One of the first actions taken by President Bush after his inauguration was to name Norman Y. Mineta as the 14th secretary of transportation. The fact that Mineta is the only Democrat selected to serve in the new Republican administration's Cabinet—along with the lack of Senate opposition to his nomination—speaks well for the president's choice. Secretary Mineta's decisions will have a direct impact on every person and business in America for generations to come.

Secretary Mineta indicated that he clearly understood the importance of the national transportation system when he said in his testimony before the Senate Commerce Committee in January, "Transportation is key to both our economic success and to our quality of life." He demonstrated his willingness to cooperate across party lines when he quipped, "I do not believe there is such a thing as a Democratic or Republican traffic jam." He vowed that DOT would be a bipartisan organization and that the department would address congestion on our roads and in our airways.

In tackling road congestion, Secretary Mineta has set himself a difficult task. But he will be facing an even greater challenge in solving the problem of "congestion" in the department that he now heads.

DOT's Inspector General has said that the department is taking twice as long to fulfill congressional mandates as it did six years ago. The shipping public can attest to the truth of that accusation. Consider, for instance, the elimination of the distinction between common and contract motor carriers when the Interstate Commerce Commission was dissolved in 1996. At that time, Congress directed DOT to develop a new motor carrier registration system within 24 months. Four years later, DOT is still issuing permits to "contract" carriers and "certificates" to common carrier applicants. Consequently, thousands of "contract carriers" are transporting shippers' freight without cargo insurance or a BMC 32 endorsement. (This endorsement gives claimants the right to recover lawful claims directly from the cargo insurer when the carrier fails to pay or files for bankruptcy. Furthermore, it renders any deductions or exclusions in the policy up to $5,000 per vehicle or $10,000 per occurrence unenforceable.)

When their cargo is stolen, occasionally with the complicity of the driver or the owner, shippers that use these carriers have no recourse. Clearly, there can be no valid excuse for ignoring Congress's mandate to treat all motor carriers equally when issuing operating authorities and to require all carriers to provide minimum amounts of cargo insurance for the shipping public's protection. When Secretary Mineta addresses this issue, incidentally, it would be appropriate for him to consider increasing the minimum amounts of cargo insurance required as well. The present minimums of $5,000 per vehicle and $10,000 per occurrence are inadequate to afford meaningful coverage in today's economy.

If government employees can't do their jobs on time, even in response to a congressional mandate, perhaps it's time for the government to outsource these jobs to the private sector!

William J. Augello is an adjunct professor at the University of Arizona in Tucson and also serves as executive director of the Transportation Consumer Protection Council Inc. (TCPC). He may be reached in Tucson at (520) 531-0203, at TCPC's headquarters in Huntington, N.Y., at (631) 549-8984, or via e-mail at williamaugello@worldnet.att.net.