From the U.S. Government Accountability Office, www.gao.gov

Transcript for: New High Risk Area: Improving the Delivery of Federal
Disaster Assistance

Description: GAO's High-Risk List identifies government operations with
serious vulnerabilities to fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement, or in
need of transformation. New to the list in 2025 is the delivery of
federal disaster assistance.

In 2024, there were 27 disasters with at least $1 billion in economic
damages. FEMA and other federal entities--including Congress--need to
address the nation's fragmented federal approach to disaster recovery.
Attention is also needed to improve processes for assisting survivors,
invest in resilience, and strengthen FEMA's disaster workforce and
capacity.

Related GAO Work: GAO-25-107743, High-Risk Series: Heightened Attention
Could Save Billions More and Improve Government Efficiency and
Effectiveness

Released: February 2025


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[ GAO's Chris Currie, Director, Homeland Security and Justice, speaking: ]

Since 2015, the federal government spent almost half $1 trillion on
federal disaster assistance, and it's not working as well as it should
for the people it's intended to help. 


[ Text On-Screen: ]

New High Risk Area: Improving the Delivery of Federal Disaster
Assistance


[ Chris Currie: ]

We travel all over the country. We went to Maui shortly after the
wildfires there. We've been to western North Carolina after Hurricane
Helene. And what we do is talk to the federal, state, and local
officials that are responding to these disasters in real time. We also
walk around with FEMA officials when they're registering survivors, and
hear survivors talk about their challenges and what they're facing in
the aftermath of a disaster.

What I'm seeing now that's our biggest concern is that there are so
many different programs that have been built over the years that were
not designed to work together in recovery. They have different rules,
different requirements, different timeframes. These are often
overlapping, which can cause delays in trying to get these projects
started and finished in the long run.


[ Text On-Screen: ]

FEMA
HUD
DOT
DHS
FTA
HHS
EPA
DOE
USDT
DOJ
DOL
DOC
USACE
USDA
CNCS
DOI
SBA
DOS
CEQ
ED
GSA
LC
ACHP
IMLS
NARA
VA
HENTF
TVA
DRA
NEA
VOAD


[ Chris Currie: ]

We're adding to this year's High-Risk List at GAO, improving the
delivery of federal disaster assistance. We feel like this will
definitely get the attention we want it to get. We've seen in the past,
when we add areas to the High-Risk List, that one, it tends to get much
more attention in the administration at a higher level, and that the
agencies are held much more accountable by Congress.


[ Text On-Screen (Highlighted): ]

HIGH-RISK SERIES

New Area: Improving the Delivery of Federal Disaster Assistance


[ Chris Currie: ]

I'm hopeful because this affects real people. It's a bipartisan issue
that both parties can agree on needs to be addressed. It's really a core
function of government to help people in times of a disaster. And
figuring out ways to do that more effectively and quicker is going to
be, I think, something that everybody wants to do.


[ Text On-Screen: ]

find out more @ GAO.gov

Footage: stock.adobe.com (Rick), DOD, NASA, GAO


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For more info, check out our report GAO-25-107743 at: GAO.gov