FAA bungles $36 Billion NextGen project
WASHINGTON — The Federal Aviation Administration has mismanaged a $36 billion project to modernize the antiquated aviation management system, according to a harshly critical inspector general’s report released Thursday.
It was the fourth inspector general’s critique in as many years of a program known as NextGen, on which more than $7 billion in federal funds has already been spent.
This latest report says the FAA lacks “a clearly established framework for managing the overall oversight of NextGen.”
Much of the 50-page report — done for the House Appropriations Committee and prepared by Matthew Hampton, assistant inspector general for aviation audits — focuses on specific program mismanagements.
The report said the FAA “has lacked effective management controls” in awarding contracts, sometimes spent money on low-priority projects, and allocated an estimated $370 million for projects that were still awaiting approval.
The FAA denounced the findings as “inaccurate and contradictory,” rejecting all but two of its six recommendations.
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