The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in over 100,000 reported deaths in the U.S., widespread unemployment, and an overall economic downturn. For the first time in history, major disaster declarations were issued simultaneously for all U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories. We testified about our work on FEMA’s role in the COVID-19 response and what our prior work suggests ab...

Hawaii and the U.S. Pacific-area territories had a record number of natural disasters—typhoons, earthquakes, mudslides, and volcanic eruptions—in 2018. As of May 2020, they used about 63% of the $788 million in Disaster Relief Funds obligated for the disasters. Based on initial observations, local officials believe FEMA’s disaster response was fairly effective. But contracting problems, wor...

In June 2018, FEMA started to shift responsibility for helping people with disabilities affected by disasters away from its staff trained on disability issues to all staff and to state, local, and nonprofit partners. In our May 2019 report, we recommended, among other things, that FEMA develop plans to train its staff and nonfederal partners on disability issues. We testified that FEMA has taken...

In the span of 14 days in September 2017, two major hurricanes—Irma and Maria—struck Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Puerto Rico estimated repairs will cost $132 billion. The USVI estimated $10.7 billion. We testified about FEMA’s response and recovery efforts through its Public Assistance program, which funds projects like debris removal and road repairs. As of April, FEMA provid...

We testified before a House subcommittee about FEMA's disaster preparedness, response, and recovery operations, based on our 2011-2019 reports and ongoing work. Among other things, we found FEMA Hasn't fully assessed national gaps in emergency preparedness Has made progress since Hurricane Katrina, but faced major challenges addressing Puerto Rico's needs in 2017 Had trouble and faced delays i...

We testified before a House committee about FEMA's disaster preparedness, response, and recovery operations, based on our 2011-2019 reports and ongoing work. Among other things, we found FEMA Hasn't fully assessed national gaps in emergency preparedness Has made progress since Hurricane Katrina, but faced major challenges addressing Puerto Rico's needs in 2017 Had trouble and faced delays impl...

The Small Business Administration works with many colleges and universities to provide entrepreneurial training on campuses. We looked into the extent to which SBA has worked with Historically Black Colleges and Universities to help people start, build, and expand businesses. We testified that SBA programs that foster entrepreneurship included, but haven't specifically targeted, these schools. We...

The Small Business Administration (SBA) designates economically distressed areas as Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZones), based on data such as unemployment and poverty rates. Since 2008, GAO has issued several products that identified weaknesses in the HUBZone program and made recommendations to SBA to address them. While weaknesses remain, SBA has taken some steps to enhance prog...

As of August 2016, the Small Business Administration (SBA) had taken steps to better inform firms about changes in the designations of Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZones) but had not yet fully implemented GAO's February 2015 recommendation to improve this process.SBA primarily designates economically distressed areas as HUBZones, based on demographic data such as unemployment and...

GAO's recent work highlights both the progress and challenges in the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) efforts to strengthen federal preparedness.In December 2014, GAO reported that the federal departments responsible for coordinating emergency support functions (ESF) in preparation for national disaster response carry out their responsibilities i...