U.S. Department of Transportation (GAO-20-513PR)

Summary

A letter from the Comptroller General, GAO-20-513PR, dated April 23, 2020, to Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao on priority open recommendations for the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). It reports that government-wide 77 percent of GAO recommendations made 4 years earlier were implemented, against a DOT rate of 83 percent, and that DOT had 197 open recommendations as of March 2020. Since GAO's April 2019 letter, DOT implemented 8 of 16 open priority recommendations, including work on aviation cybersecurity and on oversight of federal awards. The letter asks for continued attention to the remaining priority recommendations.

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441 G St. N.W. Comptroller General
Washington, DC 20548 of the United States

April 23, 2020

The Honorable Elaine L. Chao
Secretary
U.S. Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, D.C. 20590

Priority Open Recommendations: U.S. Department of Transportation

Dear Madam Secretary:

The purpose of this letter is to provide an update on the overall status of the U.S. Department of
Transportation’s (DOT) implementation of GAO’s recommendations and to call your personal
attention to areas where open recommendations should be given high priority. 1 In November
2019, we reported that on a government-wide basis, 77 percent of our recommendations made
4 years ago were implemented. 2 DOT’s recommendation implementation rate was 83 percent.
As of March 2020, DOT had 197 open recommendations. Fully implementing these open
recommendations should significantly improve DOT’s operations.

Since our April 2019 letter, DOT has implemented 8 of our 16 open priority recommendations.
This work has addressed concerns related to aviation cybersecurity by strengthening security
controls, improving the process for testing such security controls for the satellite navigation and
automation based air traffic control (ATC) system, and for addressing security weaknesses.
Additionally, DOT has taken steps to improve oversight of federal awards; such oversight will
help in addressing the high-risk area of improving funding for surface transportation.

We ask your continued attention to the 8 remaining priority recommendations identified in our
2019 letter. We are adding 8 additional priority recommendations this year related to airport
terminal area safety, oversight of new unmanned aircraft system technologies, DOT oversight of
the air ambulance industry, Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) accountability over
project decisions, and improvements to DOT’s cybersecurity infrastructure. This brings the total
number of priority recommendations to 16. (See the enclosure for the list of these
recommendations.) The following 16 priority recommendations fall into 7 areas.

Funding surface transportation. As we discuss below, funding surface transportation is
among the highest risks facing the government. We have identified two priority

1 Priority recommendations are those that GAO believes warrant priority attention from heads of key departments or

agencies. They are highlighted because, upon implementation, they may significantly improve government operation,
for example, by realizing large dollar savings; eliminating mismanagement, fraud, and abuse; or making progress
toward addressing a High Risk or duplication issue.
2 GAO, Performance and Accountability Report Fiscal Year 2019. GAO-20-1SP (Washington, D.C.: Nov 19, 2019)

Page 1 GAO-20-513PR DOT Priority Recommendations
recommendations central to maximizing resources and improving performance that have carried
over from the 2019 DOT priority recommendation letter.

First, we recommended in December 2016 that DOT issue a directive governing department-
wide and modal administration of discretionary grant programs. That directive includes
requirements to, among other things, document key decisions and align the grant programs’
policy priorities with the evaluation process. Since 2011, we have found challenges with
implementation of discretionary grant programs by DOT and its modal administrations, including
problems documenting key evaluation and project selection decisions, most recently in June
2019.

In March 2019, DOT issued a memo directing secretarial offices and operating administrations
involved in awarding discretionary grants to implement our recommendations and to include
them in their policies and procedures. As we reported in June 2019, it is unclear, due to a
number of issues, how this action will address our recommendation. For example, we found that
while the memo repeated our recommendation, DOT did not take steps to ensure that the
various affected offices consistently interpret and implement the recommendation.

DOT officials told us that they wanted to provide the affected offices flexibility to implement the
recommendation, but that the Department would assess the need for additional guidance based
on revisions to its Financial Assistance Guidance Manual. DOT completed these revisions
effective January 2020 and all affected offices are expected to complete developing their
policies and procedures by May 2020. We will continue to monitor the Department’s actions and
assess the extent to which they address our recommendation. Given the long-standing nature of
the issues we identified, we have also suggested that Congress consider including in the next
reauthorization bill for surface transportation language that would require DOT to develop and
implement transparency measures for its discretionary grant programs. 3

Second, we recommended in September 2014 that DOT include in its National Freight Strategic
Plan, which is required by law, a written statement articulating the federal role, objectives, and
goals in mitigating local congestion caused by national freight movements. 4 As we reported in
our April 2019 DOT priority recommendation letter, DOT stated that it planned to release a final
National Freight Strategic Plan in 2019. However, as of April 2020, DOT had not issued the
National Freight Strategic Plan, and officials stated that they are planning to issue this plan in
2020.

Addressing Safety Risks. Six recommendations are critical to addressing transportation safety
risks.

First, revising the methodology used to compare safety performance across motor carriers
would help ensure that Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) can better identify
and intervene with carriers at highest risk for crashing. We recommended in February 2014 that
DOT revise the Safety Measurement System (SMS) methodology to better account for data
accuracy and sufficiency limitations in drawing comparisons of safety performance information
across carriers.

3 GAO, Discretionary Transportation Grants: Actions Needed to Improve Consistency and Transparency in DOT's

Application Evaluations. GAO-19-541 (Washington, D.C.: July 26, 2019).
4 49 U.S.C. § 70102

Page 2 GAO-20-513PR DOT Priority Recommendations
The Department does not agree with our conclusions, and has requested that we close the
recommendation as not implemented. We continue to believe implementing this
recommendation will improve the reliability of data used to assess carriers that pose the
greatest safety risks. We note that the National Academies of Sciences conducted a federally
mandated evaluation of SMS, including the system’s data accuracy and sufficiency, and in 2017
made several recommendations to improve FMCSA’s ability to identify high-risk carriers. In
June 2018, FMCSA issued an action plan in response to the National Academies of Sciences’
recommendations and is developing data improvements and a new methodology, as described
in the action plan, to better identify unsafe motor carriers. FMCSA has recently developed and
tested a new methodological approach that could potentially account for the limitations we
identified. While FMCSA has not yet committed to deploying the new methodology, officials said
they hope to do so some time in 2020. Given the focus of the National Academies of Sciences’
recommendations, we will review any SMS methodology revisions FMCSA implements to see
the extent to which they also address our findings and recommendations.

Second, we recommended in November 2017 that DOT develop and implement a
comprehensive plan to better manage departmental initiatives related to automated vehicles.
Automated cars and light-duty trucks—from vehicles already on the road equipped with driver
assistance technologies to fully driverless cars still in development—pose safety and
infrastructure challenges. This plan should include leading principles such as goals, priorities,
steps to achieve results, milestones, and performance measures to track progress. In July 2018,
DOT released an initial plan related to this recommendation in response to congressional
direction. 5 This plan outlines DOT’s overall approach for managing policy and research issues
related to automated vehicles across DOT’s modal administrations. In January 2020, DOT and
the National Science and Technology Council released Ensuring American Leadership in
Automated Vehicle Technologies (AV 4.0), building on prior policies that DOT has identified as
actions regarding its implementation of GAO's recommendation. DOT has yet to identify, for
example, performance measures to monitor and gauge results. Without a comprehensive plan,
it continues to be unclear whether DOT is adequately tackling automated vehicle challenges.

Third, we made a recommendation in March 2018 that is critical to successfully implementing
FTA’s additional authorities and responsibilities over rail transit that were enacted in 2012. 6 We
recommended that FTA develop and communicate a method for how it will monitor the
effectiveness of state safety agencies’ enforcement authorities and practices. Without such a
method, FTA will lack the information needed to identify ineffective state enforcement, which
risks allowing safety deficiencies to remain for long periods of time. FTA agreed and has
discussed proposals with us, and we look forward to further discussions about how it is
implementing the recommendation.

Fourth, we recommended in August 2019 that FAA’s Runway Safety Manager should establish
a plan to assess the effectiveness of all of FAA's terminal area-safety efforts, including Airport
Surface Detection Equipment, Model X (ASDE-X) and the Runway Safety Program. FAA has
many terminal-area safety efforts underway, but has not assessed their effectiveness.
Prioritizing this recommendation will help FAA direct its resources toward activities and
technologies proven to enhance safety and identify ways to strengthen those efforts. By

5 DOT released this initial plan in response to a provision in the Joint Explanatory Statement accompanying the

Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018, Pub. L. No. 115–141, 132 Stat. 348 (2018).
6 Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act), Pub. L. No. 112-141, § 20021, 126 Stat. 405, 709 (codified

as amended at 49 U.S.C. § 5329).

Page 3 GAO-20-513PR DOT Priority Recommendations
assessing the effectiveness of its primary efforts, FAA may be better positioned to make
decisions about how to target its limited resources within and among these efforts. As of
December 2019, FAA has concurred with the recommendation, but needs to take additional
steps to address the recommendation. FAA noted that it would identify actions to assess the
effectiveness of all of its terminal-area safety efforts in a Runway Safety Evolution Plan, which
the agency expects to complete by September 30, 2020. We will review the Runway Safety
Evolution Plan when it is available.

Fifth and sixth, we made two recommendations in October 2019 that are critical to addressing
FAA’s oversight of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) to reduce risks to public safety.

• FAA should develop an approach to more effectively communicate key information to
local law enforcement agencies regarding their expected role with regard to small UAS
safety oversight.

• FAA should identify existing or new data and information needed to evaluate the
effectiveness of oversight over UAS safety and to develop a mechanism for capturing
these data as needed.

These actions should help the agency adapt to an evolving UAS environment. FAA has
concurred with these recommendations; we will continue to analyze and evaluate the actions
the agency has taken in response.

Improving Transparency and Communication. We have identified two priority
recommendations that are critical to improving transparency and communication for the DOT.

First, in December 2015, we made a recommendation critical to improving the U.S. aviation
sector's preparedness for future communicable disease threats from abroad. We recommended
that the Secretary of Transportation should work with relevant stakeholders, such as the
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), to develop a national aviation-preparedness
plan for communicable disease outbreaks. Such a plan could establish a mechanism for
coordination between the aviation and public health sectors and provides clear and transparent
planning assumptions for a variety of types and levels of communicable disease threats.

As of April 2020, DOT has not developed a national aviation-preparedness plan to respond to
communicable disease threats from abroad. DOT partially concurs with our recommendation
and agrees that an aviation preparedness plan is needed, but continues to suggest that HHS
and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have responsibility for communicable disease
response and preparedness planning, respectively, and that these departments should lead any
efforts to address planning for communicable disease outbreaks, including for transportation.

DOT would be in the best position to lead the effort because FAA and DOT have stronger and
deeper ties to the relevant stakeholders that would be involved in such a broad effort and is
responsible for overseeing the aviation sector. While the DOT and HHS may not agree on which
agency should lead the development of a national aviation-preparedness plan, DOT’s Office of
the Secretary is the liaison to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) for Annex 9 to
the Chicago Convention, an international aviation treaty. Annex 9 obligates each ICAO member
state to establish a national aviation-preparedness plan for communicable disease outbreaks
that pose a public health risk or public health emergency of international concern.

In the absence of a national aviation-preparedness plan, DOT officials point to ongoing efforts to
engage with interagency partners at DHS and HHS, as well as industry stakeholders, to better

Page 4 GAO-20-513PR DOT Priority Recommendations
collaborate on communicable disease response and preparedness as they relate to civil
aviation. For example, in response to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, DOT
reported that it has facilitated conference calls between stakeholders, including federal agencies
and aviation stakeholders, and it has collaborated with the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) within HHS to update interim guidance for airline crews related to
communicable diseases, specifically COVID-19, among other things. While these efforts are
helpful, we continue to believe that DOT is in the best position to take the lead in working with
its relevant stakeholders to develop a national aviation-preparedness plan, which could guide
preparation for communicable diseases nationally and for individual airlines and airports, as well
as establish a framework for communication and response for the next communicable disease
outbreak. Such a plan should help government minimize and quickly respond to future
communicable disease events and garner international cooperation in addressing pandemic
issues.

Second, we recommended in July 2017 that in order to increase transparency and obtain
information to better inform decisions on whether to investigate potentially unfair or deceptive
practices in the air ambulance industry, the Secretary of Transportation should assess available
federal and industry data and determine what further information could assist in the evaluation
of future complaints or concerns regarding unfair or deceptive practices. DOT did not concur
with this recommendation, noting that its analysis of whether a complaint alleges conduct that
could constitute an unfair or deceptive practice is fundamentally based on the unique facts of
each additional case, rather than aggregate data.

The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (the Act), signed into law on October 5, 2018, directed the
establishment of an Air Ambulance and Patient Billing (AAPB) Advisory Committee. The Act
also required the committee to make recommendations on a variety of topics, including what
additional data from air ambulance providers and other sources should be collected by DOT to
improve its understanding of the industry. On September 12, 2019, DOT announced the
formation of the AAPB Advisory Committee, including the appointment of 13 members. The first
meeting of the AAPB Advisory Committee was held in January 2020. Pursuant to the Act, the
AAPB Advisory Committee is to submit a report containing its recommendations not later than
180 days after the date of its first meeting. GAO will continue to monitor the work of the AAPB
Advisory Committee related to this recommendation.

Cybersecurity Risks. As we discuss below, ensuring cybersecurity of the nation is another of
the highest risks facing the government. Three priority recommendations will help address
cybersecurity risks in aviation and workforce staffing, and improve DOT’s risk management.

We recommended in February 2018 that DOT, in cooperation with the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS), should take steps to consult, as appropriate with respective sector partners
such as DHS and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), to develop
methods for determining the level and type of cybersecurity framework adoption by entities
across the transportation systems sector. DOT concurred with the recommendation. As of
February 2020, the department had begun taking steps to develop methods to determine the
level and type of framework adoption in the respective sectors.

Specifically, officials in the DOT’s Office of Intelligence, Security, and Emergency Response, in
coordination with the DHS, told us that they planned to develop and distribute a survey to the
Transportation Systems sector to determine the level and type of framework adoption. DOT
officials stated that the draft survey was undergoing DHS legal review and that the completion of
the review and subsequent Office of Management and Budget review would determine when

Page 5 GAO-20-513PR DOT Priority Recommendations
the survey will be approved for distribution. While the department has ongoing initiatives,
implementing our recommendations to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the
framework’s use by critical infrastructure sectors is essential to the success of protection efforts.

We made two recommendations in July 2019 that are critical to protecting DOT from a growing
number of cyber threats to systems and data by taking a risk-based approach to cybersecurity
by effectively identifying, prioritizing, and managing cyber risks. We recommended that the
Secretary of Transportation should fully develop a cybersecurity risk management strategy that
includes key required elements, including a statement of departmental risk tolerance and risk
mitigation strategies, and a description of acceptable risk assessment methodologies. We also
recommended that the Secretary of Transportation should fully establish and document a
process for coordination between cybersecurity risk management and enterprise risk
management functions. DOT concurred with both recommendations, and as of January 2020,
estimated that it would implement them by October 1, 2020, and January 4, 2021, respectively.
GAO continues to track DOT’s progress in implementing these recommendations.

Improving management of information technology (IT) workforce planning. We
recommended in November 2016 that DOT, as well as four other agencies, implement IT
workforce planning practices to facilitate a more rigorous analysis of gaps between current skills
and future needs, as well as develop a strategy for filling gaps. Specifically, we stated that the
right mix of expertise to recognize problems early and the requisite authority to address them
are contingent upon effective IT workforce planning. In October 2019, we reported the results of
our evaluation of DOT’s progress in implementing the eight IT workforce planning activities.
Specifically, we reported that the Department had fully implemented the activity to develop
competency and staffing requirements, but had not yet fully implemented the remaining seven
activities, including developing a workforce planning process. 7

In January 2020, the department stated that its Office of the Chief Information Officer and Office
of Human Resource Management had established a workgroup to lead and conduct workforce
planning activities, and had defined the strategic goals and objectives for the department’s IT
workforce. The department also stated that the workgroup was planning on subsequently
completing additional activities, including completing a workforce analysis with a competency
gap assessment, by the end of calendar year 2020, and developing strategies to address any
identified gaps by the end of 2021. We will continue to monitor the department’s efforts to
implement our recommendation.

Improving federal grant management. In October 2019, we made a recommendation to the
FHWA that is critical to enhancing accountability over highway emergency relief project
decisions. We recommended that the Administrator of FHWA require FHWA division offices to
document the rationale for classifying projects as emergency repairs, such as a description of
why an emergency repair is necessary and which alternative strategies or repairs were
considered, and to more clearly define the circumstances under which projects are classified as
emergency repairs, including what constitutes restoration of essential traffic.

The Highway Emergency Relief Program has provided billions of dollars in assistance since
2017, including funds for emergency repairs undertaken during or immediately after a disaster
to restore essential traffic that are eligible for 100 percent federal funding. DOT concurred with
GAO’s recommendation and FHWA stated it plans to issue a memo to its division offices to

7 GAO. Information Technology: Agencies Need to Fully Implement Key Workforce Planning Activities. GAO-20-129.

(Washington, D.C.: October 30, 2019).

Page 6 GAO-20-513PR DOT Priority Recommendations
implement the recommendation by June 2020. We will continue to monitor the department’s
efforts to implement our recommendation.

Improving transportation readiness. One recommendation made in September 2015 calls for
the Maritime Administration (MARAD) to address the need for improved transportation
readiness by fully assessing available maritime personnel resources. While MARAD has
estimated that there is a shortage of qualified mariners available to crew a full and prolonged
activation of the reserve fleet, its estimate does not fully account for all of the potential sources
of supply. DOT agreed with this recommendation. DOT released the National Maritime Strategy
(the Strategy) in March 2020. The Strategy lists, as one of its objectives, “develop an accurate
roster of sealift qualified mariners.” According to the Strategy, DOT is to have at least
considered a timeline for achieving that objective by March 2021.

DOT also informed GAO that a MARAD report to Congress on "Opportunities and Challenges to
Increasing the Number of U.S. Coast Guard Credentialed Mariners", which may address part of
GAO's recommendation, is under the review of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget
(OMB). Furthermore, the Mariner Survey project, which DOT planned to survey all appropriately
credentialed U.S. merchant mariners in 2020, and again in 2022 to determine the number of
qualified mariners willing and able to serve on short notice, has not yet been approved by OMB.
Thus far, DOT has not implemented GAO's recommendation to study the potential availability of
all qualified mariners.

- - - - -

In March 2019 we issued our biennial update to our high-risk program, which identifies
government operations with greater vulnerabilities to fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement
or the need for transformation to address economy, efficiency, or effectiveness challenges. Our
high-risk program has served to identify and help resolve serious weaknesses in areas that
involve substantial resources and provide critical service to the public.

One of our high-risk areas, funding the nation's surface transportation, requires congressional
action to develop a sustainable plan while also centering on DOT and the agency’s ability to
maximize existing resources. Several other government-wide high-risk areas including (1)
ensuring cybersecurity of the nation,(2) improving management of IT acquisitions and
operations, and (3) strategic human capital management, also have direct implications for DOT
and its operation. 8 We urge your attention to the DOT and government-wide high-risk issues as
they relate to DOT. Progress on high-risk issues has been possible through the concerted
actions and efforts of Congress, OMB, and the leadership and staff in agencies, including within
DOT.

Copies of this report are being sent to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and
appropriate congressional committees including the Committees on Appropriations, Budget, and
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, United States Senate; and the Committees on
Appropriations, Budget, and Oversight and Government Reform, House of Representatives.

In addition, the report will be available at no charge on the GAO website at http://www.gao.gov.

8 GAO-19-157SP. See pages 86-90 for Funding the Nation’s Surface Transportation System, pages 178-184 for

Ensuring the Cybersecurity of the Nation, pages 123-127 for Improving the Management of IT Acquisitions and
Operations, and pages 75-77 for Strategic Human Capital Management.

Page 7 GAO-20-513PR DOT Priority Recommendations
I appreciate DOT’s continued commitment to these important issues. If you have any questions
or would like to discuss any of the issues outlined in this letter, please do not hesitate to contact
me or Dan Bertoni, Managing Director, Physical Infrastructure at bertonid@gao.gov or 202-512-
2834. Contact points for our Offices of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found
on the last page of this report. Our teams will continue to coordinate with your staff on all of the
197 open recommendations. Thank you for your attention to these matters.

Sincerely yours,

Gene L. Dodaro
Comptroller General
of the United States

Enclosure(s)— 1

Cc:

Russ Vought, Acting Director, OMB
James C. Owens, Deputy Administrator, NHTSA
Steve Dickson, Administrator, FAA
Nicole R. Nason, Administrator, FHWA
Jim Mullen, Deputy Administrator, FMCSA
K. Jane Williams, Acting Administrator, FTA
Mark H. Buzby, Administrator, MARAD
Madeline Chulumovich, Office of the Secretary, DOT

Page 8 GAO-20-513PR DOT Priority Recommendations
Enclosure

Department of Transportation (DOT) Priority Recommendations

Funding Surface Transportation

DOT Discretionary Grants: Problems with Hurricane Sandy Transit Grant Selection Process
Highlight the Need for Additional Accountability. GAO-17-20. Washington. D.C.: December 14,
2016.

Recommendation: Given DOT's new discretionary grant programs and similar challenges we
have found with previous DOT programs, the Secretary of Transportation should issue a
directive that governs department-wide and modal administration discretionary grant programs.
Such a directive should include requirements to: (1) develop a plan for evaluating project
proposals in advance of issuing a notice of funding availability that defines the stages of the
process, including how the process will be overseen to ensure a consistent review of
applications; (2) document key decisions, including the reason for any rating changes and the
officials responsible for those changes, and how high-level concerns raised during the process
were addressed; and (3) align stated program purpose and policy priorities with the evaluation
and selection process.

Action needed: DOT concurred with this recommendation. In March 2019, DOT issued a one-
page memo, directing all offices and departments that administer discretionary grants to update
their policies and procedures to address GAO’s recommendation. Due to a number of issues,
however, it is unclear how this action will address our recommendation to create clear
department-wide requirements aimed at improving transparency and consistency. DOT did not
take steps to ensure that the various affected offices consistently interpret and implement the
recommendation. In addition, DOT did not communicate to offices how they should sufficiently
document their decisions to ensure that the rationale for those decisions—including the reasons
individual projects were selected or not selected—is clear. Lack of information regarding how
offices should implement the memo raises significant questions about whether various offices
will interpret and implement the recommendations differently, and enhances the risk that DOT
will continue to lack a department-wide approach to ensure that discretionary grant programs
are consistently and transparently administered. DOT officials told us they wanted to provide the
affected offices flexibility to implement the recommendation, but that the Department would
assess the need for additional guidance based on revisions to its Financial Assistance
Guidance Manual. DOT completed these revisions effective January 2020 and all affected
offices are expected to complete developing their policies and procedures by May 2020. We will
continue to monitor the Department’s actions and assess the extent to which they address our
recommendation. As we reported in June 2019, given the long-standing nature of the issues we
identified, we have also suggested that Congress consider including language in the next
reauthorization bill that would require DOT to develop and implement transparency measures
for its discretionary grant programs.

High Risk Area: Funding the Nation’s Surface Transportation System

Director: Elizabeth Repko

Contact information: RepkoE@gao.gov and (202) 512-2834

Page 9 GAO-20-513PR DOT Priority Recommendations
Freight Transportation: Developing National Strategy Would Benefit from Added Focus on
Community Congestion Impacts. GAO-14-740. Washington. D.C.: September 19. 2014.

Recommendation: Include in the National Freight Strategic Plan a written statement
articulating the federal role in freight-related local congestion impacts, by clearly identifying
potential objectives and goals (under the general area DOT has established for the Freight
Transportation Conditions and Performance Report of reducing adverse environmental and
community impacts) for mitigating local congestion caused by national freight movements and
the role federal and state stakeholders could play in achieving each objective and goal, and
including a written strategy for improving the availability of national data needed to quantify,
assess, and establish measures on freight trends and impacts on local traffic congestion.

Action needed: DOT concurred with this recommendation. To fully implement this
recommendation, DOT should complete and issue a National Freight Strategic Plan. As part of
the development of the National Freight Strategic Plan, DOT should articulate the federal role,
objectives, and goals in mitigating local congestion caused by national freight movements. DOT
stated that it is continuing work on the National Freight Strategic Plan and intends to release the
plan in 2020.

High Risk Area: Funding the Nation’s Surface Transportation System

Director: Elizabeth Repko

Contact information: RepkoE@gao.gov and (202) 512-2834

Addressing Safety Risks

Federal Motor Carrier Safety: Modifying the Compliance, Safety, Accountability Program Would
Improve the Ability to Identify High Risk Carriers. GAO-14-114. Washington, D.C.: February 3,
2014.

Recommendation: To improve the Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) program, the
Secretary of Transportation should direct the FMCSA Administrator to revise the SMS
methodology to better account for limitations in drawing comparisons of safety performance
information across carriers; in doing so, the Secretary of Transportation should direct the
FMCSA Administrator to conduct a formal analysis that specifically identifies limitations in: (1)
the data used to calculate SMS scores including variability in the carrier population and the
quality and quantity of data available for carrier safety performance assessments, and (2) the
resulting SMS scores, including their precision, confidence, and reliability for the purposes for
which they are used.

Action needed: FMCSA did not agree with our recommendation, disputing the methodology
and conclusions in our report. However, we continue to believe that addressing Safety
Measurement System (SMS) methodology limitations has merit and could help the agency
better target FMCSA's resources to the carriers that pose the highest risk of crashing. For
example, we found FMCSA requires a minimum level of information for a carrier to receive an
SMS score; however, this requirement is not strong enough to produce sufficiently reliable
scores. As a result, FMCSA identified many carriers as high risk that were not later involved in a
crash, potentially causing FMCSA to miss opportunities to intervene with higher risk carriers. To
fully implement this recommendation, FMCSA should revise SMS methodology to account for
data limitations that limit comparisons so that the FMCSA is better positioned to identify and
mitigate carriers that pose the greatest safety risks. FMCSA has recently developed and tested

Page 10 GAO-20-513PR DOT Priority Recommendations
a new methodological approach that could potentially account for the limitations we identified.
While FMCSA has not yet committed to deploying the new methodology, they hope to do so
some time in 2020.

Director: Elizabeth Repko

Contact information: RepkoE@gao.gov and (202) 512-2834

Automated Vehicles: Comprehensive Plan Could Help DOT Address Challenges. GAO-18-132.
Washington, D.C.: November 30, 2017.

Recommendation: The Secretary of Transportation should develop and implement a
comprehensive plan to better manage departmental initiatives related to automated vehicles.
This plan should include leading principles such as goals, priorities, steps to achieve results,
milestones, and performance measures to track progress.

Action needed: DOT concurred with this recommendation. In January 2020, DOT released
Ensuring American Leadership in Automated Vehicle Technologies (AV 4.0), building on prior
policies that DOT has as actions regarding its implementation of GAO's recommendation.
However, without incorporating leading principles of comprehensive planning, it continues to be
unclear whether DOT is adequately tackling automated vehicle challenges.

Director: Elizabeth Repko

Contact information: RepkoE@gao.gov and (202) 512-2834

Rail Transit: Federal Transit Administration Can Strengthen Safety Oversight by Improving
Guidance to States. GAO-18-310. Washington, D.C.: March 20, 2018.

Recommendation: The Office of Transit Safety and Oversight should develop and
communicate a method for how it will monitor the effectiveness of the enforcement authorities
and practices of state safety agencies.

Action needed: DOT concurred with this recommendation. DOT should continue its progress to
developing and communicating a methodology for how it will monitor the effectiveness of state
safety agencies' enforcement.

Director: Andrew Von Ah

Contact information: Vonaha@gao.gov and (202) 512-2834

Aviation Safety: Opportunities Exist for FAA to Improve Airport Terminal Area Safety Efforts.
GAO-19-639 Washington, D.C.: August 30, 2019.

Recommendation: The Runway Safety Manager should establish a plan to assess the
effectiveness of all of FAA's terminal area-safety efforts, including Airport Surface Detection
Equipment, Model X (ASDE-X) and the Runway Safety Program.

Action Needed: FAA agreed with this recommendation. FAA noted that it will identify actions to
assess the effectiveness of all of its terminal-area safety efforts in a Runway Safety Evolution
Plan, the agency expects to complete by September 30, 2020. We will review the Runway
Safety Evolution Plan when it is available.

Page 11 GAO-20-513PR DOT Priority Recommendations
Director: Heather Krause

Contact information: krauseh@gao.gov and (202) 512-2834

Unmanned Aircraft Systems: FAA's Compliance and Enforcement Approach for Drones Could
Benefit from Improved Communication and Data. GAO-20-29. Washington D.C.: October 17,
2019.

Recommendation: The Administrator of the FAA should develop an approach to more
effectively communicate key information to local law enforcement agencies regarding their
expected role with regard to small UAS safety oversight.

Recommendation: The Administrator of the FAA should identify existing or new data and
information needed to evaluate oversight activities and develop a mechanism for capturing
these data as needed.

Action Needed: DOT concurred with these recommendations. When we confirm what actions
the agency has taken in response to these recommendations, we will provide updated
information.

Director: Heather Krause

Contact information: krauseh@gao.gov and (202) 512-2834

Improving Transparency and Communication

Air Travel and Communicable Diseases: Comprehensive Federal Plan Needed for U.S. Aviation
System's Preparedness. GAO-16-127. Washington, D.C: December 16, 2015.

Recommendation: To help improve the U.S. aviation sector's preparedness for future
communicable disease threats from abroad, the Secretary of Transportation should work with
relevant stakeholders, such as the Department of Health and Human Services, to develop a
national aviation-preparedness plan for communicable disease outbreaks. Such a plan could
establish a mechanism for coordination between the aviation and public health sectors and
provides clear and transparent planning assumptions for a variety of types and levels of
communicable disease threats.

Action needed: DOT partially concurred with our recommendation and agrees that an aviation
preparedness plan is needed, but continues to suggest that the Department of Health and
Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have responsibility for
communicable disease response and preparedness planning, respectively, and that these
departments should lead any efforts to address planning for communicable disease outbreaks,
including for transportation. DOT would be in the best position to lead the effort because FAA
and DOT have stronger and deeper ties to the relevant stakeholders that would be involved in
such a broad effort and is responsible for overseeing the aviation sector. While the DOT and
HHS may not agree on which agency should lead the development of a national aviation-
preparedness plan, DOT’s Office of the Secretary is the liaison to ICAO for Annex 9 to the
Chicago Convention, an international aviation treaty. Annex 9 obligates each ICAO member
state to establish a national aviation-preparedness plan for communicable disease outbreaks
that pose a public health risk or public health emergency of international concern.

Page 12 GAO-20-513PR DOT Priority Recommendations
As of April 2020, the Department of Transportation (DOT) has not developed a national aviation-
preparedness plan to respond to communicable disease threats from abroad. In the absence of
a national aviation-preparedness plan, DOT officials point to ongoing efforts to engage with
interagency partners at DHS and HHS, as well as industry stakeholders, to better collaborate on
communicable disease response and preparedness as they relate to civil aviation. For example,
in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, DOT reported that it has facilitated conference calls
between stakeholders, including federal agencies and aviation stakeholders, and it has
collaborated with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) within HHS to update
interim guidance for airline crews related to communicable diseases, specifically COVID-19,
among other things. Despite these efforts, we continue to believe that DOT is in the best
position to work with its relevant stakeholders to develop a national aviation-preparedness plan,
which could guide preparation for communicable diseases nationally and for individual airlines
and airports, as well as establish a framework for communication and response for the next
communicable disease outbreak.

Director: Heather Krause

Contact information: krauseh@gao.gov and (202) 512-2834

Air Ambulance: Data Collection and Transparency Needed to Enhance DOT Oversight. GAO-
17-637. Washington, D.C.: Jul 27, 2017.

Recommendation: To increase transparency and obtain information to better inform decisions
on whether to investigate potentially unfair or deceptive practices in the air ambulance industry,
the Secretary of Transportation should assess available federal and industry data and
determine what further information could assist in the evaluation of future complaints or
concerns regarding unfair or deceptive practices.

Action Needed: In September 2017, DOT did not concur with this recommendation, noting that
its analysis of whether a complaint alleges conduct that could constitute an unfair or deceptive
practice is fundamentally based on the unique facts of each additional case, rather than
aggregate data. However, the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (the Act), signed into law on
October 5, 2018, directed the establishment of an Air Ambulance and Patient Billing (AAPB)
Advisory Committee and required it to make recommendations on a variety of topics, including
the recommendations from this GAO report. The AAPB Advisory Committee was formed in
September 2019 and held its first meeting in January 2020. The Act requires the AAPB Advisory
Committee to issue a report within 180 days of its first meeting to the Secretary of DOT, the
Secretary of HHS, and appropriate committees of Congress. Pursuant to the Act, DOT’s report
is to include information on how DOT will conduct oversight of air ambulance providers,
including the information sources DOT will use to conduct such oversight. This report will
provide DOT an opportunity to document its response to GAO’s recommendation to assess
available data to inform its assessment on whether to pursue investigations regarding unfair or
deceptive practices in the air ambulance industry.

Director: Heather Krause

Contact information: krauseh@gao.gov and (202) 512-2834

Cybersecurity Risks

Critical Infrastructure Protection: Additional Actions Are Essential for Assessing Cybersecurity
Framework Adoption. GAO-18-211. Washington, D.C.: February 15, 2018.

Page 13 GAO-20-513PR DOT Priority Recommendations
Recommendation: The Secretary of Transportation, in cooperation with the Secretary of
Homeland Security, should take steps to consult with respective sector partner(s), such as the
SCC, DHS and NIST, as appropriate, to develop methods for determining the level and type of
framework adoption by entities across their respective sector.

Action needed: DOT concurred with the recommendation. As of February 2020, the
department had begun taking steps to develop methods to determine the level and type of
framework adoption in the respective sectors. Specifically, officials in the DOT’s Office of
Intelligence, Security, and Emergency Response, in coordination with the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS), told us that they planned to develop and distribute a survey to the
Transportation Systems sector to determine the level and type of framework adoption. DOT
officials stated that the draft survey was undergoing DHS legal review and that the completion of
the review and subsequent Office of Management and Budget review would determine when
the survey is approved for distribution. While the department has ongoing initiatives,
implementing our recommendations to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the
framework’s use by critical infrastructure sectors is essential to the success of protection efforts.

High Risk Area: Ensuring the Cybersecurity of the Nation

Director: Vijay A. D’Souza

Contact information: Dsouzav@gao.gov and (202) 512-6240

Cybersecurity: Agencies Need to Fully Establish Risk Management Programs and Address
Challenges. GAO-19-384. Washington, D.C.: July 25, 2019.

Recommendation: The Secretary of Transportation should fully develop a cybersecurity risk
management strategy that includes the key elements identified in this report.

Recommendation: The Secretary of Transportation should fully establish and document a
process for coordination between cybersecurity risk management and enterprise risk
management functions.

Action Needed: DOT concurred with both recommendations. Regarding the first
recommendation, the department stated that it intends to establish a cybersecurity risk
management strategy that includes the missing elements by October 1, 2021. For the second
recommendation, DOT stated that it will establish and document a process for coordination
between cybersecurity risk management and enterprise risk management functions by January
4, 2021. GAO continues to track its progress in implementing these recommendations.

High Risk Area: Ensuring the Cybersecurity of the Nation

Director: Nicholas H. Marinos

Contact information: marinosn@gao.gov and (202) 512-9342

Improving management of information technology (IT) workforce planning

IT Workforce: Key Practices Help Ensure Strong Integrated Program Teams; Selected
Departments Need to Assess Skill Gaps. GAO-17-8. Washington, D.C.: November 30, 2016.

Recommendation: To facilitate the analysis of gaps between current skills and future needs,
the development of strategies for filling the gaps, and succession planning, the Secretary of

Page 14 GAO-20-513PR DOT Priority Recommendations
Transportation should require the Chief Information Officer, Chief Human Capital Officer, and
other senior managers as appropriate to address the shortfalls in IT workforce planning noted in
this report, including the following actions: (1) establish a time frame for when the department is
to finalize its draft workforce planning process and maintain that process; (2) develop staffing
requirements for all positions; (3) assess competency and staffing needs regularly for all
positions; (4) assess gaps in staffing for all components of the workforce; (5) develop strategies
and plans to address gaps in competencies and staffing; (6) implement activities that address
gaps, including an IT acquisition cadre, cross-functional training of acquisition and program
personnel, a career path for program managers, and use of special hiring authorities, if justified
and cost-effective; (7) monitor the department's progress in addressing competency and staffing
gaps; and (8) report to department leadership on progress in addressing competency and
staffing gaps.

Action Needed: DOT concurred with the recommendation. In January 2020, the department
stated that its Office of the Chief Information Officer and Office of Human Resource
Management had established a workgroup to lead and conduct workforce planning activities,
and had defined the strategic goals and objectives for the department’s IT workforce. The
department also stated that the workgroup was planning on subsequently completing additional
activities, including completing a workforce analysis with a competency gap assessment, by the
end of calendar year 2020, and developing strategies to address any identified gaps by the end
of 2021. We will continue to monitor the department’s efforts to implement our recommendation.

High Risk Area: Improving the Management of IT Acquisitions and Operations

Director: Carol C. Harris

Contact information: harriscc@gao.gov and (202) 512-4456

Improving federal grant management

Highway Emergency Relief: Federal Highway Administration Should Enhance Accountability
over Project Decisions. GAO-20-32. Washington, D.C.: Oct 17, 2019.

Recommendation: The Administrator of FHWA should require FHWA division offices to
document the rationale for classifying projects as emergency repairs, such as a description of
why an emergency repair is necessary and which alternative strategies or repairs were
considered, and to more clearly define the circumstances under which projects are classified as
emergency repairs, including what constitutes restoration of essential traffic.

Action Needed: DOT concurred with the recommendations and stated it plans to implement it
by June 2020. GAO continues to track its progress in implementing it.

Director: Elizabeth Repko

Contact information: RepkoE@gao.gov and (202) 512-2834

Improving transportation readiness

International Food Assistance: Cargo Preference Increases Food Aid Shipping Costs, and
Benefits are Unclear. GAO-15-666. Washington, D.C.: September 25, 2015.

Page 15 GAO-20-513PR DOT Priority Recommendations
Recommendation: The Secretary of Transportation should direct the Administrator of MARAD
to study the potential availability of all qualified mariners needed to meet a full and prolonged
activation of the reserve sealift fleet. In the study, MARAD should identify potential solutions to
address the mariner shortfall if one is still identified.

Action Needed: DOT concurred with the recommendation. To fully implement this
recommendation, the Maritime Administration should reach out to all mariners identified by the
U.S. Coast Guard as having unlimited credentials to both verify their qualifications as well as
ascertain their availability and willingness to crew the reserve sealift fleet in a full and prolonged
activation. In addition, the Maritime Administration should identify potential solutions to
addressing any mariner shortfall that may be identified. DOT has not indicated that it
implemented GAO's recommendation to study the potential availability of all qualified mariners
needed to meet a full and prolonged activation of the reserve sealift fleet, including reaching out
to all potentially qualified mariners to verify their qualifications as well as ascertain their
availability and willingness to crew the reserve sealift fleet in a full and prolonged activation.

Director: Chelsa Gurkin

Contact information: GurkinC@gao.gov and (202) 512-2964

(104069)

Page 16 GAO-20-513PR DOT Priority Recommendations
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