Careers
Physical Infrastructure
Our Work
Recent Accomplishments
Ongoing Projects
Key Contacts
Our Work
The Physical Infrastructure team helps Congress, federal agencies, and the public address challenges within the U.S. infrastructure. The transportation systems, telecommunications networks, oil and gas pipelines, and federal facilities we depend on are owned, funded, and operated by both the public and private sectors. These transportation and communications systems are vital to interstate commerce and are necessary for a vibrant, healthy economy. Policy decisions addressing infrastructure challenges directly affect our nation’s economic vitality and quality of life.
Our reports and testimonies help Congress oversee a variety of federal agencies and other entities. We help Congress and the agencies and entities we review ensure the continued efficiency, safety, and security of the nation’s infrastructure. Among the agencies and entities we review are the following:
- Department of Transportation (DOT), including the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
- General Services Administration (GSA).
- Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
- Amtrak.
- U.S. Postal Service.
Recent Accomplishments
- Helping Congress prepare for reauthorization of transportation and aviation programs.
- Assessing competition in the transportation and telecommunications sectors.
- Identifying both the management of federal real property and the transformation of the Postal Service as high-risk areas.
- Outlining actions needed to address long-standing problems.
Ongoing Projects
- Assessing the impact of global developments on the U.S. aviation industry.
- Assessing protection efforts for high-profile office buildings and national icons.
- Evaluating options for the transition to digital broadcast television.
- Identifying key practices in facility protection and assessing progress by the Interagency Security Committee.
- Assessing DOT’s approach for selecting cities to receive federal assistance for new transit rail projects.
- Evaluating the impact of auctions to allocate radio spectrum and other factors affecting the deployment of broadband.
- Evaluating FCC’s program for subsidizing Internet access in schools and libraries.
- Assessing major construction projects involving billions of federal dollars.
- Evaluating Amtrak’s cost controls and financial management practices.
- Evaluating the Postal Service’s realignment of its infrastructure and workforce, as well as the management of its real estate portfolio.
- Monitoring FAA’s transformation into a performance-based, data-driven, and results-oriented organization.
- Evaluating the current modernization program for the nation’s air traffic control system and the development of the Next Generation Air Transportation System.
- Examining the status of and alternatives available to finance the development and operation of the national airspace system.
- Evaluating FAA’s safety and capacity challenges.
- Assessing DOT’s ability to identify commercial truck and bus companies that are at high risk for crashes.
- Assessing the implementation of highway safety programs to ensure they effectively address the nation’s rising highway fatality rate.
- Assessing the challenges of using public-private partnerships to deliver high-cost public infrastructure improvements and the extent to which these partnerships have promoted public benefits and protected the public interest.
Key Contacts
Managing Director: Katherine Siggerud
Directors: Gerald L. Dillingham, Terrell Dorn, Susan Fleming, Mark L. Goldstein, JayEtta Hecker, Phil Herr
Phone: (202) 512-2834
Mailing Address:
U.S. Government Accountability Office
Physical Infrastructure
Room 2T23B
441 G Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20548