After the  September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Congress enacted legislation that  resulted in changes in the federal organization and funding for  transportation security R&D. TSA, DHS, and Others Are Funding Transportation Security R&D Projects and Experts Had Mixed Views about Some Projects

As the primary federal agencies responsible for enhancing the security of  all modes of transportation, in fiscal year 2003, TSA spent about $21 million  and DHS spent about $26 million on transportation security R&D projects;  for fiscal year 2004, TSA and DHS have budgeted about $159 million and  $88 million, respectively. TSA and DHS were not able to estimate deployment dates for the vast  majority of projects that they funded in fiscal years 2003 and 2004. In fiscal year 2003, DHS spent $12.6 million, or almost half, of its $26 million  transportation security R&D budget for projects related to multiple modes  of transportation. TSA and DHS Have Made Some Progress in Managing Their R&D Programs but Have Not Yet Fully Completed Their Efforts

TSA and DHS have made some progress in managing their transportation  security R&D programs according to applicable laws and R&D best  practices, but their efforts are incomplete in the following areas: preparing strategic plans that contain goals and measurable objectives, preparing and using risk assessments to select and prioritize their R&D maintaining a comprehensive database of R&D projects, coordinating their R&D programs with those of other government reaching out to transportation stakeholders to help identify R&D needs, accelerating R&D. According to TSA  officials, TSA has completed threat assessments for all modes of  transportation but has yet to complete vulnerability and criticality  assessments. Although DHS is working toward complying with legal requirements and  implementing best practices for managing its R&D program, it is operating  without a strategic plan for its R&D program. In addition, DHS has not yet completed risk  assessments of the infrastructure sectors, such as transportation. Specifically, we recommend that the Secretary of  Homeland Security and the Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for  the Transportation Security Administration ensure that their transportation security R&D portfolios contain  projects in all phases of R&D, including basic research; complete (1) strategic plans containing measurable objectives for TSA’s  and DHS’s transportation security R&D programs and (2) risk  assessments—threat, vulnerability, and criticality—for all modes of  transportation, and use the results of the risk assessments to help select  and prioritize R&D projects; develop a database that will provide accurate, complete, current, and  readily accessible project information for monitoring and managing  their R&D portfolios; develop a process with DOT to coordinate transportation security R&D,  such as a memorandum of agreement identifying roles and  responsibilities and designating agency liaisons, and share information  on the agreed-upon roles and responsibilities with transportation  stakeholders; and develop a vehicle to communicate with the transportation industry to  ensure that its R&D security needs have been identified and considered. Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

The objectives of this report were to review (1) the transportation security  research and development (R&D) projects that the Transportation Security  Administration (TSA), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and  other agencies funded in fiscal year 2003 and have budgeted for in fiscal  year 2004; the status of these projects; and the reasonableness of the  distribution of these projects by mode and (2) the extent to which TSA and  DHS are managing their transportation security R&D programs according  to applicable laws and best practices recommended by the National  Academy of Sciences and the National Research Council.
Why GAO Did This Study

Conducting research and development (R&D) on technologies for detecting, preventing, and mitigating terrorist threats is vital to enhancing the security of the nation's transportation system. Following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Congress enacted legislation to strengthen homeland security, in part by enhancing R&D. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are the two federal agencies with primary responsibility for transportation security. GAO was asked to assess the transportation security R&D projects that TSA, DHS, and other agencies have funded and assess how TSA and DHS are managing their transportation security R&D programs according to applicable laws and best practices.

What GAO Found

For fiscal years 2003 and 2004, TSA and DHS funded over 200 R&D projects designed to develop technologies for enhancing security in most modes of transportation. In fiscal year 2003, TSA spent 81 percent of its $21 million transportation security R&D budget for aviation projects, and DHS spent about half of its $26 million for projects related to more than one mode of transportation. In fiscal year 2004, TSA continued to budget most of its $159 million for aviation, and DHS also budgeted most of its $88 million for aviation. According to the National Research Council, federal R&D programs should include some basic research, but TSA and DHS do not appear to be funding any basic research for transportation security. TSA and DHS have not estimated deployment dates for the vast majority of their R&D projects. Other federal agencies, such as the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, also funded some transportation security R&D projects. Several members of an expert panel on transportation security and technology that GAO convened believed the distribution of R&D projects by transportation mode was reasonable, while others believed that aviation has been overemphasized at the expense of maritime and land modes. TSA and DHS have made some progress in managing their transportation security R&D programs according to applicable laws and R&D best practices, but neither agency has fully complied with the laws or implemented the best practices. For example, neither agency has prepared a strategic plan for R&D that contains measurable objectives. In addition, although TSA has completed threat assessments for all modes, it has not completed vulnerability and criticality assessments. DHS also has not completed risk assessments of the infrastructure sectors. Furthermore, both TSA and DHS lack complete, consolidated data for managing their R&D projects. Finally, although TSA and DHS have made some efforts to coordinate R&D with other federal agencies, their outreach to consider the concerns of the transportation industry has been limited.