Political Quotes

“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.…”