--------------------------------------Categories of Investment----------------------------------- | |||||||
Problem | Federal
Assets
(defense & nondefense) |
Infrastructure
(transportation) |
Other Investment (tangible and intangible) | ||||
1 | There is little long-term planning for capital in life-cycle context outside of the Department of Defense. | o | Require 10-year capital plan linked to budget. | o | Require 10-year planning by grant recipients. | o | Favor grant recipients that do long-term pl anning. |
o | Set capital plan in context of agency GPRA plans. | o | Reward jurisdictions doing high quality planning. | ||||
o | Enforce rules in Capital Programming Guide. | ||||||
o | Plan for full asset life-cycle.
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2 | No one is fully responsible for capital planning. | o | Hold agency heads primarily responsible. | o | Improved accountability needed here too? | o | Improved accountability needed here too? |
3 | Information about physical, financial characteristics of assets is inadequate. | o | Require agency system for property, financial accountability. | o | Require inventory of use and condition. | ||
4 | Accounting standards do not include current cost or imputed interest. | o | Ask FASAB to consider current cost, imputed interest. | ||||
5 | Pork barrel projects are often chosen over projects with higher returns. | o | Require benefit/cost studies to be submitted, published on internet. | o | Require grantees to publish benefit-cost by project. | o | Require grantees to publish benefit-cost
by program.
Summarize them in Analytical Perspectives. |
o | Ask CBO, GAO to provide timely studies to Congress. | o | Summarize them in Analytical Perspectives. | ||||
6 | Dedicated revenues are not fully used to finance designated investment. | o | Consider a separate cap for infrastructure funded by earmarked revenues. | ||||
7 | There are no goals or targets for any category of investment. | o | Consider alternative ways to set investment targets. | o | Consider alternative ways to set investment targets. | ||
8 | Funding is not always assured to complete projects efficiently. | o | Require regular or advance appropriations for full cost of usable segments. | o | Use long-range plans to manage funding. | o | Use long-range plans to manage funding. |
9 | Projects often take more than one year to complete. | o | Require multiyear appropriations for projects that will take years to complete. | ||||
10 | Spikes in necessary funding sometimes deter justified investment. | o | Aggregate capital in CAFs; cover remaining spikes w/central funding if justified. | o | Use long-range plans to manage funding. | ||
11 | Programs are not charged uniformly and fully for their use of capital. | o | CAFs would charge all uniformly for capital use. | ||||
12 | Programs are not charged uniformly for their use of labor, support services. | o | Charge for retiree benefits, and support services. | ||||
13 | Inappropriate choices are made to lease vs. buy. | o | Improve incentives to make economic choices. | ||||
14 | Cost over-runs, delays, and poor quality plague many acquisitions. | o | Use performance-based management system to acquire assets. | ||||
15 | Government often buys hi-tech, custom projects that come a cropper. | o | Require off-the-shelf or prototype; Raines rules. | ||||
16 | Capital is often poorly maintained. | o | Plan maintenance and monitor actual. | o | Require grantees to meet maintenance criteria. | ||
o | Consider advance funding. | ||||||
17 | Capital is often poorly utilized. | o | Charge for cost of capital; share revenue from property disposition. |