Mass Transit Grants: Scarce Federal Funds Misused in UMTA's Philadelphia Region
RCED-91-107
Published: Jun 13, 1991. Publicly Released: Jun 13, 1991.
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Highlights
GAO reviewed the Urban Mass Transportation Administration's (UMTA) grants management practices, focusing on the UMTA Region III: (1) grants recipients' compliance with federal requirements; and (2) oversight of grantees.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Urban Mass Transportation Administration | To provide more focused and effective grant management and oversight and minimize the vulnerability of mass transit grants to waste and mismanagement, the Administrator, UMTA, should direct the Region III Manager to evaluate management control systems of new grant recipients to ensure that they are consistent with federal requirements. |
Closed – Implemented
Over the last few years, FTA has implemented a number of GAO recommendations and other initiatives resulting in substantial improvements to its process to oversee its $4.6-billion grant management program. FTA has implemented a risk assessment program, enhanced the training and guidance provided to both staff and grantees, and made organizational changes and increased staff size to become more proactive in overseeing hundreds of federal grants. In addition, FTA has made a concerted effort to change the attitudes of its oversight staff and grantees toward safeguarding federal funds. More importantly, FTA has used its most powerful enforcement tool, withholding funds, to sanction grantees found to be mismanaging their grants. Based on these and other actions, GAO has removed FTA's high-risk designation.
|
| Urban Mass Transportation Administration | To provide more focused and effective grant management and oversight and minimize the vulnerability of mass transit grants to waste and mismanagement, the Administrator, UMTA, should direct the Region III Manager to require that triennial reviews of existing grant recipients evaluate, analyze, and test compliance with federal requirements. |
Closed – Implemented
Over the last few years, FTA has implemented a number of GAO recommendations and other initiatives resulting in substantial improvements to its process to oversee its $4.6-billion grant management program. FTA has implemented a risk assessment program, enhanced the training and guidance provided to both staff and grantees, and made organizational changes and increased staff size to become more proactive in overseeing hundreds of federal grants. In addition, FTA has made a concerted effort to change the attitudes of its oversight staff and grantees toward safeguarding federal funds. More importantly, FTA has used its most powerful enforcement tool, withholding funds, to sanction grantees found to be mismanaging their grants. Based on these and other actions, GAO has removed FTA's high-risk designation.
|
| Urban Mass Transportation Administration | To provide more focused and effective grant management and oversight and minimize the vulnerability of mass transit grants to waste and mismanagement, the Administrator, UMTA, should direct the Region III Manager to track the submission and completeness of grantees' quarterly reports and use the reports to identify cost, schedule, or performance problems. |
Closed – Implemented
On July 14, 1992, DOT notified GAO that FTA has modified its Grants Management Information System to track quarterly progress report submission. The restructured triennial review process specifically includes the use of quarterly report information for the recommended purpose. Also, FTA headquarters and regional project managers have been directed to track cost and performance problems.
|
| Urban Mass Transportation Administration | To provide more focused and effective grant management and oversight and minimize the vulnerability of mass transit grants to waste and mismanagement, the Administrator, UMTA, should direct the Region III Manager to implement a system to track grantees' implementation of corrective actions recommended by various audit entities. |
Closed – Implemented
Over the last few years, FTA has implemented a number of GAO recommendations and other initiatives resulting in substantial improvements to its process to oversee its $4.6-billion grant management program. FTA has implemented a risk assessment program, enhanced the training and guidance provided to both staff and grantees, and made organizational changes and increased staff size to become more proactive in overseeing hundreds of federal grants. In addition, FTA has made a concerted effort to change the attitudes of its oversight staff and grantees toward safeguarding federal funds. More importantly, FTA has used its most powerful enforcement tool, withholding funds, to sanction grantees found to be mismanaging their grants. Based on these and other actions, GAO has removed FTA's high-risk designation.
|
| Urban Mass Transportation Administration | To provide more focused and effective grant management and oversight and minimize the vulnerability of mass transit grants to waste and mismanagement, the Administrator, UMTA, should direct the Region III Manager to review project status to ensure that grantees are in compliance with federal requirements before UMTA approves additional funding requests and withhold funds until problems are corrected. |
Closed – Implemented
Over the last few years, FTA has implemented a number of GAO recommendations and other initiatives resulting in substantial improvements to its process to oversee its $4.6-billion grant management program. FTA has implemented a risk assessment program, enhanced the training and guidance provided to both staff and grantees, and made organizational changes and increased staff size to become more proactive in overseeing hundreds of federal grants. In addition, FTA has made a concerted effort to change the attitudes of its oversight staff and grantees toward safeguarding federal funds. More importantly, FTA has used its most powerful enforcement tool, withholding funds, to sanction grantees found to be mismanaging their grants. Based on these and other actions, GAO has removed FTA's high-risk designation.
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Topics
Federal aid for transportationGrant monitoringGrants to local governmentsMass transitNoncomplianceProgram abusesProgram evaluationRefunds to governmentReporting requirementsUrban transportation