TEA-21 requires DOT to conduct a nationwide solicitation for Job Access grant applications and to select grantees on a competitive basis. Specifically, FTA adopted a noncompetitive process for the entities designated in the conference reports or applicants selected by those entities. FTA set aside funding for the designated entities and selected them without scoring and ranking their applications—that is, comparing them to those submitted by other applicants. Recommendation

We recommend that, in the absence of statutory authority to select Job Access grantees on a noncompetitive basis, the Secretary of Transportation ensure that future grants to entities designated in conference reports, including grants to applicants selected by those entities, be made on a competitive basis. These notices did not describe FTA’s process for those entities identified in the conference reports as “competitive”; rather, they distinguished between funds “reserved for specific projects” and funds “available for competitive award.” Importantly, FTA’s description of its Job Access formula proposal clearly stated with reference to the fiscal year 2000 and 2001 conference reports that “earmarking of funds does not allow for projects to emerge from a competitive process.” Therefore, DOT has not provided us with any basis to agree with its view that projects for entities identified in conference reports were competitively selected or to change our recommendation. In 1998, Congress found that three-fourths of welfare recipients lived in central cities or rural areas, but two-thirds of new, entry-level jobs were located in the suburbs. Public transportation facilities, such as buses or subways, often offer limited or no access to many of these jobs. Although the jobs can be reached by car, many welfare recipients do not have cars. To address this mismatch, the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) authorized up to $750 million for fiscal years 1999 through 2003 to implement the Job Access and Reverse Commute (Job Access) program. The program authorizes the Department of Transportation (DOT) to provide grants to local agencies, nonprofit organizations, transit authorities, and others to improve transportation to employment.
What GAO Found

In 1998, three-fourths of welfare recipients lived in central cities or rural areas, but two-thirds of new, entry-level jobs were in the suburbs. Public transportation, such as buses or subways, often offer little or no access to these jobs, and many welfare recipients do not have cars. To address this mismatch, the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century authorized up to $750 million through fiscal year 2003 for the Job Access and Reverse Commute (Job Access) program. Under the program, the Department of Transportation (DOT) can provide grants to improve transportation to employment sites. DOT must conduct a nationwide solicitation for grant applications and select grantees on a competitive basis. DOT adopted a two-track process for the selection of grantees. A noncompetitive process set aside funds for entities identified in conference reports, or applicants selected by those entities, and they were chosen without scoring or ranking their applications. The previously established competitive process for other applicants was continued. This two-track process for selecting Job Access grantees decreased opportunities to fund projects identified as "meritorious" through the competitive selection process. Although grantees must be chosen on a competitive basis, the allocation of program funds on a noncompetitive basis to entities designated in conference reports, or applicants selected by those entities, was not consistent. Furthermore, the conference reports did not impose legally binding requirements and did not provide a legal basis to deviate from the act's requirements. Therefore, the use of a noncompetitive process for the selection of program grantees in fiscal years 2000 and 2001 was not authorized.