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Summary

Congress has granted to several of DOT’s Operating Administrations, including the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the authority to enter into Other Transaction Agreements (OTA). OTAs—which are not contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements—enable entities to work with the Government that would otherwise not wish to due to the complexity of the laws and regulations that cover contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements. DOT has used OTAs for projects ranging from construction of air traffic control towers to management of demonstration activities for emerging technologies. While Congress granted OTA authority to some Operating Administrations for specific purposes, such as research and development at NHTSA, no restrictions were put on FAA’s use.

Our audit objective is to evaluate DOT’s use and management of OTAs.