Recovery Act: Ensuring Accountability During Times of Fiscal Stress

Transcription

1 Recovery Act: Ensuring Accountability During Times of Fiscal Stress LORELEI ST. JAMES Texas Co-Lead for Recovery Act Work U.S. Government Accountability Office January 7,

2 Todayʼs topics Mission of the U.S. GAO Purpose of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act GAOʼs reporting responsibilities and objectives Nationwide and Texas obligations, reimbursements, and uses of highway infrastructure funds Meeting Recovery Act Highway Requirements Risk inherent in initial round of 1512 reporting requirements 2

3 GAO at a Glance Investigative arm of the Congress 80% of resources spent on people 3,200 multi-disciplinary staff 13 mission teams carry out audit responsibilities 75% of staff in Washington, DC headquarters; 25% in 11 field offices, including Dallas 3

4 American Recovery & Reinvestment Act Signed February 17, 2009 Purpose: Preserve/create jobs and promote recovery Assist those most impacted by the recession Invest in infrastructure Stabilize state and local government budgets Total cost- $787 billion 4

5 Recovery Act: GAOʼs State and Local Reporting Strategy Bimonthly reviews focused on nationwide use (including transportation) of selected Recovery Act funds Following the use of Recovery Act funds in 16 states and the District of Columbia, includes Texas 5

6 Recovery Act: GAOʼs Reporting Objectives Use of funds Safeguards and internal controls Impact of fund use Recovery Act related contracts Recent GAO reports issued 6

7 Recovery Act: Challenges for Federal, State and Local officials Unprecedented demands for transparency and accountability Coordination 7

8 Recovery Act Highway Apportionments and Obligations Nationwide and in Selected States Nationwide About $27 billion for highway infrastructure projects and other eligible projects Over $22 billion has been obligated (83 percent) as of December 31, 2009 Texas About $2.2 billion for highway infrastructure About $1.4 billion has been obligated (62 percent) as of November 30,

9 Nationwide Recovery Act Funds for Highway Infrastructure-Reimbursements Figure 2: Cumulative Recovery Act Highway Funds Obligated and Reimbursed by FHWA Nationwide from March 30, 2009, to mid November 2009 Dec 31: Obligations-- $22.4 Reimbursements-- $4.9 9

10 Use of Recovery Act Highway Funds for Pavement Improvement Projects Nationally almost half of highway obligations for pavement improvements In Texas, about 37 percent for pavement improvements 10

11 Meeting the Recovery Act Highway Infrastructure Requirements States are taking steps to meet additional Recovery Act Highway requirements All apportioned funds to be obligated within 1 year About 83 percent of funds obligated nationwide as of December 31,

12 Meeting the Recovery Act Highway Infrastructure Requirements Meeting the 1 year requirement may be impacted by awarded contracts that are less than the original estimated costs Additional projects funded with deobligated funds must be identified quickly 12

13 Meeting the Recovery Act Highway Infrastructure Requirements Priority given to projects that can be completed within 3 years and to projects in economically distressed areas Substantial variation in state interpretation of distressed areas Some states developed their own criteria 13

14 Meeting the Recovery Act Highway Infrastructure Requirements States certify maintenance of effort (MOE) The U.S. Department of Transportation issued periodic guidance Some states we visited will have to amend their certifications based on new guidance 14

15 Recipient Reporting Requirements (GAO and GAO ) Total amount of funds received Projects and activities funded Jobs created or retained Details on sub-awards and other payments 15

16 Recipient Reporting Requirements-Actions Taken to Reduce Risk in Initial Reporting, but Further Data Quality Efforts Needed Inherent risk in the first round of reporting Actions have been taken by a number of states, including Texas Nationwide data quality issues remain 16

17 Recipient Reporting Requirements-Actions Taken to Reduce Risk in Initial Reporting, but Further Data Quality Efforts Needed GAO recommendations to OMB OMB new guidance (M-10-08) 17

18 Recovery Act: Reporting Stimulus Fraud GAO Seeks the Public's Help in Fighting Waste, Fraud, Abuse or Mismanagement of Recovery Act Funds: send an to call visit GAOʼs FraudNet page at 18