New York – April 23, 2009
Use of Funds
An estimated 90 percent of fiscal year 2009 Recovery Act funding provided to states and localities will be for health, transportation and education programs. The three largest funding categories are the Medicaid increased Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) grant awards, the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund, and highways.
Medicaid Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) Funds
- As of April 13, 2009, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) had made about $3.14 billion in increased FMAP grant awards to New York.
- As of April 13, 2009, New York had drawn down about $1.74 billion, or 55 percent of its initial increased FMAP grant awards.
- Nearly $1.3 billion of the funds made available as a result of the increased FMAP were used to close the state's budget deficit for the fiscal year ending on March 31, 2009, or applied to lower the deficit for the current fiscal year. In addition, $440 million was returned to the counties for their contributions towards the non-federal share of Medicaid expenditures that qualified for the increased FMAP.
Transportation—Highway Infrastructure Investment
- New York was apportioned about $1.12 billion for highway infrastructure investment on March 2, 2009, by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
- As of April 16, 2009, the U.S. Department of Transportation had obligated about $276.5 million for 108 projects to the New York State Department of Transportation. New York will request reimbursement from the U.S. Department of Transportation as the state makes payments to contractors.
- As of April 13, 2009, the New York State Department of Transportation had advertised for bids on 38 projects. Work on all of these projects is expected to begin this spring.
- The state will target Recovery Act transportation funds to infrastructure rehabilitation, including preventive maintenance and reconstruction, such as bridge repairs and replacement, drainage improvements, repaving and roadway construction. State officials emphasized that these projects extend the life of infrastructure and can be contracted for and completed relatively easily in the 3-year time frame required by the act. Some Recovery Act funds will go to more typical "shovel-ready" highway construction projects for which there were insufficient funds.
- By the end of April 2009, New York expects to have a complete list of transportation projects that Recovery Act funds will support.
U.S. Department of Education State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (Initial Release)
- As of April 13, 2009, New York had been allocated about $2.0 billion from the initial release of these funds by the U.S. Department of Education.
- Before receiving the funds, states are required to submit an application that provides several assurances to the Department of Education. These include assurances that the states will meet maintenance-of-effort requirements (or that they will be able to comply with waiver provisions) and that they will implement strategies to meet certain educational requirements, including increasing teacher effectiveness, addressing inequities in the distribution of highly qualified teachers, and improving the quality of state academic standards and assessments. As of April 13, 2009, New York had not submitted its application for these funds.
- New York plans to use the majority of Fiscal Stabilization funding to support K-12 education costs for the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 school years beginning July 1, 2009. New York education officials told us that most of the funds will be used to offset expected budget cuts throughout the school system that were caused by the downturn in the economy and in state revenues.
New York is also receiving additional Recovery Act funds under other programs, such as programs under Title I, Part A, of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) (commonly known as No Child Left Behind), and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Part B (IDEA). These are described throughout this appendix. Overall, New York expects to receive about $26.5 billion in Recovery Act funds plus possible additional discretionary program funds over the next 3 years (fiscal years 2009-2011).
Safeguarding & TransparencyBack to top
New York plans to track and monitor Recovery Act funds mostly through its existing internal control, audit, and accounting systems, although the new Recovery Cabinet and other state institutions have initiated several steps to coordinate the oversight of Recovery Act projects. For example, the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) is using its accounting system to tag and track these funds, while the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) is conducting a federal-aid risk assessment to focus its internal and contract audit resources on projects and contracts that may be most vulnerable to fraud, waste, and abuse. New York officials, however, expressed concerns about monitoring Recovery Act funds that do not pass through state offices but flow directly from federal agencies to local agencies or authorities. For example, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which provides transportation services for the New York City metropolitan area, expects to receive directly about $1 billion in federal transit funds under the Recovery Act.
Assessing the Effects of SpendingBack to top
Officials have taken some initial steps to meet the Recovery Act's reporting requirements, but generally they are awaiting further federal guidance. Officials throughout the state government expressed concerns about how to consistently report on the impact of Recovery Act funds.
For More InformationBack to top
The above excerpts are taken from GAO's April 23, 2009 Bimonthly Review of the Recovery Act:
- Recovery Act: As Initial Implementation Unfolds in States and Localities, Continued Attention to Accountability Issues Is Essential
- GAO-09-580, April 23, 2009
- Summary (HTML) Highlights Page (PDF) Full Report (PDF, 303 pages) Accessible Text
- For more information on New York within the report, please see the following pages:
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Appendix XIV: New York pages: 215 – 228
