USDOT encompasses several modal agencies with 6,000 employees administering more than 100 programs costing more than $58 billion annually. Separate funding sources for highways, transit, rail, and safety functions impose limitations on what can be achieved, the report notes. While not singling out any particular program or offering specific cost-saving measures, GAO emphasizes that the current patchwork of programs at USDOT doesn't focus on accomplishing national mobility goals.

The report, "Opportunities to Reduce Potential Duplication in Government Programs, Save Tax Dollars, and Enhance Revenue," examines various federal programs at USDOT and other government departments. It takes a look at how consolidation and improved coordination of those programs might save taxpayers billions of dollars.

In assessing USDOT's programs, the report highlights the critical role of the nation's surface transportation system in the economy and also the daily lives of Americans. The cost to repair and upgrade transportation infrastructure to meet existing and emerging demands is estimated in the hundreds of billions of dollars. The report underscores that more can be done to update the overall federal transportation structure that has been in place now for several decades.

"Over the years -- in response to changing transportation, environmental, and societal goals -- federal surface transportation programs grew in number and complexity to encompass broader goals, more programs, and a variety of program approaches and grant structures," according to GAO. "This variety of approaches did not result from a specific rationale or plan, but rather an agglomeration of policies and programs established over half a century without a well-defined overall vision of the national interest and federal role in our surface transportation program."

This fragmentation has hobbled USDOT's ability to undertake large-scale initiatives in several key respects, GAO states. The federal government, for example, mostly lacks mechanisms for providing support to transportation projects that span multiple jurisdictions or encompass more than one mode. And the federal-aid highway program's provisions, while giving states a great deal of discretion in pursuing their own priorities, also impedes the targeting of funds toward specific national objectives.

A basic reappraisal of the nation's federal surface transportation policies is needed, according to the report. GAO has already highlighted in previous reports recommendations to Congress for a more goal-oriented approach, increased accountability for results, and the dismantling of modal "stovepipes." GAO has set forth several principles to help in reassessing the nation's transportation policies and recognizing emerging imperatives both domestically and worldwide, such as lessening both dependence on foreign fuel sources and the effect of transportation systems on the global climate.

"Applying these principles to a re-examination and reform of surface transportation programs would potentially result in a more clearly defined federal role in relation to other levels of government and thus a more targeted role focused around evident national interests," according to the report. "Where national interests are less evident ... other stakeholders could assume more responsibility, and some functions could potentially be assumed by the states or other levels of government."

The Obama administration has already proposed several policy changes similar to what GAO advocates. President Barack Obama's Fiscal Year 2012 budget, for example, calls for consolidating 55 transportation spending programs into only five. (see Feb. 18 AASHTO Journal story)

The 345-page GAO report is available at bit.ly/GAO-Report.