We also found that, while federal departments  have identified emergency response capability gaps through national- level exercises, real-world incidents, such as Hurricane Sandy and other  assessments, the status of federal interagency implementation of these  actions is not comprehensively collected by or reported to DHS or FEMA  and, as a result, DHS’s and FEMA’s ability to assess and report on the  nation’s overall preparedness is hampered. Further, we found that  FEMA’s plan to lead interagency actions to identify and address capability  gaps in the nation’s preparedness to respond to improvised nuclear  device (IND) attacks did not contain detailed program management  information—such as specific timeframes, milestones, and estimated  resources required to close any given capability gap—which is needed to  better enable ongoing management oversight of gap closure efforts. In our December 2014 report, we recommended that FEMA—in  collaboration with other federal agencies—(1) issue supplemental  guidance to ESF coordinators detailing minimum standards for activities  and product deliverables necessary to demonstrate ESF preparedness,  develop and (2) issue detailed program management information to better  enable management oversight of the DHS IND Strategy’s recommended  actions, and (3) regularly report on the status of corrective actions  identified through prior national-level exercises and real-world disasters. DHS concurred with our recommendations and FEMA has taken actions  in response. FEMA officials also collected information on the status  of National Level Exercise Corrective Actions from 2007-2014, an  important step to respond to our other recommendation and we are  continuing to monitor FEMA’s efforts in this area, however it has not  provided a timeframe for its completion. DHS concurred with the  recommendations and is taking actions to address them. Disaster Response and Recovery

		Disaster Declarations

In September 2012, we reported on FEMA’s processes for determining  whether to recommend major disaster declarations. However in December 2014, we identified continued challenges in the  agency’s response to Hurricane Sandy, including weaknesses in the  agency’s validation of Social Security numbers, among other things. FEMA concurred with the  report’s five recommendations and has taken actions to address them. Disaster Recovery and Resilience

In July 2015 we reported that during the Hurricane Sandy Recovery, five  federal programs—the FEMA’s Public Assistance (PA) and Hazard  Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP), the Federal Transit Administration’s  Public Transportation Emergency Relief Program, the Department of  Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block  Grant-Disaster Recovery, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’  Hurricane Sandy program—helped enhance disaster resilience—the  ability to prepare and plan for, absorb, recover from, and more  successfully adapt to disasters. State and local officials from all 12 states,  the District of Columbia, and New York City in the Sandy affected-region  reported that they were able to effectively leverage federal programs to  enhance disaster resilience, but also experienced challenges. We found there was no comprehensive, strategic approach to  identifying, prioritizing and implementing investments for disaster  resilience, which increased the risk that the federal government and  nonfederal partners will experience lower returns on investments or lost  opportunities to strengthen key critical infrastructure and lifelines. DHS agreed with  both recommendations. FEMA’s Management Efforts

		Administrative Costs for Managing Disaster Assistance

In December 2014, we reported on FEMA’s progress in taking steps to  reduce and better control administrative costs—the costs of providing and  managing disaster assistance. For example, FEMA issued guidelines  intended to better control its administrative costs in November 2010. However, FEMA does not require these targets be met,  and we found that had FEMA met its targets, administrative costs could  have been reduced by hundreds of millions of dollars. We found that  FEMA continued to face challenges in tracking and reducing these costs. In our December 2014 report, we recommended that FEMA (1) develop  an integrated plan to better control and reduce its administrative costs for  major disasters, (2) assess the costs versus the benefits of tracking  FEMA administrative costs by the Disaster Relief Fund program, and (3)  clarify the agency’s guidance and minimum documentation requirements  for direct administrative costs. FEMA agreed with the report and its  recommendations. Workforce Management Efforts

In July 2015, we reported on FEMA’s progress in taking steps to address  various long-standing workforce management challenges in completing  and integrating its strategic workforce planning efforts we have identified  since 2007. We currently have work underway for this committee assessing additional  FEMA management areas, including assessing FEMA’s management of  information technology systems that support disaster response and  recovery programs. GAO Related Products

Emergency Management: FEMA Collaborates Effectively with Logistics  Partners but Could Strengthen Implementation of Its Capabilities  Assessment Tool. National Preparedness: Actions Taken by FEMA to Implement Select  Provisions of the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of  2006. National Preparedness: FEMA Has Made Progress in Improving Grant  Management and Assessing Capabilities, but Challenges Remain. Disaster Resilience: Actions Are Underway, but Federal Fiscal Exposure  Highlights the Need for Continued Attention to Longstanding Challenges. GAO-10-404. Federal Emergency Management Agency: Opportunities to Achieve  Efficiencies and Strengthen Operations. FEMA Has Made Progress in Managing Regionalization of Preparedness  Grants. Government Operations: Actions Taken to Implement the Post-Katrina  Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006.
Why GAO Did This Study

A little more than 10 years ago, Hurricane Katrina caused an estimated $108 billion in damage, making it the largest, most destructive natural disaster in our nation's history. Following the federal response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Congress passed the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 (Post-Katrina Act). The act contained over 300 provisions that are intended to enhance national preparedness, emergency response and recovery, and the management of select disaster programs. In October 2012, another catastrophic hurricane—Hurricane Sandy—caused $65 billion in damage and once again tested the nation's preparedness and emergency response and recovery functions.
GAO has issued multiple reports that discuss a wide variety of emergency management issues reflecting the federal government and FEMA's efforts to implement provisions of the Post-Katrina Act and address various aspects of emergency management.
This statement discusses GAO's work on the progress FEMA has made and challenges that it still faces in three areas: (1) national preparedness, (2) disaster response and recovery, and (3) selected FEMA management areas. This statement is based on previously issued GAO reports from 2012 to 2015.

What GAO Found

GAO's recent work highlights both the progress and challenges in the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) efforts to lead national preparedness efforts, particularly efforts to assess emergency support capabilities and enhance logistics capabilities. Assessing capabilities is critical to ensure that they will be available when needed in emergencies. For example, GAO found in December 2014 that federal departments have identified emergency response capability gaps through national-level exercises and real-world incidents, but the status of agency actions to address these gaps is not collected by or reported to Department of Homeland Security or FEMA. GAO recommended that FEMA—in collaboration with other federal agencies—regularly report on the status of corrective actions. FEMA agreed with GAO's recommendation and is taking action to address it but has not established a timeframe for completion.
GAO's recent work on disaster response and recovery programs also identified progress and challenges in a number of areas. From fiscal years 2004 through 2013, FEMA obligated over $95 billion in federal disaster assistance for 650 major disasters declared during this timeframe. With the growing cost of disasters it is vital for the federal government to address its fiscal exposure and ensure that response and recovery programs are as efficient and effective as possible. For example, in December 2014, GAO found that FEMA demonstrated progress controlling for potentially fraudulent payments to individuals during Hurricane Sandy as compared to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. However, GAO reported continued challenges, including weaknesses in validation of Social Security numbers and made recommendations to strengthen these processes. Further, in July 2015, GAO reported that states and localities affected by Hurricane Sandy were able to effectively leverage federal programs to enhance resilience during their recovery. However, states experienced continued challenges in implementing certain FEMA recovery programs, such as Public Assistance. GAO also found that there was no comprehensive, strategic approach to identifying, prioritizing, and implementing investments for disaster resilience. GAO made recommendations to address these continued challenges and FEMA is taking a range of actions to address them.
FEMA has also taken steps to strengthen a number of its management areas, but GAO reported that additional progress is needed in several areas. Specifically, In December 2014, GAO found that FEMA had taken steps to control its administrative costs—the costs of providing and managing disaster assistance—by issuing guidelines and reduction targets. However, GAO reported that FEMA does not require the targets to be met and continued to face challenges tracking the costs. Among other things, GAO recommended that FEMA develop an integrated plan to better control and reduce its administrative costs for major disasters. Further, in July 2015 GAO reported that FEMA had taken action to address various long-standing workforce management challenges, but faced multiple challenges, including implementing and managing its temporary workforces and completing strategic workforce planning efforts. FEMA agreed with GAO's recommendations and is taking action to address them.

What GAO Recommends

GAO has made numerous recommendations in its prior reports to FEMA designed to address the challenges discussed in this statement. FEMA has taken actions to address many of these recommendations.