Vitter wants a transparent TIGER

In a report requested by Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) on the TIGER transportation grant program, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) said on Tuesday that it remains concerned about the Department of Transportation’s application evaluation guidelines.

The GAO stated in the first part of the report released on May 28 that the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Discretionary Grant program lacked transparency. In the second part of the report, it reiterated that “DOT revised its application evaluation guidelines for the 2014 funding round to require additional documentation, but the revised guidelines lack sufficient detail for GAO to determine whether some concerns will be addressed.”

TIGER grants started with the 2009 stimulus package that passed Congress, with DOT being appropriated $4.2 billion. GAO first reported transparency concerns with the program’s grant award selection process in 2011.

“Since it started, the TIGER grant program has been plagued by a lack of transparency in the decision-making process and mishandling of the management of the program,” Vitter, the top Republican on the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, said. “The application and project selection process have been major concerns because they lack any merit-based structure and transparency… .”