1.9: National Infrastructure
A Viable, Efficient, Safe, and Accessible National Infrastructure Other Information:
The infrastructure of the United States—including transportation, telecommunications, the postal system, and federal facilities
(see fig. 31)—provides a foundation for the nation’s economic vitality and quality of life. But challenges—such as capacity
constraints, deterioration, and technological obsolescence—hinder efforts to ensure that the infrastructure is viable, efficient,
safe, and accessible. In addition, resource limitations constrain funding improvements and complicate the nation’s ability
to respond to these challenges. Funding: The nation’s aviation and surface transportation systems are undergoing strain, and
the estimated cost of safely and reliably meeting future demands, including modernizing the air traffic control system, runs
into the hundreds of billions of dollars. Calls for increased investment come at a time when traditional funding sources are
under increasing stress. Revenues to both the Highway Trust Fund and the Airport and Airway Trust Fund have not kept pace
with outlays, requiring additional appropriations from the Congress to prevent a shortfall in both funds. For example, Highway
Trust Fund expenditures have exceeded revenues in recent years, requiring the Congress to appropriate about $35 billion from
the General Fund of the Treasury over the last 3 fiscal years so that the Highway Trust Fund could remain solvent. We placed
surface transportation funding on our High-Risk List in part due to concerns about the solvency of the Highway Trust Fund.
Moreover, increases in transportation spending in recent years have not translated into commensurate improvements in system
performance, raising questions about the effectiveness of federal programs in addressing key challenges. In addition, no national
strategy currently integrates the different modes of transportation into a system that is more than a sum of its parts. Transportation
accidents: The nation’s transportation system acts as the backbone of the nation’s economy and affects the daily life of most
Americans. Yet, despite considerable federal investment and oversight of transportation safety, accidents continue to kill
and injure too many of our citizens: While fatalities and injuries have fallen in recent years, on average, about 44,000 people
are killed and 2.8 million more are injured each year. Traffic accidents claim most of these lives and result in most of these
injuries. Some age groups are particularly vulnerable. For example, traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for 15-
to 20-year-olds. Older drivers are more susceptible to injury or death in an accident than others, and the population age
65 or older is expected to nearly double by 2030. While most transportation-related deaths and injuries occur on our nation’s
highways, about 860 fatalities occur annually in rail accidents and another 620 annually in commercial and general aviation
accidents. The federal government faces seemingly intractable causes of accidents, such as impaired, distracted, or fatigued
driving, and is seeking new tools and approaches to mitigate these safety threats. Changes in technology have improved safety
both by helping people avoid accidents and by mitigating their impact, but technological change has also led to new causes
of crashes, such as distraction by electronic devices. Until such challenges are addressed, many deaths and injuries will
continue to plague our transportation systems. In addition, the federal government will face increasing challenges to ensure
that transportation safety is not sacrificed due to economic recession. Congestion: Congestion continues to worsen and looming
problems from the anticipated growth in travel demand are not being adequately addressed. The economic and environmental implications
are significant, ranging from wasted fuel and lost time as cars idle in traffic to increased costs for businesses as the transportation
system grows more unreliable. Also, as the nation’s economy recovers, freight movement will continue to expand, particularly
containerized freight moving through the nation’s ports and onto already congested highway and rail networks. To address congestion
in our transportation system, policymakers will be challenged to both identify ways to fund investments in new infrastructure
and encourage more efficient use of the existing infrastructure. Transportation policy decisions are also inextricably linked
with environmental and energy policy concerns. Long-standing federal policy requires that improvements to our transportation
infrastructure be made in an environmentally responsible manner—creating and maintaining conditions under which humans and
nature can exist in harmony—but these requirements can lengthen planning and project lead times and perhaps conflict with
the need to respond to congestion. Improving aviation congestion through modernization promises significant benefits, such
as reduced emissions and mitigated delays, but is also a serious challenge as the cost of transforming the nation’s air traffic
control system could exceed $40 billion in combined government and civilian investment, according to the Federal Aviation
Administration’s Joint Planning and Development Office. Telecommunications industry: In 2007, the telecommunications and related
industries contributed over $400 billion to the nation’s economy; these industries deploy infrastructure and provide services
that every day affect how Americans communicate, conduct business, and educate themselves: The federal government, led by
the „„Federal Communications Commission, faces challenges in carrying out its responsibility to ensure that the largely private
telecommunications industry operates in the public’s interest. Within the industry, universal access to the Internet via broadband
technologies is commonly viewed as a vital part of infrastructure and a key driver of economic growth. Yet, the United States
ranks 15th among the 30 democratic countries that comprise the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in broadband
subscribers per 100 inhabitants. Consequently, federal policy regarding broadband deployment, use, and affordability is under
debate and development. For example, in the National Broadband Plan, the Federal Communications Commission recommended changes
to the existing Universal Service Fund to better create incentives for universal availability and adoption of broadband. However,
the cost of the Universal Service has increased dramatically, from $2.3 billion in 1998 to over $7.0 billion in 2009, imposing
greater burdens on consumers. (See fig. 32.) As the telecommunications industry „„has evolved, concerns have arisen about
whether the existing government policies, procedures, and organizational structures adequately address consumer and industry
needs. For example, with increased reliance on wireless communications for a variety of commercial and government functions,
questions about the current approach to allocating spectrum across these sectors are growing in importance. Further, technology
advances, such as „„enhanced 911 capabilities for wireless service that allow emergency responders to pinpoint a caller’s
location, offer opportunities to improve public safety that are tempered by challenges in expanding network coverage. Recent
consolidation and certain industry practices, such as marketing handsets exclusive to individual wireless networks, have also
raised concerns in the Congress and elsewhere about whether competition is sufficient to ensure that new technologies are
introduced and that lower costs are passed on to consumers. U.S. Postal Service: Mail use has been declining dramatically
as a result of the economic downturn and changing use of the mail linked to the continuing shift to electronic communications
and payments. Mail volume dropped by about 36 billion pieces (about 17 percent) from fiscal years 2007 through 2009. The U.S.
Postal Service (USPS) projects further volume declines of about 15 percent by fiscal year 2020 (see fig. 33). When we added
USPS’s financial condition to our High-Risk List in July 2009, we reported that USPS urgently needed to restructure to address
its current and long-term financial viability: The short-term challenge for USPS is „„cutting costs quickly enough to offset
the unprecedented volume and revenue declines, so that it can cover its operating expenses. „„ In the long term, the Congress
must engage USPS about potential changes to its mission, including restructuring postal operations, networks, and the workforce
to improve efficiency, and assessing whether long-standing services, such as 6-day-per-week mail delivery, should be changed
to reflect the emerging business environment and reduced use of the mail. Part of USPS’s challenge is to continue to improve
the efficiency of its operations through modernization of its mail processing and retail networks, while ensuring the quality
and availability of postal services during any restructuring. Federal real property: The vast and diverse federal real property
portfolio totals more than 3 billion square feet of space with an estimated gross value in the hundreds of billions of dollars.
Longstanding problems that we have highlighted in our High-Risk List series include: „„ excess and underutilized property,
„„ deteriorating facilities, „„ repair and restoration backlogs in the tens of billion of dollars, „„ unreliable real property
data, and „„ overreliance on costly leasing. We have called for addressing these problems more directly through a reassessment
of options; development of well-reasoned strategies; and, in some cases, changes in law. Protecting federal facilities from
the threat of terrorism is an ongoing challenge, since in recent years, our work has shown that federal facilities continue
to be vulnerable. Allocating resources according to risk, leveraging technology, and sharing information among agencies will
provide a framework for guiding and overseeing agencies’ protection efforts and addressing security challenges. Last, the
federal government is the nation’s largest energy consumer. Compliance with and the effectiveness of new laws and policies
requiring improved environmental and energy performance of federal properties will require ongoing attention and oversight.
Our past and forthcoming work on the nation’s infrastructure can help federal leaders face key strategic decisions about how
the nation can best establish and maintain a viable, safe, secure, and accessible infrastructure to meet the country’s needs
in the 21st century. To support efforts by the Congress and the federal government to address infrastructure issues in the
areas of aviation and surface transportation, telecommunications, postal service, and federal facilities, GAO has established
the following performance goals and key efforts:
Indicator(s):
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