Discretionary Transportation Grants: DOT Should Take Actions to Improve the Selection of Freight and Highway Projects
Highlights
What GAO Found
In 2016, the Department of Transportation (DOT) developed a multi-phased review and selection process for a new grant program—the Fostering Advancement in Shipping and Transportation for the Long-term Achievement of National Efficiencies (FASTLANE). DOT awarded FASTLANE grants to 18 freight and highway projects. Multiple teams of reviewers evaluated 218 applications based on an evaluation plan that outlined the criteria and process for evaluating applications. GAO found that the awarded projects addressed key program requirements, such as ensuring that at least 10 percent of awarded funds went to small projects and 25 percent to projects located in rural areas.
DOT generally followed the process outlined in the FASTLANE evaluation plan; however the plan resulted in inconsistencies and allowed for broad discretion during certain team reviews. GAO found the Technical Review Teams—teams of modal administration representatives tasked with assessing potential projects against established criteria—used different definitions when assigning technical ratings, likely contributing to scoring variances. In addition, GAO found the evaluation plan gave the Senior Review Team—a team of senior officials responsible for assembling the list of projects for consideration by the Secretary—broad discretion when assembling the list. For example, the evaluation plan and other guidance did not specify the conditions under which the Senior Review Team may take certain actions to potentially advance large projects that did not initially meet certain statutory requirements—likely affecting which projects were forwarded to the Secretary of Transportation to be considered for awards. Without defined procedures in the evaluation plan to ensure all applications are reviewed similarly, DOT may be vulnerable to questions about the integrity of the selection process.
DOT's FASTLANE review process followed some and partially followed other recommended discretionary grant award practices that GAO has previously identified based on Office of Management and Budget and other guidance. For example, DOT followed the practice of assessing applicants' capability to account for funds. However, DOT only partially followed some grant practices, including the recommended practice to document the rationale for award selections. Based on a review of FASTLANE's decision-making documentation, GAO was unable to determine the rationale for selecting the 18 awarded projects. This documentation restated the anticipated benefits of the selected projects, but did not otherwise provide insight into why some projects were selected for awards over others. Without complete documentation of the decision-making, the transparency of the application review and selection process is limited. Further, DOT did not finalize the evaluation plan prior to announcing the solicitation of applications for fiscal year 2016 grants, as required by DOT guidance. In June 2017, DOT announced a new grant program that supersedes the FASTLANE program. According to DOT officials, the solicitation of applications for the new program was also made without an evaluation plan in place, raising concerns the new program may encounter consistency and transparency issues similar to those identified in the FASTLANE program.
Why GAO Did This Study
In December 2015, the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) authorized DOT to award $4.5 billion in discretionary grants for fiscal years 2016 through 2020; DOT awarded $759.2 million in fiscal year 2016.
The FAST Act required GAO to assess FASTLANE's processes for selecting grants. This report addresses: (1) the processes used to evaluate and award FASTLANE grants, (2) the extent to which DOT followed its FASTLANE evaluation plan, and (3) the extent to which the process aligned with recommended practices and DOT's own guidance for awarding discretionary grants. GAO reviewed DOT and FASTLANE documentation, analyzed FASTLANE's fiscal year 2016 data, and interviewed DOT officials and 13 FASTLANE applicants selected to include projects of varying sizes, locations, and modes.
Recommendations
GAO is making three recommendations to DOT, including that DOT develop an evaluation plan that clearly defines how review teams apply criteria, assess applications, and assign ratings, among other things before soliciting applications; and that key decisions be documented throughout the application review and selection process. DOT concurred with our recommendations.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Transportation | The Secretary of Transportation should develop an evaluation plan for the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) program in advance of issuing the notice of funding opportunity and ensure the program's evaluation plan clearly defines how all review teams should apply criteria, assess applications, and assign ratings to ensure that all applications are consistently reviewed. (Recommendation 1) |
Federal transportation grants provide critical funding to help build highways, bridges, and port infrastructure. DOT awarded $759.2 million in fiscal year 2016 through the Fostering Advancement in Shipping and Transportation for the Long-term Achievement of National Efficiencies (FASTLANE) grant program. In 2017 GAO reported that DOT generally followed the application review process outlined in the FASTLANE evaluation plan. However, DOT did not finalize the evaluation plan prior to publishing the notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) as required by DOT guidance. DOT's guidance states that grant programs should finalize the evaluation plan prior to publishing a NOFO and make no subsequent changes to the plan after the announcement. When DOT issued its NOFO in March 2016, the agency was still developing the evaluation plan and did not provide the evaluation plan to its reviewers until May 2016. GAO also found that the evaluation plan resulted in inconsistencies and allowed for broad discretion during certain team reviews. According to internal control standards, it is important to clearly define the procedures and mechanisms that enforce management's directives to achieve its objectives in accordance with internal control standards. However, the evaluation plan did not state how technical review teams should apply the technical rating definitions, which allowed certain teams to apply DOT's selection criteria differently when assigning technical ratings, likely contributing to scoring variances. In addition, the evaluation plan and other guidance did not specify the conditions under which the Senior Review Team may take certain actions to potentially advance large projects that did not initially meet certain statutory requirements. The lack of clearly defined procedures for the review teams and the discretion given to the teams by the evaluation plan and other guidance likely contributed to differences in how certain applications were reviewed, possibly affecting which projects were ultimately forwarded to the Secretary of Transportation to be considered for awards. In 2017, DOT renamed the FASTLANE program as the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) program. DOT had not yet developed an evaluation plan for the program raising concerns that it may encounter issues similar to the FASTLANE program. Therefore, GAO recommended that DOT develop an evaluation plan for the INFRA program in advance of issuing the NOFO and ensure the program's evaluation plan clearly defines how all review teams should apply criteria, assess applications, and assign ratings to ensure that all applications are consistently reviewed. In January 2024, GAO confirmed that DOT finalized the evaluation plan for the INFRA program. Specifically, for the FY 2022 INFRA awards, DOT officials confirmed they finalized the evaluation plan on March 18, 2022. DOT publicly issued the NOFO on March 25, 2022. GAO also confirmed that, for prior INFRA funding rounds, DOT finalized the evaluation plan prior to issuing the NOFO. In addition, DOT made other revisions to its INFRA evaluation plan. For example, for the FY 2019 INFRA awards, DOT created an appendix in its evaluation plan that outlined how reviewers should apply the technical ratings definitions for each project outcome criteria, including the range of possible ratings and the specific conditions necessary for assigning each rating. Since that time, DOT has included similar appendices in its evaluation plan for subsequent rounds of INFRA funding. For the FY 2022 INFRA funding round, DOT further revised its evaluation plan by defining detailed procedures for assessing and gathering more information on projects that did not initially meet certain statutory requirements. By finalizing the INFRA evaluation plan that includes detailed guidance on how applications are to be reviewed and addresses the causes of inconsistencies, DOT is better positioned to ensure a consistent review of all applications.
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| Department of Transportation | The Secretary of Transportation should ensure all program applicants be notified in writing of the outcomes of the application selection process. For unsuccessful applicants, the notification should include a brief explanation of the decision. (Recommendation 2) |
Federal transportation grants provide critical funding to help build highways, bridges, and port infrastructure . DOT awarded $759.2 million in fiscal year 2016 through the Fostering Advancement in Shipping and Transportation for the Long-term Achievement of National Efficiencies (FASTLANE) grant program . States and local governments are among the eligible entities that may apply for FASTLANE grants . In 2017, GAO reported that DOT did not inform unsuccessful FASTLANE applicants of their status . GAO had previously found that notifying both successful and unsuccessful applicants of selection decisions in writing, and providing feedback on applications were recommended practices for awarding discretionary grants across the federal government. Further, DOT guidance requires that unsuccessful grant applicants be notified of their status. Instead of a formal notification, DOT offered to provide feedback to applicants if requested, but not all applicants knew that they could receive such feedback. Timely and substantive feedback can help applicants determine whether to expend the resources to apply in future rounds and to better appropriate time and resources necessary to reapply. In contrast, when GAO reviewed the High Speed Intercity Passenger Rail grant program, GAO found that FRA sent letters to individual applicants regarding its decision, and if the application was not selected, a brief explanation was provided. Therefore, GAO recommended that DOT ensure that applicants were notified in writing of the outcomes of the application selection process, and that for unsuccessful applicants, the notification should include a brief explanation of the decision. In 2023, GAO confirmed that DOT notified applicants in writing that grant recipients had been selected for the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) program-the grant program that replaced FASTLANE in 2017. Specifically, we confirmed that DOT has emailed unsuccessful INFRA applicants regarding their status following the selection of grant awards. In these emails, DOT offered to provide feedback to applicants about how their project was evaluated. As a result of these actions, applicants have information on the outcomes of their applications, and how to obtain specific feedback on their application, which meets the intent of GAO's recommendation. DOT's action will also help applicants make informed decisions about whether to apply for future INFRA grants, which meets the intent of GAO's recommendation.
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| Department of Transportation | The Secretary of Transportation should require INFRA program teams document their decision-making rationale throughout all levels of review in the application selection process. (Recommendation 3) |
Federal transportation grants provide critical funding to help build highways, bridges, and port infrastructure. DOT awarded $759.2 million in fiscal year 2016 through the Fostering Advancement in Shipping and Transportation for the Long-term Achievement of National Efficiencies (FASTLANE) grant program. Funding for highway and freight projects is highly competitive, as demonstrated by the over 200 applications submitted to the FASTLANE program. States and local governments are among the eligible entities that may apply for FASTLANE grants. In 2017 GAO reported that DOT partially followed the recommended discretionary grant practice for agencies to document the rationale for award selection. However, DOT's documentation of officials' decision-making at critical stages of the application review process was limited. Based on GAO's analysis of the available FASTLANE decision-making documentation from the Technical Review and Senior Review Teams and documentation related to the Secretary's decisions, GAO was unable to determine the rationale for the final selection of 18 projects for award. This documentation restated the anticipated benefits of the selected projects but did not otherwise provide insight into why the 18 projects were selected for awards out of the 130 eligible projects. Without complete documentation of decision-making, there is limited transparency of the application review and selection process. In 2017, DOT renamed the FASTLANE program as the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) program. Therefore, GAO recommended that DOT should require INFRA program teams to document their decision-making rationale throughout all levels of review in the application selection process. In January 2024, GAO confirmed that DOT's 2022 INFRA Evaluation plan specified that INFRA program officials are required to document the basis for the Secretary's selections and why projects were selected over other comparable or more highly rated projects. Further, the plan requires that key decisions are documented throughout the review process, including whether to change the scope of a project and the basis for adding projects to the list advanced to the Secretary for award consideration. By taking these steps, DOT is better positioned to ensure to ensure the application review and selection process is consistent and transparent, which meets the intent of GAO's recommendation.
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