House T&I Special P3 Panel Recommends Collaboration, Transparency for Major Projects
A report by a House transportation panel recommended establishing a new office at the U.S. Department of Transportation to help states and localities have better access to private capital to fund large-scale infrastructure projects.
In its final report released Sept. 17, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Panel on Public-Private Partnerships recommended that a new office at DOT be tasked with working with state agencies and other grant recipients to implement P3 model contracts.
To address cost overruns and project delays, the panel directed the new DOT procurement office to develop project-delivery performance standards. It also would require U.S. DOT and state departments of transportation to make publicly available annual reports detailing a project’s budget performance.
The panel also called on transportation officials to reform traditional procurement processes to advance P3s, increase transparency and accountability for P3s, and inform the public about upcoming projects to gain its support. And it recommended that states form P3 alliances to advance major projects in a region, noting that such partnerships should be established early in a project’s delivery process to maximize support from taxpayers.
“Billions of dollars of infrastructure needs in the U.S. are in search of funding, and well-executed public-private partnerships can enhance the delivery and management of infrastructure,” said Rep. John Duncan (R-Tenn.), the panel’s chairman. “P3s cannot provide the sole solution to all of the nation’s infrastructure needs, but they can offer significant benefits, particularly for high-cost, technically complex projects that otherwise may risk dying on the vine.”
“Throughout this process, my focus has been on how to best invest limited federal transportation funds, and what role public-private partnerships can play in stretching those dollars,” added Rep. Michael Capuano (D-Mass.), the panel’s ranking member.
To prepare the report, the panel spent six months interviewing experts who specialize in the delivery of infrastructure projects. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) said the report will be a resource when lawmakers take up transportation legislation in the coming months.
