Pursuit's Take
Congress has granted several of DOT’s Operating Administrations the authority to enter into Other Transaction Agreements (OTA). These financial instruments give agencies greater flexibility to achieve mission goals. However, because OTAs are generally exempt from Federal laws and regulations governing acquisitions and financial assistance, they can pose greater cost and performance risks than contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements.
FAA employs OTAs for a wide range of activities with significant monetary impact. However, because its OTAs are managed by a number of offices and inventoried via several different methods, FAA is unable to track all of them, provide effective oversight, or keep stakeholders fully informed about its use of the agreements. FAA policies also do not specify when it is proper to use an OTA instead of a contract or grant. In contrast, PHMSA uses OTAs for one program and has more rigorous controls over OTA usage. Furthermore, DOT and FAA lack clear, comprehensive policies to adequately manage their OTAs.
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