Author: United States. Department of Transportation. Office of Inspector General

Publisher:

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 26

ISBN-13:

In the 3 years since it set up the High Speed Intercity Passenger Rail Program (HSIPR), the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has awarded and obligated over 95 percent of the program’s $10.1 billion in grant funds1—$8 billion of which was appropriated by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). HSIPR gave FRA significant new grant-making and oversight duties, presenting unique challenges for the Agency. Strict funding deadlines for HSIPR grant funds, especially those that ARRA provides, have further challenged the Agency in awarding and obligating the funds. According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and others, promising practices in grants management call for a comprehensive framework to be in place before an agency awards funds to grantees. As part of our ongoing ARRA oversight, we assessed FRA’s grants management framework in the following areas: (1) policies, procedures, and guidance; (2) workforce adequacy; and (3) program performance mechanisms. To conduct our work, we met with officials from FRA and the Office of the Secretary of Transportation (OST); reviewed and analyzed policies, procedures, and practices in place and under development; and analyzed supporting documentation. We interviewed a sample of 12 of the 38 HSIPR grant recipients—accounting for 90 percent of awarded HSIPR funds—regarding their experiences with program administration. We also administered surveys to two groups of FRA’s HSIPR personnel—its four grant managers and nine regional managers—regarding their experiences with program administration. We performed our work from March 2011 through June 2012 in accordance with generally accepted Government auditing standards.