United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2001-08-31 monographic deposited born digital 37 p. GA 1.13:GAO-01-837 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-837 P0b002ee1803a508f f:d01837 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-28 GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-837 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-837 GAO-01-837 Disaster relief aid Management information systems Internal controls Eligibility criteria FEMA National Emergency Management Information System FEMA Public Assistance Program FEMA Hazard Mitigation Program FEMA Individual Assistance Program Other Written Product A01699

Since 1990, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has expended over $27 billion in disaster assistance, over half of which was spent for Public Assistance projects such as repairs of roads, government buildings, utilities, and hospitals damaged in declared disasters. FEMA has established criteria that it uses to determine whether to recommend that the President declare a disaster and, once a disaster has been declared, approve and fund Public Assistance projects. In 1999, FEMA published formal criteria for recommending presidential approval of disaster declarations. These criteria include both minimum financial thresholds and other qualitative measures that FEMA applies in deciding whether to recommend presidential approval. These criteria are not necessarily indicative of a state's ability to pay for the damage because they do not consider the substantial differences in states' financial capacities to respond when disasters occur. As a result, federal funds may be provided for some disasters when they are not needed. Problems with applying FEMA's criteria remain. In part, these problems may persist because many of the staff assigned to disaster field offices who make eligibility decisions are temporary and may not have the skills and training needed to make appropriate decisions. FEMA has developed a credentialing program to establish qualifications and training requirements for these staff but has not implemented this program. According to FEMA officials, budgetary and programmatic factors have delayed implementation. In addition, FEMA's review process does not ensure that all projects are reviewed by the most knowledgeable officials. FEMA also lacks centralized, quantified information that would be helpful for managing the Public Assistance program. Its information system--essentially an electronic filing cabinet--stores information project by project and does not provide effectively for programwide analysis. Furthermore, according to FEMA officials, the system is unreliable and difficult to use. As a result, data are lost or never entered. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-837/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-837.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-837/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-837.pdf GAO-01-837 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-837 Other Written Product GAO-01-837; Disaster Assistance: Improvement Needed in Disaster Declaration Criteria and Eligibility Assurance Procedures; Disaster relief aid Management information systems Internal controls Eligibility criteria FEMA National Emergency Management Information System FEMA Public Assistance Program FEMA Hazard Mitigation Program FEMA Individual Assistance Program Title 42 Section 300x Title 42 Section 3 Title 42 Section 5121et seq. Title 42 Section 5131 Title 42 Section 5163 Title 42 Section 5170 42 U.S.C. 300x 42 U.S.C. 3 42 U.S.C. 5121et seq. 42 U.S.C. 5131 42 U.S.C. 5163 42 U.S.C. 5170 Public Law 93-288 Public Law 103-211 S. Rept. 105-216 S. Rept. 106-161