GPRA required federal agencies to develop  strategic plans with long-term, outcome-oriented goals and objectives,  annual goals linked to achieving the long-term goals, and annual reports on  the results achieved. In the case of FAA, the agency has made available  much of the information and analytic resources that Congress needs to  conduct its oversight role. Analytical Agencies and Organizations Can Provide Information and Analysis to Enhance Oversight Efforts

Through its legislative support agencies—GAO, Congressional Research  Service and the Congressional Budget Office—and the Department of  Transportation’s Inspector General, congressional committees also have  access to considerable resources for oversight. These  included two involving FAA—FAA Financial Management and FAA Air  Traffic Control modernization. In addition, the OIG annually reports on the top management challenges  facing DOT. Regular Communication and Timely Access to Useful Information Can Enhance Oversight

Effective communication among agency officials, Members of Congress  and congressional staff is needed to ensure that information agencies  provide meets committee needs. While considerable information resources  are available, they may not be available in a manner that is useful to  committees. We have previously reported, in a review of interactions  between the Congress and other executive branch agencies, that although  agencies collect and produce a great deal of useful information, much of it  did not reach the interested congressional committees, and the information  that did reach the committees was difficult to digest, too highly aggregated,  or was received too late to be useful. While FAA provides a great deal of  information on its Web site, enhancing access to agency information using  technology can improve the timeliness and usefulness of agency  information to the Congress. Further, regular meetings between committees, staff and agency officials  could identify the committee’s principal oversight objectives, provide a  forum to discuss the issues, and develop the best approaches to meet them. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee staff indicated that  FAA has a large quantity of information available and effective  communication between the staff and the agency, but it is also interested in  using technology to gain additional, timely access to agency data when  conducting oversight. For example, as a result of our discussions with  committee and agency staff, FAA has initiated a For Congress page on its  Web site. The page provides a single point of access for information  committee staff identified in our discussions as relevant for oversight, as  shown in figure 5. Importantly, these findings constitute lessons learned  that may be transferable to other agencies. Recommendations for Executive Action

We recommend the Secretary of the Department of Transportation, direct  the Administrator of FAA, to take the following actions to further enhance  committee access to FAA information:  Continue to work with committee staff to further refine the For  Congress Web site by improving the flow of information and taking  advantage of emerging technologies;   Include a Frequently Asked Questions page on the For Congress site,  allowing oversight committees to quickly find answers to commonly  requested items relevant to Congress;  Add moderated access on the For Congress Web site to allow access to  information that should be made available to congressional committees,  yet may not be appropriate for the general public;  Consider offering regular meetings between the Members of the  committee and key staff with senior FAA executives to address matters  of mutual concern. They noted that a considerable amount  of information is available to Members of Congress and their staff in a  section of FAA’s Web site dedicated to serving the information needs of  Congress—as our report notes, an improvement developed as a result of  discussions between agency and congressional staff during our review. Objectives, Scope and Methodology

The objectives of this report were to identify (1) information FAA produces  that could enhance congressional oversight; (2) other available information  resources that could enhance congressional oversight; and, (3) how  committee access to FAA’s information could be improved to enhance  timeliness and usefulness. Financial Statements Provide Insights into Agency Financial Management and Resources

FAA’s annual financial statements can be used to analyze the agency’s  operating results and its financial position.
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to various statutes, federal agencies develop an abundance of performance, budget, and financial information that could be useful for Congress' review and monitoring of agencies. However, agencies' understanding of Congress' information needs is often limited and agencies may not be providing timely information in a format that aids congressional understanding of trends and issues. Thus, Members and their staff may not be aware of or avail themselves to certain information. To describe the information available and how it might be used to support congressional oversight, the Federal Aviation Administration was selected as a case study in part due to the large quantity of information already available. GAO was asked to identify: (1) information FAA produces that could enhance congressional oversight, (2) other technology and information resources that could enhance congressional oversight, and (3) how committee access to FAA's information could be improved to enhance its timeliness and usefulness.

What GAO Found

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has made available much of the information and analytic resources that Congress needs to carry out its oversight function. For example, FAA has a strategic plan with long-term, outcome-oriented goals and objectives. Its annual Performance and Accountability Report includes the agency's progress in achieving its goals, and allows Congress to monitor performance trends. This report also provides financial information useful for analyzing its operating results and financial position. FAA's budget documents combined with performance data could provide Congress information to use in determining whether resources are achieving the planned performance improvements. Used together, this information could assist Members of Congress and congressional staff in their oversight responsibilities. Through its legislative support agencies--GAO, Congressional Research Service and the Congressional Budget Office--and the Department of Transportation's (DOT) Inspector General (IG), congressional committee staff also have access to considerable resources for oversight. For example, GAO's 2005 High Risk Series Update includes FAA's Air Traffic Control Modernization program and discusses progress the agency has made in addressing its problems. DOT's IG annually reports on the top management challenges facing FAA, such as safety and capacity challenges. Effective communication is needed to ensure that information agencies provide meets congressional needs. While considerable information resources are available, they may not be available in a manner that is useful to committees. We have reported that although agencies collect and produce a great deal of information, much of it did not reach the interested committees, and the information that did reach them was difficult to digest, highly aggregated, or was received too late to be useful. In the case of FAA, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee staff said FAA has a large quantity of information available and effective communication between the staff and agency, but is interested in using technology to gain additional agency data. While FAA provides a great deal of information on its Web site, it could take additional advantage of technology to improve the timeliness and usefulness of information to the Congress. For example, a Frequently Asked Questions section could provide quick access to information often requested by committees. As a result of our discussions with committee and agency staff, FAA has initiated two suggested technology enhancements, a For Congress page on its Web site, providing a single point of access for information relevant for oversight, and a Web site subscription service notifying committee staff when relevant information has been updated on its Web site. Further, regular meetings between congressional committees and agency officials could identify the committee's oversight objectives, provide a forum to discuss the issues, and develop approaches to meet them. Importantly, these findings constitute lessons learned that may be transferable to other agencies.