Katrina, Sandy, Harvey, and Irma—4 of the costliest hurricanes in the U.S. since 2005—caused damage totaling trillions of dollars. Their effects on economic activity and employment in damaged areas varied widely. State and local government officials said that the storms significantly affected certain communities, local governments, households, and businesses. Communities are taking actions to...

To focus more federal funds on counties with persistent poverty, some federal programs have been required to spend at least 10% of their budgets in these counties. A 2019 bill proposes expanding this requirement to more federal programs and proposes spending requirements for high-poverty Census areas. We looked at data from USAspending.gov for programs that may be included in this bill. The progr...

The statutory federal minimum wage has not applied in American Samoa for many years. In 2007, Congress approved increasing the territory's minimum wages, but later delayed or reduced the increases. Minimum wages are now scheduled to rise to the current federal level by 2036. American Samoa’s economy depends on the tuna canning industry—but its only cannery is in financial trouble. We intervi...

For the English version of this page, see GAO-20-168. Examinamos cómo la Agencia Federal para el Desarrollo de la Pequeña Empresa (SBA, por sus siglas en inglés) planeó y respondió a los huracanes Harvey, Irma, y María en 2017, entre otras cosas. Después de los huracanes, la SBA aceptó cerca de 340,000 solicitudes de préstamo para desastres y aprobó cerca de 141,000, prestando más de...

Para la versión de esta página en español, ver a GAO-20-369. We reviewed how the Small Business Administration planned for and responded to Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria in 2017, among other things. After the hurricanes, SBA accepted about 340,000 disaster loan applications and approved about 141,000, making more than $7 billion in loans to help business owners, homeowners, renters, and...

Para la versión de esta página en español, ver a GAO-20-381. After 2 hurricanes devastated Puerto Rico in 2017, FEMA identified about 10,000 damaged sites including schools, hospitals, and roads needing funds to repair or rebuild. FEMA and Puerto Rico manage a Public Assistance Program that provides federal funds to state and local governments and some nonprofits to help in recovery efforts. ...

Innovation in products, manufacturing processes, and business models often come from the efforts of small and medium-sized manufacturers. To help them get capital, a federal loan guarantee program was authorized in 2010. The Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration took steps to establish the program. However, Congress rescinded funds from EDA in 2017, 2018, and 2019, and ED...

Since 1980, weather disasters in the U.S. have caused more than $1.6 trillion in damage. Weather disasters, and federal spending on them, are expected to increase due to climate change, as our High Risk List indicates. Federal efforts to promote disaster resilience can help limit damage—and cost. This framework lays out 3 broad principles to guide these efforts: Information—Ensuring decision...

Commerce's Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Program has centers in each state that help small- and medium-sized companies improve their technology and management practices. Recent legislation set the cost sharing ratio at 1:1, reducing the cost burden for some centers. All centers now match federal funding dollar for dollar. Prior to the change, the cost share increased over time from $1...

After Puerto Rico defaulted on $1.5 billion in debt payments, Congress established federal oversight of the U.S. territory's fiscal affairs. This debt crisis coincided with a new Labor Department rule that made more people eligible for overtime pay. A federal court invalidated the rule and that decision has been appealed. We found: Puerto Rico's GDP has been trending down since 2000 There is li...