Correspondence

In a letter dated January 31, 2008, Senator Tom Coburn–Ranking Member of the Senate Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security–requested that we review the San Francisco city government’s use of Federal transit funds for the city’s bus and transit system, the Municipal Railway (Muni). Specifically, Senator Coburn asked that we determine if the city had used those funds for unauthorized purposes, including directly paying for lobbying activities or replacing city transportation funds diverted for lobbying activities. Federal regulations prohibit the use of Federal funds for such activities. In summary, we found no evidence that the city had used Federal transit funds for unauthorized purposes. We also found that Federal Transit Administration and Muni controls were adequate to ensure proper use of these funds.