**GAO-10-723**                      Published: Jul 29, 2010. Publicly Released: Aug 16, 2010.                  

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## Highlights

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita wreaked havoc on small businesses in the Gulf Coast, and much federal assistance has been provided to help these businesses. GAO was asked to describe (1) the amount of assistance provided to Gulf Coast small businesses through the Small Business Administration's (SBA) disaster and Gulf Opportunity (GO) loans, state-administered business assistance programs funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), and the Economic Development Administration's (EDA) Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) program; (2) the extent to which Gulf Coast small businesses received federal contract funds; and (3) the current state of and improvements in the region's economy. GAO analyzed data on SBA and EDA loans and states' use of supplemental CDBG appropriations, data on prime and subcontracts awarded for hurricane recovery activities, and economic indicators both before and after the hurricanes.

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## Recommendations for Executive Action

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William B. Shear
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Sarah Kaczmarek
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## Topics

Business Regulation and Consumer Protection

Business development loansContract administrationDisaster grants fundingDisaster relief aidEconomic developmentFederal aid programsFederal fundsstate relationsFund auditsGrantsHurricane KatrinaHurricane RitaHurricanesLoansNatural disastersPublic assistance programsRegional planningSmall businessSmall business assistanceSmall business contractsSmall business loansState-administered programsSubcontractsFinancial assistance