dot response

8/4/2019 DOT Response

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U.S.Department ofTransportation

Office of theSecretofYofTransportafion

The Honorable Darrell E. Issa

Chai rmall , Committee on Oversight and

Government Reform

2157 Ra yb urn 1louse Office Building

U.S. I{ouse of Representatives

Washington, DC 205 15-6143

Dea r Mr. Chairm an:

AS5.lSlanl S&c 'e l;lfyrO Budge l and Prog,amsand Chlel fonanc,al O llltCf

MAR 18 10il

1200 lIew Jersey Avcnue. Sf

\'/ash,nglon. DC 2(l590

In response to yo ur requcst for info rmation dated Marc h 8, 20 11 , enclosed nrc our nnswcrs

rcgn rding thc Dcpa rtmcnt ofTransportation 's (DOT's) elcctronic systcms uscd for financial

mnnagclllcllt, grants, contracts, and govcnll11enHvidc reporting on spending. Within DOT, my

office is rcsponsiblc for account ing systcms, while·thc Officc of the Assis tant Sccretary for

Administration is responsiblc for grants, con tracts, and govcrnmellt-wide reporting on these

activities. The information we arc provid ing ha s been closely coord inatcd be twcc n our two DOT

offices.

I am hopeful that these answers are fult y responsive and helpfu l in providing a bellcr

unders tanding of DOT's systcms. I also have prov idcd a copy of thi s materiailO Ranking

Member CUlllmings for his in fo rmation. If yo ur staff has any ques tions, they may con tact our

Deputy Chief Financial Officcr, Da vid Rivait, at 202 -493-0476 or at da vid .ri \ all (a do t. i!(J\·.

Sincerely,

Cl)CChri stopher P. Bcrtmm

Enc losure



DOT Responses to Committee Questions on Electronic Systems

1. Identify and briefly describe each of your agency's business and accounting systems. If separate

divisions, bureaus, or offices of your agency use separate systems, identify which divisions,

bureaus or offices use each system.

The Department ofTransportation (DOT) maintains Oracle's E-Business Suite (EBS) Version11.5.10, also known as Delphi, as the Department-wide accounting system. A single database

instance supports all DOT Operating Administrations (OAs). DOT maintains Oracle Discoverer

109 as the agency-wide financial reporting solution. Discoverer is available to customers for

creating their own ad-hoc reports or customizing global reports. In addition to Discoverer

reports, DOT also develops custom financial reports, known as "Delphi Web Reports", available

to all OAs. The suite of ools identified above directly prepares or directly provides data for the

preparation of required government-wide reports.

2. Explain how the business and accounting systems identified in response to "Request No. 1 interact

with each other.

Delphi is one of the most broadly implemented accounting systems in the government and still

operates with only one production instance of he software. DOT uses seven applicationsof EBS;

Federal Financials, General Ledger, Purchasing, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Fixed

Assets and Project Accounting. All seven apP'lications are fully integrated with each other. The

Oracle Discoverer financial reporting tool is also an integrated application ofOracle's EBS. The

Delphi Web reports originate from a custom built reporting solution that directly queries the same

database which Discoverer reports query.

3. For each system identified in response to Request No.1, state whether information found in that

system is regularly or periodically submitted to any of the government-wide accounting systemsmaintained by the Department of he Treasury, e.g., GFRS, FACTS I, FACTS II, IFCS, etc., and

explain how and at what intervals those submissions occur, including descriptions of both manual

and automated processes.

Information found in Delphi is periodically submitted to GFRS, FACTS I, FACTS II, IFCS, and

lRAS. Data from the Department's proprietary adjusted trial balance is manually entered in

GFRS on an annual basis. Proprietary Standard General Ledger (SGL) account balances are

submitted annually to FACTS I via an electronic bulk file from Delphi. Budgetary SGL account

balances are submitted quarterly to FACTS II via both an electronic bulk file and online manual

data entry. FACTS II automatic transmissions are routed through a modem at Treasury whichaccommodates some of the data that must be entered by DOT. In addition, online manual data

entry is required for balances not transmitted automatically. Proprietary SGL balances obtained

from Delphi are manually entered into IFCS on a quarterly basis. The Department's proprietary

adjusted trial balance is submitted via email in a bulk file format for uploading into IRAS on a

quarterly basis.



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4. For each system identified in response to Request No. I, state whether information found in that

system is regularly or periodically submitted to the Office ofManagement and Budget's

("OMB'') MAX Information System, and explain how and at what intervals those submissions

occur, including descriptions of both automated and manual processes.

Information found in Delphi is periodically submitted to the MAX Information System.

BudgetaJy SGL account balances are automatically uploaded into MAX from FACTS II on aquarterly basis. Other data not found in FACTS II, such as Object Class, are manually entered

into MAX on an annual basis.

s. For each system identified in response to Request No. I, describe recent, current, and planned

migration or modernization projects.

Delphi was migrated from the HP Tru64 Operating System to the Red Hat Linux Operating

System in December 2010. DOT is currently planning two additional modernizations projects.

The first is to upgrade the Oracle 109 database to the Oracle Ilg database. The second is to

upgrade the Delphi from Version 11.5.10 to Version 12.1.3. Both upgrades are planned tomaintain software supportability with Oracle.

6. In addition to your agency's submissions to government-wide accounting systems maintained by

the Department of the Treasury and OMB, as described in response to Requests Nos. 3 and 4,

does your agency publish any of the same information online for public viewing? If so, describe

how and in what format that information is published.

The Agency Financial Report (AFR) is published on the DOT website in PDF format.

7. Identify and briefly describe each system that your agency uses to manage grants, direct loans,

and/or loan guarantees. If separate divisions, bureaus, or offices ofyour agency use separate

systems, identify which divisions, bureaus, or offices of your agency use each system.

Each OA utilizes a either paper process or electronic system to manage grants, direct loans and/or

loan guarantees. DOT's electronic grant processing/direct loan/loan guarantee systems are:

• System of Airports Reporting (SOAR) - SOAR is used by the Federal Aviation

Administration (FAA) to manage grants awarded to public agencies for the planning and

development ofpublic-use airports through the Airport Improvement Program.

• Grants Solutions - This system is used by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to manage their

respective grants programs. FMCSA awards grants primarily to State and local

government agencies to fund various safety initiatives. FRA uses Grants Solutions to

manage a number of their grant programs to include the high speed rail and the intercity

passenger rail programs.



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• Financial Management Information System (FMIS) - The Federal Highway

Administration (FHWA) uses FMIS to manage Federal-Aid Highway projects funded

through the Highway Trust Fund.

• Transportation Electronic Award & Management (TEAM) - The Federal Transit

Administration (FTA) uses TEAM to manage grants issued to eligible recipients forplanning, vehicle purchases, facility construction, operations, and other purposes. FTA

awards and oversees formula and discretionary programs totaling more than $108 to

support a variety of locally planned, constructed, and operated public transportation

systems throughout the United States. Transportation systems typically include buses,

subways, light rail, commuter rail, streetcars, monorail, passenger ferry boats, inclined

railways, or people movers.

• Grants Tracking System (GTS) - GTS is used by the National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration (NHTSA) to manage formula grants awarded to reduce traffic crashes and

resulting deaths.

• Grants Information System (GIS) - GIS is used by all ONs for reporting on grant and

loan data to FAADS, FAADS PLUS, and USApending.gov.

• Rapid Approval and State Payment System (RASPS) - RASPS is used by States to

request reimbursements under the Federal Aid Highway Program.

• Electronic Clearing House Operation (ECHO) System - ECHO is a reimbursement

request system used by FTA which allows grantees to submit payment requests on-line.

8. For each system identified in response to Request No.7, explain how it interacts with any

business or accounting systems identified in response to Request No.1.

FMIS, TEAM, Grants Solutions and GTS have interfaces that populate Delphi with obligation

data automatically. SOAR is a stand-alone system. All data from SOAR is entered into Delphi

manually.

RASPS and ECHO are not interfaced with Delphi. Payments made from these two systems are

made outside of Delphi. A daily transaction file containing Treasury confirmations for

disbursements is extracted from Delphi and sent to the OAs to be uploaded into their respective

grants management systems.

9. For each system identified in response to Request No.7, state whether information found in that

system is regularly or periodically submitted to the Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance

(CFDA), and describe how and at what intervals those submissions occur, including descriptions

of both automated and manual processes.



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DOT updates all its CFDA programs annually. DOT provides the requested information

according to the GSA designated timeline, usually in early spring. Data is entered manually into

CFDA.

10. For each system identified in response to Request No.7, state whether in information found in that

system is regularly or periodically submitted to any of the government-wide grants management

and reporting systems, e.g., FAADS, FAADS PLUS, etc., and describe how and at what intervalsthose submissions occur, including descriptions of both automated and manual processes.

Each OA uploads its grants obligations into GIS. On a quarterly basis, an electronic file

containing grant$ obligations data is extracted from GIS and emaiIed to the Census Bureau to be

uploaded into FAADS and FAADS PLUS. On a monthly basis, an electronic file containing

grants obligations data is produced from GIS and is sent to USAspending.gov to be uploaded.

11. For each system identified in response to Request No.7, describe recent, current, and planned


In 2009 and 20 I0, FRA and FMCSA migrated from a manual paper process to an automated

process utilizing the Grants Solutions system referenced in the answer to question 7 above.

SOAR, FMIS, TEAM, and GTS are near the end of their Iifecycles. With the exception of

SOAR, no modernization projects for these systems are currently under development.

12. In addition to your agency's submissions to government-wide grants management and reporting

systems, described in response to Requests Nos. 9 and 10, does your agency publish any of the

same information online for public viewing? If so, describe how and in what format that

information is published.

DOT does not publish any grant, direct loan, or loan guarantee information online for publicviewing in addition to government-wide grants management and reporting systems described in

the answer to questions 9 and 10 above.

13. IdentifY and briefly describe each system that your agency uses to manage contracts. Ifseparate

divisions, bureaus, or offices of your agency use separate systems, identify which divisions,

bureaus, or offices ofyour agency use each system.

DOT maintains PRISM Version 6.5 as the agency-wide contracts management system. The

Department maintains 9 instances of PRISM 6.5. One instance is shared among the Office of the

Secretary of Transportation (OST), the Maritime Administration (MARAD), the Officeof

heInspector General (OIG), the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (ruTA), and

the Surface Transportation Board (STB). Each of he following OAs has their own instance of

PRISM: FAA, FHW A, FTA, FMCSA, FRA, NHTSA, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials

Safety Administration (PHMSA), and the National Transportation Systems Center (VOLPE).

14. For each system identified in response to Request No. 13, explain how it interacts with any

business or accounting systems identified in response to Request No.1.



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FAA's instance of PRISM is interfaced with Delphi for automated recording of procurement data

in the accounting system. All other OA's instances ofPRISM are stand-alone systems.

Procurement data from the stand alone instances is manually entered into Delphi.

15. Foreach system identified in response to Request No. 13, state whether information found in that

system is regularly or periodically submitted to any of the government-wide contract managementand reporting systems, e.g., FPDS, FPDS-NG, FAPIIS, etc., and describe how and at what

intervals those submissions occur, including descriptions of both automated and manual

processes.

All of the Systems listed in response to question 13 are fully integrated with FPDS -NG. Data

submission is accomplished automatically every time a contract is awarded. Data is manually

entered into FAPIIS when a contractor or vendor is determined to be non- responsible, suspended

or debarred. Solicitation data and award notices are manually entered into Fed Biz Ops as

required. Past performance data on vendors is manually entered into the Contractor Performance

Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) as required.

16. For each system identified in response to Request No. 13, describe recent, current, and planned


DOT is in the initial planning phases of a project to migrate the current instances of PRISM into a

single contract writing system that is either integrated or interfaced with Delphi. The detailed

project plan and time line is currently under development.

17. In addition to your agency's submissions to government-wide contract management and reporting

systems, described in response to Request No. 15, does your agency publish any ofthe same

information online for public viewing? If so, describe how and in what format that information ispublished.

No contract data is submitted for public viewing other than to government-wide contract

management and reporting systems described in response to question 15.

18. Briefly describe your agency's efforts to comply with OMB's memorandum on the Open

Government Directive - Federal Spending Transparency, dated April 6, 2010. In particular,

describe whether and how your agency has begun to collect and report sub-award data, as

required by the memorandum, and describe how your agency's reports on OMB's data quality

metrics, as required by the memorandum, are generated.

In April 2010, DOT completed an Open Government Directive Data Quality Plan that provided a

framework for Federal Spending information and reporting requirements. The plan is a

comprehensive document that meets OMB award reporting and metrics standards. The plan

addressed uses of he revised department-wide GIS and how it assists the department in meeting

data quality metrics of timeliness, completeness and accuracy of data before it is submitted to

USASpending.gov. The software enables OST to record the date of information entry, to identify



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DUNS numbers and the DUNS confidence codes as well as check addresses of he awardees. The

accurate, complete and timely submission of prime recipient data by the OAs ensures that the

appropriate reporting of sub-award data can be completed in FSRS.gov.

DOT's Office of he Senior Procurement Executive (OSPE) also sent out formal notification to

DOT OAs, which use the formal DOT-DASH notification system, communicating the policy and

guidelines for the sub-recipient reporting requirements.

The OSPE selected sub-recipient reporting representatives to act as liaisons to answer questions

and provide continuous guidance to OAs. Also on December 14, 20 I0, OSPE provided training

to OA program and policy personnel concerning sub-award reporting requirements. The training

involved instruction on how to access FSRS.gov and discussions on the OA responsibility of

monitoring the system, timelines policies, the requirement to update terms and conditions, as well

as the need for Dun & Bradstreet verification and registration in CCR. Several of the OAs

conducted teleconferences with their prime recipients to provide guidance and ensure

understanding of the sub-award requirements.

19. If you agency interacts directly with USASpending.gov, in addition to SUbmitting information to

the systems that feed USASpending.gov, describe the nature, frequency, and purposes of that

interaction.

The Department interacts monthly with USASpending.gov when transmitting grant data. If grant

data contains errors, then the frequency increases until the data has been fully corrected.

20. Describe the data quality controls and procedures that your agency has implemented information

that is submitted to USASpending.gov, including information submitted directly and information

submitted to one ofthe systems that feeds USASpending.gov.

The Department's GIS has several data validation checks inherent in the system such as Dun and

Bradstreet number (D&B) and recipient address and zip code validations.

21. State whether all of your agency's current grants, contracts, and loans are accurately reflected on

USASpending.gov. and, if not, estimate the percentage of current grants, contracts, and loans that

are not accurately reflected, using both the number of transactions and dollar figures.

We are aware of potential issues with respect to how data from DOT systems is transferred,

consolidated and uploaded into USAspending.gov. We are working to ensure the accuracy of this

reporting and correct any disparities between automated systems.

22. State whether your agency incurs any reporting burdens or costs as a result of its obligations

under the Federal Financial Assistance Transparency Act ("FF ATA") that it does not incur as a

result of other reporting obligations, and estimate those burdens and costs in worker-hours and

dollars.



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DOT provides direction and technical assistance on FFATA compliance to staffand grantees and

troubleshoots problems associated with grants data integrity. DOT estimates approximately 20

full time equivalents (FTE) are supporting the FFATA reporting requirements.

23. Identify the individual(s) who serve(s) as Senior Accountable Officials(s) ("SAO") over federal

spending data quality for your agency, as defined by OMB.

Christopher P. Bertram, Assistant Secretary for Budget and Programs, CFO.

Glossary of Acronyms

AFR A2ency Financial R ~ o r t CCR Central Contractor Registration

CFDA Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance

CPARS Contractor Performance Assessment Reportin2 System

D&B Dun and Bradstreet

DOT Department ofTransportation

DUNS Data Universal Numbering System

EBS E-Business Suite

ECHO Electronic Clearing House Operation System

FAA Federal Aviation Administration

FAADS Federal Assistance Award Data System

FACTS I Federal Agencies' Centralized Trial-Balance SystemFACTS II Federal Agencies' Centralized Trial-Balance System II

FAPIIS Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System

FFATA Federal Financial Assistance T r a n ~ a r e n ~ Act

FHWA Federal Hi2hways Administration

FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier SafeJy Administration

FMIS Financial Management Information System

FPDS Federal Procurement Data System

FPDS-NG Federal Procurement Data System - Next Generation

FRA Federal Railroad Administration

FTA Federal Transit AdministrationGFRS Government-wide Financial Report System

GIS Grants Information S--ystem

GSA General Services Administration

GTS Grants Tracking System

HP Hewlett Packard

IFCS Intragovemmental Fiduciary Confirmation System



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IRAS Intragovemmental Reporting and Analysis System

MARAD Maritime Administration

NHTSA National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

OA Operating Administration

OIG Office of the Inspector General

OMB Office of Management and Budget

OSPE Office of the Senior Procurement Executive

OST Office of the Secretary ofTransportation

PHMSA Pmeline and Hazardous Materials S a f ~ t y Administration

PRISM Procurement Infonnation System for Management

RASPS Rapid Approval and State Payment System

RITA Research and Innovative Technology Administration

SGL Standard General Ledger

SOAR System of Airports Reporting

STB Surface Transportation Board

TEAM Transportation Electronic Award & Management

VOLPE National Transportation Systems Center

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