DOT OIG: FRA Improved Its Guidance on High Speed Rail Grant Agreements, but Policies and Procedures for Amending and Monitoring Grants Remain Incomplete

In 2009 and 2010, Congress appropriated over $10 billion for the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) High Speed Intercity Passenger Rail (HSIPR) program. However, the FRA’s grant monitoring policies and procedures are incomplete. They do not require staff to document in the Agency’s electronic systems grantees’ corrective actions to resolve problems identified during monitoring. As a result, FRA cannot be certain that it is appropriately safeguarding federal investments.