside department headquarters, however, Mineta has received minor criticism for not being as accessible as he should be to career bureaucrats. Employees note that a handful of top aides around Mineta serve as a barrier between the secretary's office and the rest of the department. These bureaucrats note that Rodney Slater, Clinton's last transportation secretary, was much more accessible. John Flaherty, Mineta's chief of staff, attributes this perception to Mineta's busy work schedule since 9/11. "I think Norm's level of activity has been so intense," he said. "It's not a barrier; I think it's a question of priorities."

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