Highway Emergency Relief: Strengthened Oversight of Project Eligibitility Decisions Needed

摘要

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), within the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), administers the Emergency Relief Program to provide funds to states to repair roads damaged by natural disasters and catastrophic failures. In 2007, GAO reported that in recent years states' annual demand for emergency relief funds often exceeded the program's $100 million annual authorization from the Highway Trust Fund and required supplemental appropriations from general revenues to address a backlog of funding requests from states. GAO recommended that FHWA tighten eligibility standards and coordinate with states to withdraw unneeded emergency relief funds, among other actions. For this report, GAO reviewed (1) Emergency Relief Program funding trends since 2007, (2) key program changes made in response to GAO's 2007 report, and (3) the extent to which selected emergency relief projects were approved in compliance with program eligibility requirements. GAO reviewed projects in New York, Texas, and Washington state, states selected based on the amount and frequency of funding allocations since 2007, among other factors.