Our Objective(s)To assess FTA's determinations of applicants' progress toward meeting Transit Asset Management (TAM) performance targets prior to awarding Capital Investment Grants (CIG).
Why This AuditThe CIG Program provides discretionary grants for the construction and expansion of transit infrastructure. In 2021, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) authorized $3 billion per year in annual appropriations and provided $1.6 billion per year in advance appropriations for the CIG Program for a combined funding level of up to $23 billion for these grants from fiscal year 2022 through 2026. We initiated this audit due to the influx of funding to FTA from IIJA, as well as the Act's new CIG program requirement related to TAM.
What We FoundFTA determined IIJA's TAM performance target progress requirement did not apply to over a quarter of the grants OIG reviewed.
IIJA required FTA to determine whether CIG applicants were making progress towards meeting their TAM performance targets before awarding CIG grants.
FTA determined the IIJA requirement did not apply to 5 of the 19 CIG grants FTA awarded from January 2023 through January 2025-totaling about $7.3 billion (over 50 percent) of the funds awarded at that time.
FTA determined the requirement was not applicable to four of the five grants because the grant requests were submitted prior to the Agency implementing the new requirement in January 2023, even though the grants were awarded after January 2023.
FTA determined the requirement did not apply to the fifth grant because the applicant did not own, operate, or manage capital assets with established TAM performance targets.
FTA primarily relied on CEO attestations to determine TAM performance target progress for applicable CIG grants.
FTA primarily relied on CEO attestations to determine TAM performance target progress for the 14 CIG grants where FTA determined the requirement applied. Those grants awarded approximately $6.8 billion in CIG funding.
Because FTA's procedures do not require staff to independently verify applicants' self-reported progress towards meeting TAM performance targets, FTA is missing an opportunity to confirm applicants' program eligibility and prevent potential fraud.
RecommendationsWe made 1 recommendation to improve FTA's processes for determining CIG applicants' progress towards meeting TAM performance targets.
