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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

Summary: 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. 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.