DOT
57-02
Wednesday, June 12, 2002
Contact: Bill Mosley
Tel.: (202) 366-5571
Secretary
Mineta Announces Policy On Alternative Dispute Resolution
U.S.
Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta today announced a Statement of Policy
on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) to further the U.S. Department of
Transportation’s commitment to expand the use of consensual resolution of
disputes in order to avoid costly litigation and lengthy administrative
processes.
“President
Bush has called on us to make government more citizen-centered,
results-oriented, and market-driven,” Secretary Mineta said. “ADR enables us
to meet each of these objectives. It
allows us to resolve disputes effectively and efficiently and to provide our
citizens with a maximum amount of respect and a minimum amount of adversity.”
ADR
emphasizes creative problem-solving and encompasses a variety of processes aimed
at fostering consensual and collaborative solutions.
Using ADR, parties solve problems faster and more effectively, develop
win-win solutions, and have more ownership of the outcome.
The
Statement of Policy commits the department to considering ADR in a variety of
areas such as resolution of workplace issues, formal and informal adjudication,
rulemaking, enforcement, issuance and revocation of licenses and permits,
contract and grant administration, and litigation brought by or against the
department. The statement
encourages persons who interact with the department to identify opportunities
for collaborative, consensual approaches to dispute resolution or rulemaking.
The
Statement of Policy builds on DOT’s past work in alternative dispute
resolution. It is published in
today’s Federal Register.
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