United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office Resources, Community, and Economic Development Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1999-09-24 monographic deposited born digital 45 p. GA 1.13:RCED-99-263 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-RCED-99-263 P0b002ee1803910ab f:rc99263 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-RCED-99-263 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-RCED-99-263 RCED-99-263 Discretionary grants Eligibility criteria Federal aid for highways Grant administration Public roads or highways Statistical data Comparative analysis FHwA Public Lands Highway Program FHwA Discretionary Bridge Program FHwA Interstate Discretionary Program FHwA Interstate Maintenance Program FHwA Interstate Resurfacing, Restoration, Rehabilitation, and Reconstruction Program DOT Access to Jobs Program FHwA Ferry Boats and Facilities Program Letter Report RCED Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Federal Highway Administration's (FHwA) selection process for awarding discretionary grants, focusing on: (1) determining how FHwA has implemented the requirements specified in the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21); and (2) comparing the results of the selection process for fiscal years (FY) 1998-1999 with the results of the selection process for FY 1995 through FY 1997 that GAO previously reported on.<p/>GAO noted that: (1) FHwA has only partially implemented the requirements in TEA-21; (2) FHwA developed and published criteria for selecting projects in 1998 and reported its selections to the House and Senate authorizing committees in 1999; (3) however, with the exception of the Discretionary Bridge Program, FHwA staff do not evaluate or suggest projects on the basis of a comparative analysis of the projects' transportation benefits; (4) GAO's analysis of the process indicates that FHwA staff primarily suggested projects based on their location to ensure an equitable and geographic distribution of funds to the states; (5) FHwA officials asserted that it would not be feasible to compare the benefits of the projects when making selections, especially in the Public Lands Highways and Ferry Boats and Facilities programs, because each project has unique and, therefore, incomparable characteristics; (6) however, this assertion is inconsistent with other FHwA programs that compare and assess the transportation benefits of a wide array of discretionary projects; (7) during the funding cycle for FY 1998 through FY 1999, 98 percent of the projects that the Office of the Administrator selected were projects that the staff had suggested for funding; (8) this contrasts with the selection results in FY 1995 through FY 1997, when the Office of the Administrator selected as little as 59 percent of projects that staff considered promising and most promising; (9) GAO's analysis of the funding results by congressional district for the funding cycle in fiscal years 1998-1999 found that FHwA awarded a slightly disproportionate amount of Public Lands Highways Program funds to projects located in districts with Republican representation; (10) according to FHwA officials, the anomaly in the Public Lands Highways Program is primarily due to statutory direction that the Secretary give preference to projects in states with at least 3 percent of the nation's public lands, that is, western states that have predominately Republican congressional districts; and (11) this result is different from GAO's analysis of that program for FY 1995 through FY 1997, when FHwA awarded a significantly disproportionate amount of funds to projects in districts with Democratic representation. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-RCED-99-263/html/GAOREPORTS-RCED-99-263.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-RCED-99-263/pdf/GAOREPORTS-RCED-99-263.pdf GAO/RCED-99-263 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-RCED-99-263 Letter Report GAO/RCED-99-263; Transportation Infrastructure: FHwA Should Assess and; Discretionary grants Eligibility criteria Federal aid for highways Grant administration Public roads or highways Statistical data Comparative analysis FHwA Public Lands Highway Program FHwA Discretionary Bridge Program FHwA Interstate Discretionary Program FHwA Interstate Maintenance Program FHwA Interstate Resurfacing, Restoration, Rehabilitation, and Reconstruction Program DOT Access to Jobs Program FHwA Ferry Boats and Facilities Program