Report 2009-106 Highlights - April 2010

High-Speed Rail Authority:

Our review of the High-Speed Rail Authority (Authority) revealed the following.

The Authority's 2009 business plan estimates it needs $17 billion to $19 billion in federal funds. However, the Authority has no federal commitments beyond $2.25 billion from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act), and other potential federal programs are small.
The Authority's plan for spending includes almost $12 billion in federal and state funds through 2013, more than 2.5 times what is now available.
The Authority does not have a system in place to track expenditures according to categories established by the Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century, its largest source of committed funding.
The Authority has not completed some systems needed to administer Recovery Act funds, for example, a system to track jobs created and saved.
Some monthly progress reports, issued by the Authority's contracted Program Manager to provide a summary of program status, contain inconsistent and inaccurate information.
Authority staff paid at least $4 million of invoices from regional contractors received after December 2008, without having documented written notification that the Program Manager had reviewed and approved the invoices for payment.
The Authority paid contractors more than $268,000 for services performed outside of the contractors' work plans and purchased $46,000 in furniture for one of its contractor's use, based on an oral agreement contradicted by a later written contract.