Federal Reports

Our Objective(s)To assess FHWA's processes and procedures for overseeing grant recipient compliance with Federal Buy America requirements. Our assessment included reviews of FHWA's (1) guidance on Buy America requirements and (2) oversight of Federal-aid recipients' compliance.
Why This AuditFHWA's Buy America law and regulations require highway projects funded under Title 23 of United States Code to use only iron, steel, and manufactured products produced in the United States. Due to the high level of investment in surface transportation, we initiated this audit.
What We FoundFHWA provided insufficient guidance on Buy America requirements to its Federal-aid recipients.

FHWA's guidance to State Departments of Transportation (State DOTs) and local agencies lacks detail on how to certify highway project materials' compliance with Buy America requirements.
Because there were gaps in FHWA Buy America guidance, we found weaknesses in the procedures developed by the State DOTs and local agencies that we reviewed-Texas, Washington, and Seattle-and issues concerning Buy America compliance in their projects.
FHWA also did not provide adequate guidance on its minimal use threshold for foreign materials.

FHWA did not perform adequate oversight of Federal-aid recipients' Buy America compliance.

Neither FHWA Headquarters nor its Divisions' periodic reviews, such as Compliance Assessment Program reviews, consistently address Buy America requirements.
The Division Offices' risk-based project-level reviews may overlook Buy America compliance.

RecommendationsWe made six recommendations to improve FHWA's oversight of Federal-aid recipients' compliance with Buy America requirements.

The U.S. Postal Service plays a vital role in the life of this nation, serving nearly 169 million addresses nationwide. To deliver on its mission today and in the future, the agency needs to recruit and hire employees in every part of the country. However, the Postal Service currently faces several workforce-related challenges.

To inform USPS’s recruiting, hiring, and onboarding strategies for its pre-career workforce, this paper reviews a sample of organizations in the public and private sectors to identify their best practices. Pre-career employees are temporary workers who do not receive the same benefits as career employees and are not always guaranteed a regular schedule, providing USPS with cost and operational flexibility.