[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 143 (Thursday, October 1, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7095-S7096]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TRIBUTE TO JEFFREY F. PANIATI
Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I wish to pay tribute to an outstanding
civil servant and constituent, Jeffrey F. Paniati, executive director
of the Federal Highway Administration, FHWA, who is retiring after 32
years of Federal service.
Jeff Paniati received his master of science degree in civil
engineering from the University of Maryland. He joined FHWA in 1983 as
a highway engineer trainee and rose through the ranks to join the
Senior Executive Service in 2000 and eventually became executive
director in April 2008. The executive director, the number three
official in FHWA, is the only civil service position in the agency that
requires the approval of the President. As executive director, Jeff
assists the Federal Highway Administrator and Deputy Administrator in
establishing policies, programs, and priorities for the $40 billion
annual Federal aid highway program. As FHWA's chief operating officer,
he oversees a workforce of approximately 2,900 transportation
professionals and an annual operating budget of $400 million.
One of the biggest challenges Jeff faced came just months after he
became executive director. The economic collapse in the fall of 2008
brought the country into the worst recession since the Great Depression
of the 1930s. On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act, ARRA, into law. ARRA, also known as the
stimulus act, authorized $26.6 billion for road and bridge projects
that would create construction jobs to help the economy recover while
providing transportation facilities to make our communities safer,
greener, more livable, less congested, and economically stronger. This
funding was in addition to the regular $40 billion a year Federal aid
highway program.
At the time, Jeff was the highest ranking FHWA official because the
President had not yet nominated a new Federal Highway Administrator or
Deputy Administrator. It fell to Jeff, serving as acting Deputy
Administrator, to ensure the agency was able to absorb the additional
funds, deploy them to State and local officials for shovel-ready
projects, ensure proper oversight of record numbers of projects, and
help deliver the jobs the country so desperately needed. The result was
more than 13,000 highway and bridge projects across the country that
put tens of thousands of people to work, in addition to the thousands
of projects and jobs resulting from regular program funds. All of this
was accomplished within ARRA's deadlines, without any increase in staff
by FHWA but with the full cooperation of State and local transportation
officials under the familiar Federal-State partnership of the Federal
aid highway program.
President Obama remarked that there has never been a program of this
scale, moving at this speed, enacted as effectively, and meeting such
high standards of transparency and accountability. The stimulus
provided by implementation of the Recovery Act paved the foundation for
the economic growth that has continued to this day. Many people deserve
credit for this outstanding accomplishment, including FHWA employees
around the country, especially Jeff Paniati.
Throughout Jeff's earlier career in FHWA, he accumulated a diverse
range of experience in helping to make America's transportation systems
work safely and efficiently. He served as chief of the safety design
division, a research office helping to advance the state of the art in
highway safety. As program manager for Intelligent Transportation
Systems, ITS, he led the more than $100 million annual Federal ITS
program. He directed day-to-day operations of the ITS Joint Program
Office, which focuses on bringing advanced communication and
information system technologies to the management and operation of our
Nation's surface transportation system. At the time of his appointment
as executive director, he was FHWA's associate administrator for
operations; in this capacity, he provided national leadership in system
management and operations, ITS deployment, and freight management.
Throughout Jeff's career, he has worked closely with the Transportation
Research Board, the American Association of State Highway and
Transportation Officials, and ITS America--to name just a few of FHWA's
many partners and stakeholders.
Jeff's extensive experience throughout the agency gave him the
background to move FHWA forward. He oversaw the successful
implementation of the many program changes required under the Moving
Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act, MAP-21, in 2012. Perhaps
the most significant change was that MAP-21 shifted FHWA to risk-based
stewardship and oversight that redefined FHWA's role in working with
its State and local partners. It also gave FHWA the leadership role in
transitioning with its partners to a transportation performance
management focus that emphasizes a strategic approach by using data to
make investment and policy decisions to achieve national performance
goals. These dramatic changes in operation of the Federal aid highway
program required extensive outreach, which Jeff coordinated, to explain
the shifts to FHWA's partners and gain their support for them.
Jeff played a leadership role in advancing U.S. interests and
bolstering international cooperation under the auspices of the World
Road Association, where he served as U.S. first delegate and chair of
the strategic planning commission. He led an international team in
overseeing the work of the association's 15 technical committees and
the development of its next strategic plan. He also facilitated efforts
to advance special reports on the importance of road maintenance and
helped produce a climate change adaptation framework. Jeff's
involvement in the association enabled the U.S. to further enhance our
international leadership and expertise in the design, delivery, and
operation of highway and road networks.
Closer to home, Jeff never forgot the importance of giving all FHWA
employees the opportunity to advance in their careers. He listened to
employee feedback, administered a strategic
[[Page S7096]]
workforce assessment, established a formal mentoring program, developed
the leadership for innovation decisionmaking program and expanded the
Leadership Development Academy, and instilled in leadership ranks
throughout the FHWA the value of expanding opportunity. Initiatives of
this type are valuable to employees and their families, but are also
critical to ensuring the FHWA can meet the challenges of the future by
helping the agency to recruit and retain the best public servants our
Nation has to offer. Through these and other initiatives, Jeff helped
make FHWA successful not only in accomplishing its vitally important
mission, but in making the agency a better place to work. Among
agencies of its size, FHWA has ranked in the top 10 best places to work
in the Federal Government among agency subcomponents for the past 3
years. Under Jeff's leadership, FHWA moved from No. 33 in 2009 to No. 5
in 2013, an impressive achievement in a short period of time.
Jeff will be retiring this month after 32 years of Federal service to
become president and chief executive officer of the Institute of
Transportation Engineers. After his long career and especially his 7\1/
2\ years as executive director, Jeff leaves FHWA a better place, which
is good for America. I am proud to represent Jeff and so many other
Federal workers. I believe our Federal workforce is the best in the
world. We are fortunate to have dedicated, talented, creative, hard-
working, and patriotic public servants like Jeff. I ask my colleagues
to join me in thanking Jeff for serving the American public with such
distinction and devotion and wishing him much success as he leaves
Federal service. We also need to thank his wife, Kim, and his children
Chris and Lauren for supporting him in his public career.
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