Federal Disaster Assistance: Federal Departments and Agencies Obligated at Least $277.6 Billion during Fiscal Years 2005 through 2014
Published: 2016-09-22T00:00:00

Fast Facts:

Highlights:
section_title: Why GAO Did This Study
paragraphs: Each year, the federal government obligates billions of dollars through programs and activities that provide assistance to state and local governments, tribes, and certain nonprofit organizations and individuals that have suffered injury or damages from major disaster or emergency incidents, such as hurricanes, tornados, or fires. While FEMA tracks DRF spending related to major disasters and emergencies declared under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, there has not been a systematic effort to account for federal obligations for disaster assistance outside of the DRF.
The Joint Explanatory Statement accompanying the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015, includes a provision for GAO to report on disaster assistance expenditures by the federal government. This report identifies federal disaster assistance programs and activities across 17 federal departments and agencies and the obligations for these programs and activities, where available, during fiscal years 2005 through 2014.
To conduct this work, GAO selected 17 federal departments and agencies identified in the National Planning Frameworks as having responsibility for leading or coordinating federal efforts to mitigate, respond to, and recover from domestic disaster incidents. GAO analyzed documents identifying and describing disaster assistance programs and activities, interviewed federal officials, and distributed a data collection instrument to obtain, among other things, obligation amounts associated with each program or activity identified.
section_title: What GAO Found
paragraphs: During fiscal years 2005 through 2014, the federal government obligated at least $277.6 billion across 17 federal departments and agencies for disaster assistance programs and activities. This estimate constitutes total obligations identifiable to disaster activities across three categories: the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Disaster Relief Fund (DRF), disaster-specific programs and activities identified across the 17 departments and agencies, and disaster-applicable programs and activities across the 17 departments and agencies (see figure).
The estimate of $277.6 billion represents a minimum and not the total amount of disaster assistance spending by the federal government during fiscal years 2005 through 2014 because relevant obligations for some programs and activities are not separately tracked or are not available. Specifically, GAO found that more than half of the 17 departments and agencies in the scope of this review reported that obligations for certain disaster assistance programs or activities during this time frame are not separately tracked or are not available, for various reasons. For example, 5 departments and agencies reported that some disaster assistance programs or activities are not separately tracked because spending related to these activities is generally subsumed by a department's general operating budget or mission-related costs. Another 4 departments and agencies reported that obligations and expenditures specific to disaster assistance activities are not tracked or cannot be reliably estimated because there is no requirement for state or other recipients of the financial support to indicate whether or how much of the funding or assistance is used for disasters.

section_title: Letter
paragraphs: Each year, the federal government obligates billions of dollars through  programs and activities that provide assistance to state and local  governments, tribes, and certain nonprofit organizations and individuals  that have suffered injury or damages from major disaster or emergency  incidents, such as hurricanes, tornados, or fires. We have similarly  recognized the rise in the number—and the increase in severity—of  disasters as a key source of federal fiscal exposure.
Disaster loss trends are expected to continue. In 2014, the United States  Global Change Research Program reported that the impacts and  costliness of weather disasters—resulting from floods, drought, and other  events—will increase in significance as rare events become more  common and intense because of climate change. In addition, the report  states that less acute effects of changes in the climate, such as sea level  rise, could also result in significant long-term effects on people and  property. As a result of these risks and the nation’s fiscal condition, in  February 2013, we added Limiting the Federal Government’s Fiscal  Exposure by Better Managing Climate Change Risks to our list of areas at  high risk to fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement, or most in need of  transformation.
While the growing number of major disaster declarations under the  Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act  (Stafford Act) has contributed to increased federal expenditures for  disaster assistance, it does not account for total disaster-related spending  across all federal departments and agencies. In December 2014, we  reported that as of April 2014, the Federal Emergency Management  Agency (FEMA), a component within the Department of Homeland  Security (DHS), had obligated over $95 billion from the Disaster Relief  Fund (DRF) to provide federal disaster assistance for the 650 major  disasters declared under the Stafford Act during fiscal years 2004 through  2013. However, FEMA and other federal departments and agencies are  also authorized to provide a wide range of disaster mitigation, response,  and recovery assistance whether or not an incident is declared a disaster  under the Stafford Act. While FEMA tracks DRF spending related to major  disasters and emergencies declared under the Stafford Act, there has not  been a systematic effort to account for federal obligations for disaster  assistance outside of the DRF.
The Joint Explanatory Statement accompanying the Consolidated and  Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015, includes a provision for  GAO to report on disaster assistance expenditures by the federal  government. According to the mandate, the term “disaster assistance”  should go beyond the definition included in the Budget Control Act of  2011, which defines disaster on the basis of the Stafford Act. Further, the  mandate states that the report should include expenditures for major  disasters, emergencies, and fire management assistance grants under  the Stafford Act, and encompass disaster-related spending across all  federal departments and agencies, whether or not they are specifically  referenced in the Stafford Act. This report identifies federal disaster  assistance programs and activities across 17 federal departments and  agencies and the obligations and expenditures for these programs and  activities, where available,  during fiscal years 2005 through 2014. While  the body of this report focuses on obligations, detailed information on  both obligations and expenditures are presented in appendices I and II.
To identify disaster assistance programs and activities across the federal  government, we selected 17 federal departments and agencies identified  in the National Planning Frameworks as having responsibility for leading  or coordinating federal efforts to mitigate (including pre-disaster), respond  to, and recover from both Stafford Act and non-Stafford Act domestic  disaster incidents. For the purpose of this report, we defined a disaster  incident as any Stafford Act or non-Stafford Act incident that causes  damage of sufficient severity and magnitude to warrant federal  assistance; or for which federal assistance is needed to supplement the  efforts and available resources of states, local governments, and disaster  relief organizations in alleviating the damage, loss, hardship, or suffering  caused by the incident. We collected information for relevant disaster- specific and disaster-applicable programs and activities that provided  mitigation, response, and recovery assistance during fiscal years 2005  through 2014 across the 17 federal departments and agencies.
For the purpose of this report, disaster-specific refers to federal programs  and activities that are specifically authorized for the purposes of mitigation  (including pre-disaster), disaster response, or disaster recovery, and that  exist for the express purpose of providing disaster assistance to federal,  state, tribal, and local governments; eligible businesses; non-profits; and  in some cases, individuals. Disaster-applicable refers to federal programs  and activities that, while not specifically designated for disaster or  emergency situations, can be used to mitigate (including pre-disaster),  respond to, or recover from a disaster incident. For each of the 17 federal  departments and agencies, we analyzed documents identifying and  describing the programs and activities that provide assistance for various  types of disaster and emergency incidents, and interviewed department  and agency officials about relevant disaster assistance programs and  activities.
To obtain spending data for the disaster assistance programs and  activities identified across the 17 federal departments and agencies, we  developed and distributed a data collection instrument which consisted of  questions on (1) agency descriptions of the disaster-specific and disaster- applicable programs or activities identified; (2) the obligation and  expenditure amounts associated with each program or activity for each  fiscal year from 2005 through 2014—the most recent year for which  obligations were available during our review; and (3) the statutory  provisions related to each disaster-specific program or, where  appropriate, regulations or appropriations acts related to the program.  We received responses to our data collection instrument from each of the  17 federal departments and agencies. We assessed the accuracy and  reliability of information collected through our data collection instrument  by conducting three pretests prior to distribution to ensure that our  questions were clear, unbiased, and consistently interpreted; requesting  information on specific data sources; reviewing responses to identify  obvious errors or inconsistencies; cross-referencing information provided  in the data collection instrument with documents we collected for each  department; and conducting follow-up to clarify responses when needed.  We determined that the data were sufficiently reliable to estimate  obligations and expenditures for the 17 federal departments and  agencies.
To determine FEMA’s disaster assistance spending from the DRF, we  obtained and aggregated obligations and expenditures data for each of  the six DRF categories—Public Assistance, Individual  Assistance, Hazard  Mitigation,  Fire Management Assistance Grants, Mission Assignment,  and Administration—during fiscal years 2005 through 2014. Specifically,  we obtained and aggregated spending data on the first four DRF  categories from FEMA’s responses to our data collection instrument and  related documentation. We separately obtained and aggregated spending  data on Mission Assignment and Administration from FEMA via the  agency’s Integrated Financial Management Information System, which we  have previously determined to be sufficiently reliable for the purposes for  which the data are used in this report.
We conducted this performance audit from May 2015 to September 2016  in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards.  Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain  sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our  findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe that  the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and  conclusions based on our audit objectives.
subsections: section_title: Background
subsections: section_title: Stafford Act Disaster Declarations and FEMA’s DRF
paragraphs: The Stafford Act, as amended, outlines the federal government’s role  during disaster response and recovery when the President declares a  major disaster after a governor or chief executive of an affected tribal  government finds that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the  state, tribal, and local governments. The Stafford Act defines a “major  disaster” as any natural catastrophe (including any hurricane, tornado,  storm, high water, winddriven water, tidal wave, tsunami, earthquake,  volcanic eruption, landslide, mudslide, snowstorm, or drought), or,  regardless of cause, any fire, flood, or explosion, in any part of the United  States, which the President determines causes damage of sufficient  severity and magnitude to warrant major disaster assistance to  supplement the efforts and available resources of states, local  governments, and disaster relief organizations in alleviating damage,  loss, hardship, or suffering. If the President declares a major disaster,  the declaration can trigger a variety of federal assistance programs  through which the federal government provides disaster assistance to  state, tribal, territorial, and local governments, as well as certain nonprofit  organizations and individuals.
In addition to its central role in recommending to the President whether to  declare a disaster, FEMA is the primary federal agency responsible for  mitigating, responding to, and recovering from disasters, both natural and  man-made, and has responsibility for coordinating the assistance  provided under the provisions of the Stafford Act. The DRF is the primary  source of federal disaster assistance for state and local governments  when a disaster is declared. The DRF is appropriated no-year funding,  which allows FEMA to fund, direct, coordinate, and manage response and  recovery efforts—including certain efforts by other federal agencies and  state and local governments, among others—associated with domestic  disasters and emergencies. FEMA tracks DRF obligations according to  the following six categories:
Public Assistance. The Public Assistance Program provides financial  assistance to state, tribal, territorial, and local governments for debris  removal; emergency protective measures; and the repair,  replacement, or restoration of disaster-damaged, publicly owned  facilities and the facilities of certain private nonprofit organizations that  provide services otherwise performed by a government agency.  Individual Assistance. The Individual  Assistance Program provides  financial assistance directly to disaster victims for the necessary  expenses and serious needs that cannot be met through insurance or  low-interest Small Business Administration loans. For example, FEMA  may provide temporary housing assistance, counseling,  unemployment compensation, or medical expenses incurred by  individuals as a result of a disaster.
Hazard Mitigation. The Hazard Mitigation  Grant Program provides  funds to state, tribal, territorial, and local governments, among other  entities, to assist communities in implementing long-term measures to  help reduce the potential risk of future damages to facilities.
Fire Management Assistance. The Fire Management Assistance  Grant Program makes fire management assistance available to state,  local and tribal governments for the mitigation, management, and  control of fires on publicly or privately owned forests or grasslands  which threaten such destruction as would constitute a major disaster.
Mission Assignment. The Stafford Act also authorizes FEMA to  issue work orders—i.e., mission assignments—with or without  reimbursement, that direct another federal agency to utilize its  authorities and the resources granted to it under federal law in support  of direct assistance to state, local, tribal, and territorial governments  during emergency and major disaster declarations. FEMA may use  the DRF to reimburse other federal agencies for eligible costs incurred  under a mission assignment.
Administration.  FEMA also obligates funds from the DRF to cover its  administrative costs—that is, costs that support the delivery of  disaster assistance. FEMA’s administrative costs include the salary  and travel costs for the disaster workforce, rent and security expenses  associated with field operation locations, and supplies and information  technology for field operation staff, among other things.
section_title: Other Federal Agency Authorities and Responsibilities
paragraphs: In March 2011, the White House issued Presidential Policy Directive 8:  National Preparedness (PPD-8) with the goal of strengthening the  security and resilience of the nation through systematic preparation for  the threats that pose the greatest risk.  PPD-8 called for the  development of a series of policy and planning documents in five mission  areas—Prevention, Protection, Mitigation,  Response, and Recovery—to  explain and guide the nation’s approach for ensuring and enhancing  national preparedness for a wide range of threats and hazards. These  National Planning Frameworks serve as the basis for mission area  activities within FEMA, throughout the federal government, and at the  state and local levels. Among other functions, the frameworks describe  the coordinating structures and alignment of key roles and responsibilities  to federal agencies and are integrated to ensure interoperability across all  mission areas in mitigating, responding to, and recovering from a wide  range of both Stafford-Act and non-Stafford Act disasters and  emergencies. The following three frameworks are relevant to this report:
The National Mitigation Framework establishes a common platform  and forum for coordinating and addressing how the nation manages  risk through mitigation capabilities. Mitigation  reduces the impact of  disasters by supporting protection and prevention activities, easing  response, and speeding recovery to create better prepared and more  resilient communities. This framework addresses how the nation will  develop, employ, and coordinate core mitigation capabilities to reduce  loss of life and property by lessening the impact of disasters.  Mitigation  activities are not limited to eligible activities within the  Stafford Act.
The National Response Framework (NRF) describes how the nation  responds to all types of disasters and emergencies. The NRF is the  overarching interagency response coordination structure for both  Stafford Act and non-Stafford Act incidents, and describes specific  authorities and best practices for managing incidents ranging in scope  from local to large-scale, among other things. The NRF identifies 14  Emergency Support Functions (ESF) that serve as the federal  government’s primary coordinating structure for building, sustaining,  and delivering response capabilities. ESF annexes to the NRF  describe the federal coordinating structures that group resources and  capabilities into functional areas that are most frequently needed in a  national response. Each ESF consists of a federal department or  agency designated as the coordinating agency along with a number of  primary and support agencies.
The National Disaster Recovery Framework (NDRF) establishes a  comprehensive structure to enhance the nation’s ability to work  together, both before and after a disaster, to effectively deliver  recovery assistance through the coordinated efforts of federal, state,  local, and tribal governments and nongovernmental organizations.  While the NDRF provides the overarching interagency coordination  structure for the recovery phase of incidents under the Stafford Act, its  structures and procedures apply equally to non-Stafford Act incidents,  such as federal response to an oil spill of national significance. The  NDRF identifies six Recovery Support Functions (RSF) as the  mechanisms through which federal agencies are to provide  assistance and support to state and local communities, both before  and after a disaster. These RSFs are intended to, among other  things, facilitate problem solving; improve access to resources; ensure  more effective and efficient use of federal, state, nongovernmental  and private sector funds; and foster coordination among state and  federal agencies and nongovernmental entities. Similar to the ESFs,  each RSF consists of a federal department or agency designated as  the coordinating agency along with a number of primary and support  agencies.
While FEMA coordinates assistance for incidents in which federal  assistance is provided under the Stafford Act and the National Planning  Frameworks generally apply to federal roles and responsibilities for both  Stafford and non-Stafford Act incidents, federal response or assistance to  a disaster event may also be led or coordinated by various federal  departments and agencies consistent with their own authorities.  Specifically, independent of the Stafford Act, the heads of some federal  departments and agencies—such as the Administrator of the Small  Business Administration (SBA) and the Secretaries of Agriculture and  Commerce—also have separate statutory authority to declare a disaster  under certain circumstances for the purpose of providing assistance. For  example, the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to designate counties  as disaster areas to make emergency loans to agricultural producers  suffering losses in that county or other contiguous counties as was done  for the recent California drought. Following a request from a state  governor, the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA)  can separately make a physical disaster declaration based on the  occurrence of at least a minimum amount of damage to buildings,  machinery, equipment, inventory, homes and other property, which  enables SBA to make disaster loans available to homeowners, renters,  businesses of all sizes, and private nonprofits.
section_title: Federal Agencies Obligated at Least $277.6 Billion for Disaster Assistance during Fiscal Years 2005 through 2014 but Were Unable to Quantify All Relevant Obligations
paragraphs: During fiscal years 2005 through 2014, the federal government obligated  at least $277.6 billion across 17 federal departments and agencies for  disaster assistance programs and activities. This estimate constitutes  total obligations identifiable to disaster activities across three categories  of disaster assistance: the DRF, disaster-specific programs and activities  identified across the 17 federal departments and agencies, and disaster- applicable programs and activities identified across the 17 federal  departments and agencies. This estimate represents a minimum and not  the total amount of disaster assistance spending by the federal  government during this period because some federal departments and  agencies reported that relevant obligations and expenditures for some  disaster-applicable programs and activities during this time frame are not  separately tracked or are not available. For example, some disaster  assistance programs or activities are not separately tracked because  spending related to these activities is generally subsumed by a  department’s general operating budget or mission-related costs. Figure 1  depicts the three categories of federal disaster assistance and the  estimated total obligations for each category.
subsections: section_title: FEMA Disaster Relief Fund
paragraphs: Including administrative costs, FEMA reported obligating approximately  $104.5 billion from the DRF for disaster assistance during fiscal years  2005 through 2014. Table 1 identifies the six DRF categories and details  total obligations for those categories.
Federal departments may play significant roles in response activities  depending on the nature and size of an incident. Many of the  arrangements by which departments participate are defined in the ESF  annexes and coordinated through pre-scripted mission assignments in a  Stafford Act response. For example, pre-scripted mission assignments for  the Department of Defense support include emergency route clearance,  airspace control, and deployable temporary medical facilities, among  other things. Table 2 identifies the 17 federal departments and agencies  within our scope and details total obligations that FEMA provided each  department in DRF Mission Assignment reimbursements. We provide  further details on FEMA’s DRF Mission Assignments in appendix I.
section_title: Disaster-specific Programs and Activities
paragraphs: Seventeen federal departments and agencies collectively obligated  approximately $132.2 billion for disaster assistance from disaster-specific  programs and activities during fiscal years 2005 through 2014. Table 3  identifies the 17 federal departments and agencies within our scope and  total obligations for those programs and activities. Examples of disaster- specific programs include FEMA’s National Flood Insurance program,  which provides for the sale of insurance against flood damages, and the  Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community  Development Block Grants - Disaster Recovery Program, which provides  grants to help cities, counties, parishes, and states recover from  presidentially declared disasters. We provide further details on each  department’s disaster-specific programs and activities in appendix II.
section_title: Disaster-applicable Programs and Activities
paragraphs: Seventeen federal departments and agencies collectively obligated  approximately $40.9 billion for disaster assistance from disaster- applicable programs and activities during fiscal years 2005 through 2014.  Table 4 identifies the 17 federal departments and agencies within our  scope and total obligations for those programs and activities. Examples of  disaster-applicable programs include the Department of Agriculture’s  Federal Crop Insurance program, which provides disaster applicable  indemnity payments to American farmers and ranchers for significant  losses due to adverse weather such as drought, among other causes,  and the Department of Health and Human Services’ National Bioterrorism  Hospital Preparedness Program, which provides funding to public health  departments in states and cities to save lives during emergencies that  exceed day-to-day capacity of the health and emergency response  systems. We provide further details on each department’s disaster- applicable programs and activities in appendix II.
section_title: Non-quantifiable Programs and Activities
paragraphs: Our estimate of $277.6 billion in obligations for disaster assistance  programs and activities represents a minimum and not the total amount of  disaster assistance spending by the federal government during fiscal  years 2005 through 2014 because some federal departments and  agencies reported that relevant obligations and expenditures for some  programs and activities during this time frame are not separately tracked  or are not available. Specifically, more than half of the 17 federal  departments and agencies in our scope reported that obligations for  certain disaster assistance programs or activities during fiscal years 2005  through 2014 are not separately tracked or are not available, for various  reasons. At least 5 federal departments and agencies reported that some  disaster assistance programs or activities are not separately tracked  because spending related to these activities is generally subsumed by a  department’s general operating budget or mission-related costs. For  example, U.S. Coast Guard officials stated that most of the agency’s  disaster-related costs are associated with maintaining a constant state of  readiness to immediately respond to disaster and emergency incidents,  which is funded from the U.S. Coast Guard search and rescue  appropriation and is not separately tracked. Similarly, the Army has  deployed personnel in anticipation of a possible disaster event, even  when FEMA has not requested the support. If a disaster does not occur  or the activity does not result in a FEMA mission assignment, the Army  will not be reimbursed for prepositioning personnel or assets in  anticipation of an event and therefore may categorize the expenditure as  training in the event of a disaster. Another 4 federal departments and  agencies reported that obligations and expenditures specific to disaster  assistance activities are not tracked or cannot be reliably estimated  because there is no requirement for state or other recipients of the  financial support to indicate whether or how much of the funding or  assistance is used for disasters.
section_title: Agency Comments
paragraphs: We provided a draft of this product to all 17 federal departments and  agencies included in this review for comment. The Department of  Defense, Department of Education, Department of Energy, Department of  Health and Human Services, Department of Homeland Security,  Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Justice,  Department of Labor, Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Small  Business Administration provided technical comments, which we  incorporated as appropriate. In its agency comments, the Department of  Veterans Affairs also provided summary information about an additional  disaster assistance program that was not previously identified in the  Department’s responses to our data collection instrument. Due to  insufficient data received about the Comprehensive Emergency  Management Program, we were not able to include this program in our  final report.
We are sending copies of this report to the appropriate congressional  committees and the Secretary or equivalent of each of the 17 federal  departments and agencies included in this review. If you or your staff  have any questions about this report, please contact me at (404) 679- 1875 or curriec@gao.gov. Contact points for our Offices of Congressional  Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last page of this report.  Other key contributors to this report are listed in appendix III.
section_title: Appendix I: Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) Obligations and Expenditures
paragraphs: This appendix presents detailed information on FEMA DRF obligations  and expenditures during fiscal years 2005 through 2014. Specifically,
Table 5 provides detailed information on FEMA DRF obligations and  expenditures for each of the six DRF categories—Public Assistance,  Individual  Assistance, Mission Assignment, Hazard Mitigation,  Fire  Management Assistance, and Administration—for each fiscal year of  our review period;
Tables 6 and 7 provide detailed information on FEMA’s Public  Assistance Division programs and activities funded by the DRF and  the obligations and expenditures, where available,  for these programs  and activities during fiscal years 2005 through 2014;
Tables 8 and 9 provide detailed information on FEMA’s Individual  Assistance programs and activities funded by the DRF and the  obligations and expenditures, where available, for these programs  and activities during fiscal years 2005 through 2014; and
Table 10 provides detailed information on FEMA Mission Assignment  obligations and expenditures funded by the DRF for each federal  department and for each fiscal year of our review period.
Information and data provided in the first five tables is based on the  Department of Homeland Security’s response to our data collection  instrument and related documentation. Information and data on Mission  Assignment obligations and expenditures for each federal department  during fiscal years 2005 through 2014 were obtained directly from FEMA.
section_title: Appendix II: Disaster Assistance Obligations and Expenditures For 17 Federal Departments and Agencies
paragraphs: This appendix presents detailed information on (1) federal disaster  assistance programs and activities—specifically, disaster-specific and  disaster-applicable programs or activities that are or can be used to  mitigate (including pre-disaster), respond to, or recover from a disaster  incident—and (2) obligations and expenditures, where available, for these  programs and activities during fiscal years 2005 through 2014, for each of  the 17 federal departments and agencies reviewed.1, 2  Specifically, each departmental overview provides detailed information  organized into the following five tables:
Disaster-Specific Programs and Activities during Fiscal Years 2005
Disaster-Specific Obligations and Expenditures during Fiscal Years
Disaster-Applicable Programs and Activities during Fiscal Years 2005
Disaster-Applicable Obligations and Expenditures during Fiscal Years  2005 through 2014; and
Mission Assignment Obligations and Expenditures during Fiscal Years  2005 through 2014.
An obligation is a definite commitment that creates a legal liability of the government for  the payment of goods and services ordered or received. An expenditure is an amount paid  by federal agencies, by cash or cash equivalent, during the fiscal year to liquidate  government obligations.
The 17 federal departments and agencies we selected include: Department of  Agriculture, Department of Commerce, Department of Defense, Department of Education,  Department of Energy, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of  Homeland Security, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of the  Interior, Department of Justice, Department of Labor, Department of Transportation,  Department of the Treasury, Department of Veteran Affairs, Environmental Protection  Agency,  General Services Administration, and Small Business Administration.
2014, these obligations and expenditures data were obtained directly  from FEMA.
subsections: section_title: Department of Agriculture
paragraphs: The Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported obligating approximately  $50.2 billion for disaster assistance during fiscal years 2005 through  2014.
USDA reported that its disaster-specific assistance programs and  activities (described in table 11) obligated approximately $20.9 billion  during fiscal years 2005 through 2014 (as shown in table 12).
USDA reported that its disaster-applicable assistance programs and  activities (described in table 13) obligated approximately $29.3 billion  during fiscal years 2005 through 2014 (as shown in table 14).
The above amounts exclude an additional $275 million that DHS’s  FEMA reported obligating from the Disaster Relief Fund in  reimbursements to USDA for eligible disaster assistance costs  incurred under a mission assignment during fiscal years 2005 through  2014, as shown in table 15.
section_title: Department of Commerce
paragraphs: The Department of Commerce (DOC) reported obligating over $2.4 billion  for disaster assistance during fiscal years 2005 through 2014.
DOC reported that its disaster-specific assistance programs and  activities (described in table 16) obligated approximately $840 million  during fiscal years 2005 through 2014 (as shown in table 17).
DOC reported that its disaster-applicable assistance programs and  activities (described in table 18) obligated over $1.6 billion during  fiscal years 2005 through 2014 (as shown in table 19).
The above amounts exclude an additional $6 million that DHS’s  FEMA reported obligating from the Disaster Relief Fund in  reimbursements to DOC for eligible disaster assistance costs incurred  under a mission assignment during fiscal years 2005 through 2014, as  shown in table 20.
section_title: Department of Defense
paragraphs: The Department of Defense (DOD) reported obligating approximately  $10.8 billion for disaster assistance during fiscal years 2005 through  2014.
DOD reported that its disaster-specific assistance programs and  activities (described in table 21) obligated approximately $10.8 billion  during fiscal years 2005 through 2014 (as shown in table 22).
DOD reported that its disaster-applicable assistance programs and  activities (described in table 23) obligated approximately $3 million  during fiscal years 2005 through 2014 (as shown in table 24).
The above amounts exclude an additional $5.2 billion that DHS’s  FEMA reported obligating from the Disaster Relief Fund in  reimbursements to DOD for eligible disaster assistance costs incurred  under a mission assignment during fiscal years 2005 through 2014, as  shown in table 25.
section_title: Department of Education
paragraphs: The Department of Education (ED) reported obligating approximately  $247 million for disaster assistance during fiscal years 2005 through  2014.
ED reported that its disaster-specific assistance programs and  activities (described in table 26) obligated approximately $247 million  during fiscal years 2005 through 2014 (as shown in table 27).
ED did not report any disaster-applicable programs and activities  during fiscal years 2005 through 2014.
The above amount excludes an additional $27,000 that DHS’s FEMA  reported obligating from the Disaster Relief Fund in reimbursements  to ED for eligible disaster assistance costs incurred under a mission  assignment during fiscal years 2005 through 2014, as shown in table  28.
section_title: Department of Energy
paragraphs: The Department of Energy (DOE) reported obligating approximately $48  million for disaster assistance during fiscal years 2005 through 2014.
DOE reported that one disaster-applicable assistance program  (described in table 29) obligated approximately $48 million during  fiscal years 2005 through 2014 (as shown in table 30).
The above amount excludes an additional $5 million that DHS’s  FEMA reported obligating from the Disaster Relief Fund in  reimbursements to DOE for eligible disaster assistance costs incurred  under a mission assignment during fiscal years 2005 through 2014, as  shown in table 31.
section_title: Department of Health and Human Services
paragraphs: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reported obligating  approximately $8.8 billion for disaster assistance during fiscal years 2005  through 2014.
HHS reported that its disaster-specific assistance programs and  activities (described in table 32) obligated over $3.8 billion during  fiscal years 2005 through 2014 (as shown in table 33).
HHS reported that its disaster-applicable assistance programs and  activities (described in table 34) obligated approximately $5 billion  during fiscal years 2005 through 2014 (as shown in table 35).
The above amounts exclude an additional $173 million that DHS’s  FEMA reported obligating from the Disaster Relief Fund in  reimbursements to HHS for eligible disaster assistance costs incurred  under a mission assignment during fiscal years 2005 through 2014, as  shown in table 36.
section_title: Department of Homeland Security
paragraphs: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reported obligating over  $41 billion for disaster assistance during fiscal years 2005 through 2014  from both disaster-specific and disaster-applicable programs and  activities that were funded from sources other than FEMA’s Disaster  Relief Fund (DRF).
DHS reported that its disaster-specific assistance programs and  activities (described in table 37) obligated approximately $39 billion  during fiscal years 2005 through 2014 (as shown in table 38).
DHS reported that its disaster-applicable assistance programs and  activities (described in table 39) obligated over $2 billion during fiscal  years 2005 through 2014 (as shown in table 40).
The above amounts exclude an additional $525 million that DHS’s  FEMA reported obligating from the DRF in reimbursements to DHS for  eligible disaster assistance costs incurred under a mission  assignment during fiscal years 2005 through 2014, as shown in table  41.
section_title: Department of Housing and Urban Development
paragraphs: The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) reported  obligating approximately $30.6 billion for disaster assistance during fiscal  years 2005 through 2014.
HUD reported that its disaster-specific assistance programs and  activities (described in table 42) obligated approximately $30.6 billion  during fiscal years 2005 through 2014 (as shown in table 43).
HUD reported that its disaster-applicable assistance programs and  activities (described in table 44) obligated approximately $8 million  during fiscal years 2005 through 2014 (as shown in table 45).
The above amounts exclude an additional $45 million that DHS’s  FEMA reported obligating from the Disaster Relief Fund in  reimbursements to HUD for eligible disaster assistance costs incurred  under a mission assignment during fiscal years 2005 through 2014, as  shown in table 46.
section_title: Department of the Interior
paragraphs: The Department of the Interior (DOI) reported obligating approximately  $3.5 billion for disaster assistance during fiscal years 2005 through 2014.
DOI reported that its disaster-specific assistance programs and  activities (described in table 47) obligated approximately $1.9 billion  during fiscal years 2005 through 2014 (as shown in table 48).
DOI reported that its disaster-applicable assistance programs and  activities (described in table 49) obligated approximately $1.6 billion  during fiscal years 2005 through 2014 (as shown in table 50).
The above amounts exclude an additional $12 million that DHS’s  FEMA reported obligating from the Disaster Relief Fund in  reimbursements to DOI for eligible disaster assistance costs incurred  under a mission assignment during fiscal years 2005 through 2014, as  shown in table 51.
section_title: Department of Justice
paragraphs: The Department of Justice (DOJ) reported obligating approximately $50  million for disaster assistance during fiscal years 2005 through 2014.
DOJ did not report any disaster-specific programs and activities  during fiscal years 2005 through 2014.
DOJ reported that its disaster-applicable assistance programs and  activities (described in table 52) obligated approximately $50 million  during fiscal years 2005 through 2014 (as shown in table 53).
The above amount excludes an additional $26 million that DHS’s  FEMA reported obligating from the Disaster Relief Fund in  reimbursements to DOJ for eligible disaster assistance costs incurred  under a mission assignment during fiscal years 2005 through 2014, as  shown in table 54.
section_title: Department of Labor
paragraphs: The Department of Labor (DOL) reported obligating approximately $961  million for disaster assistance during fiscal years 2005 through 2014.
DOL reported that its disaster-specific assistance programs and  activities (described in table 55) obligated approximately $6.5 million  during fiscal years 2005 through 2014 (as shown in table 56).
DOL reported that its disaster-applicable assistance programs and  activities (described in table 57) obligated approximately $954 million  during fiscal years 2005 through 2014 (as shown in table 58).
The above amounts exclude an additional $6 million that DHS’s  FEMA reported obligating from the Disaster Relief Fund in  reimbursements to DOL for eligible disaster assistance costs incurred  under a mission assignment during fiscal years 2005 through 2014, as  shown in table 59.
section_title: Department of Transportation
paragraphs: The Department of Transportation (DOT) reported obligating  approximately $15.6 billion for disaster assistance during fiscal years  2005 through 2014.
DOT reported that its disaster-specific assistance programs and  activities (described in table 60) obligated approximately $15.5 billion  during fiscal years 2005 through 2014 (as shown in table 61).
DOT reported that its disaster-applicable assistance programs and  activities (described in table 62) obligated approximately $138 million  during fiscal years 2005 through 2014 (as shown in table 63).
The above amounts exclude an additional $502 million that DHS’s  FEMA reported obligating from the Disaster Relief Fund in  reimbursements to DOT for eligible disaster assistance costs incurred  under a mission assignment during fiscal years 2005 through 2014, as  shown in table 64.
section_title: Department of the Treasury
paragraphs: The Department of the Treasury (Treasury) reported obligating  approximately $13 million for disaster assistance during fiscal years 2005  through 2014.
The Internal Revenue Service reported that its disaster-specific  assistance programs and activities (described in table 65) obligated  approximately $13 million during fiscal years 2005 through 2014 (as  shown in table 66).
Treasury reported providing disaster assistance from disaster- applicable programs and activities during fiscal years 2005 through  2014, described in table 67. However, Treasury could not provide  separate obligations and expenditures data because all spending  related to these disaster-applicable activities is subsumed by  Treasury’s general operating budget and this disaster assistance is  not separately tracked or accounted for.
The above amounts exclude an additional $2 million that DHS’s  FEMA reported obligating from the Disaster Relief Fund in  reimbursements to Treasury for eligible disaster assistance costs  incurred under a mission assignment during fiscal years 2005 through  2014, as shown in table 68.
section_title: Department of Veterans Affairs
paragraphs: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) reported obligating  approximately $59 million for disaster assistance during fiscal years 2005  through 2014.
VA reported that its disaster-specific assistance programs and  activities (described in table 69) obligated $124,000 during fiscal  years 2005 through 2014 (as shown in table 70).
VA reported that its disaster-applicable assistance programs and  activities (described in table 71) obligated approximately $59 million  during fiscal years 2005 through 2014 (as shown in table 72).
The above amounts exclude an additional $3 million that DHS’s  FEMA reported obligating from the Disaster Relief Fund in  reimbursements to VA for eligible disaster assistance costs incurred  under a mission assignment during fiscal years 2005 through 2014, as  shown in table 73.
section_title: Environmental Protection Agency
paragraphs: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported obligating  approximately $3.6 billion for disaster assistance during fiscal years 2005  through 2014.
EPA reported that its disaster-specific assistance programs and  activities (described in table 74) obligated approximately $3.6 billion  during fiscal years 2005 through 2014 (as shown in table 75).
EPA also reported providing disaster assistance from disaster- applicable programs and activities during fiscal years 2005 through  2014, described in table 76. However, EPA does not separately track  disaster-related obligations or expenditures data for its disaster- applicable programs and activities. For example, while both the Clean  Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds have billions in  obligations and expenditures each year, there is no requirement for  recipients to indicate whether any loans are disaster-related.
The above amounts exclude an additional $329 million that DHS’s  FEMA reported obligating from the Disaster Relief Fund in  reimbursements to EPA for eligible disaster assistance costs incurred  under a mission assignment during fiscal years 2005 through 2014, as  shown in table 77.
section_title: General Services Administration
paragraphs: The General Services Administration (GSA) reported obligating  approximately $19 million for disaster assistance during fiscal years 2005  through 2014.
GSA reported that its disaster-specific assistance programs and  activities (described in table 78) obligated approximately $19 million  during fiscal years 2005 through 2014 (as shown in table 79).
GSA also reported providing disaster assistance from disaster- applicable programs and activities during fiscal years 2005 through  2014, described in table 80. However, GSA did not provide separate  obligations and expenditures data because all spending related to  these disaster-applicable activities is funded by other agencies.
The above amount excludes an additional $67 million that DHS’s  FEMA reported obligating from the Disaster Relief Fund in  reimbursements to GSA for eligible disaster assistance costs incurred  under a mission assignment during fiscal years 2005 through 2014, as  shown in table 81.
section_title: Small Business Administration
paragraphs: The Small Business Administration (SBA) reported obligating over $4.9  billion for disaster assistance during fiscal years 2005 through 2014.
SBA reported that its disaster-specific assistance programs and  activities (described in table 82) obligated approximately $4.9 billion  during fiscal years 2005 through 2014 (as shown in table 83).
SBA reported that its disaster-applicable assistance programs and  activities (described in table 84) obligated approximately $29 million  during fiscal years 2005 through 2014 (as shown in table 85).
DHS’s FEMA did not obligate any funds from the Disaster Relief Fund to  SBA for mission assignments during fiscal years 2005 through 2014.
section_title: Appendix III: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments
subsections: section_title: GAO Contact
section_title: Staff Acknowledgments
paragraphs: In addition to the contact named above, Kathryn Godfrey (Assistant  Director), Hugh Paquette (Analyst-in-Charge), Carissa Bryant, Eli Harpst,  Eric Hauswirth, Tracey King, Amanda Miller, Heidi Nielson, Ashley  Rawson, and Aaron Safer-Lichtenstein made key contributions to this  report.
section_title: Appendix IV: Related GAO Products
paragraphs: Disaster Recovery: FEMA Needs to Assess Its Effectiveness in  Implementing the National Disaster Recovery Framework. GAO-16-476.  Washington, D.C.: May 26, 2016.
Disaster Response: FEMA Has Made Progress Implementing Key  Programs, but Opportunities for Improvement Exist. GAO-16-87.  Washington, D.C.: February 5, 2016.
Wildland Fire Management: Agencies Have Made Several Key Changes  but Could Benefit from More Information about Effectiveness.  GAO-15-772. Washington, D.C.: September 16, 2015.
Disaster Relief: Agencies Need to Improve Policies and Procedures for  Estimating Improper Payments. GAO-15-209. Washington, D.C.:  February 27, 2015.
Hurricane Sandy: An Investment Strategy Could Help the Federal  Government Enhance National Resilience for Future Disasters.  GAO-15-515. Washington, D.C.: July 30, 2015.
Budgeting for Disasters: Approaches to Budgeting for Disasters in  Selected States. GAO-15-424. Washington, D.C.: March 26, 2015.
Disaster Relief: Agencies Need to Improve Policies and Procedures for  Estimating Improper Payments. GAO-15-209. Washington, D.C.: Feb. 27,  2015.
Federal Emergency Management Agency: Opportunities Exist to  Strengthen Oversight of Administrative Costs for Major Disasters.  GAO-15-65. Washington, D.C.: December 17, 2014.
Hurricane Sandy: FEMA Has Improved Disaster Aid Verification but  Could Act to Further Limit Improper Assistance. GAO-15-15. Washington,  D.C.: December 12, 2014.
Emergency Preparedness: Opportunities Exist to Strengthen Interagency  Assessments and Accountability for Closing Capability Gaps. GAO-15-20.  Washington, D.C.: December 4, 2014.
Climate Change: Better Management of Exposure to Potential Future  Losses Is Needed for Federal Flood and Crop Insurance. GAO-15-28.  Washington, D.C.: October 29, 2014.
Disaster Resilience: Actions Are Underway, but Federal Fiscal Exposure  Highlights the Need for Continued Attention to Longstanding Challenges.  GAO-14-603T. Washington, D.C.: May 14, 2014.
National Preparedness: Actions Taken by FEMA to Implement Select  Provisions of the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of  2006. GAO-14-99R. Washington, D.C.: November 26, 2013.
Hurricane Sandy Relief: Improved Guidance on Designing Internal  Control Plans Could Enhance Oversight of Disaster Funding. GAO-14-58.  Washington, D.C.: November 26, 2013.
Civil Support: Actions Are Needed to Improve DOD’s Planning for a  Complex Catastrophe. GAO-13-763. Washington, D.C.: September 30,  2013.
Federal Disaster Assistance: Improved Criteria Needed to Assess a  Jurisdiction’s Capability to Respond and Recover on Its Own.  GAO-12-838. Washington, D.C.: September 12, 2012.
Disaster Recovery: Federal Contracting in the Aftermath of Hurricanes  Katrina and Rita. GAO-11-942T. Washington, D.C.: September 15, 2011.
Homeland Security: Actions Needed to Improve Response to Potential  Terrorist Attacks and Natural Disasters Affecting Food and Agriculture.  GAO-11-652. Washington, D.C.: August 19, 2011.
Measuring Disaster Preparedness: FEMA Has Made Limited Progress in  Assessing National Capabilities. GAO-11-260T. Washington, D.C.: March  17, 2011.
Disaster Response: Criteria for Developing and Validating Effective  Response Plans. GAO-10-969T. Washington, D.C.: September 22, 2010.
Homeland Defense: DOD Needs to Take Actions to Enhance Interagency  Coordination for Its Homeland Defense and Civil Support Missions.  GAO-10-364. Washington D.C.: March 30, 2010.
Disaster Recovery: Experiences from Past Disasters Offer Insights for  Effective Collaboration after Catastrophic Events. GAO-09-811.  Washington, D.C.: July 31, 2009.
National Preparedness: FEMA Has Made Progress, but Needs to  Complete and Integrate Planning, Exercise, and Assessment Efforts.  GAO-09-369. Washington, D.C.: April 30, 2009.
Catastrophic Disasters: Enhanced Leadership, Capabilities, and  Accountability Controls Will Improve the Effectiveness of the Nation’s  Preparedness, Response, and Recovery System. GAO-06-618.  Washington, D.C.: September 6, 2006.