As of June 2018, FEMA reported having advance contracts in place for  56 different types of goods and services. FEMA and USACE Relied on Advance Contracts to Respond to the 2017 Disasters, but FEMA Lacks an Updated Advance Contracting Strategy and Guidance

FEMA and USACE obligations on advance contracts—as of May 31,  2018—accounted for about half of total federal contract obligations for the  three hurricanes, and more than three quarters of the contract obligations  identified by those agencies for the California wildfires. However, an  outdated strategy and lack of guidance to contracting officers resulted in  confusion about whether and how to prioritize and use advance contracts  to quickly mobilize resources in response to the three 2017 hurricanes  and the California wildfires. Our  current review found that FEMA has established advance contracts for  goods and services to enable it to respond following a disaster. These weaknesses  were: (1) challenges in FEMA’s acquisition planning; (2) limited record  keeping or management of certain FEMA contracts; and (3) incomplete  reporting on FEMA’s advance contract actions to certain congressional  committees. See figure 5. DHS did not concur with this recommendation, stating that its acquisition  manual already encourages early planning, and has not implemented the  recommendation. Challenges in Coordinating with and Providing Information to State and Local Governments on the Use of Advance Contracts Continued

We also found that while FEMA has updated its guidance to reflect some  requirements for state and local coordination over the use of advance  contracts, inconsistencies in FEMA’s outreach and information on the use  of advance contracts remains a challenge. PKEMRA required that FEMA  encourage state and local governments to establish their own advance  contracts with vendors for goods and services in advance of natural  disasters. Our review  of the guide found that it does remind contracting officers to coordinate  with states and localities over the use of federal advance contracts, but  does not provide any details on how often or what types of advance  contract information should be shared with states and localities, or  provide any instructions to contracting officers on PKEMRA’s requirement  to encourage states and localities to establish their own advance  contracts for the types of goods and services needed during a disaster. Recommendations for Executive Action

We are making nine recommendations to FEMA. (Recommendation 5)
FEMA’s Administrator should ensure the Head of the Contracting Activity  revises its reporting methodology to ensure that all disaster contracts are  included in its quarterly reports to congressional committees on disaster  contract actions. This report specifically addresses the  use of advance contracts, assessing the extent to which (1) the Federal  Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Army Corps of  Engineers (USACE) used advance contracts, (2) the planning,  management, and reporting of selected FEMA and USACE advance  contracts met certain contracting requirements, and (3) FEMA and  USACE identified any lessons learned and challenges with their use of  these contracts. To identify the extent to which FEMA and USACE used advance  contracts, we reviewed data on contract obligations for the 2017 disasters  from the Federal Procurement Data System-Next Generation (FPDS-NG)  through May 31, 2018. We analyzed the  data to identify 10 competed and four h non-competed contracts.
Why GAO Did This Study

Following Hurricane Katrina, Congress required FEMA to establish advance contracts for goods and services to enable the government to quickly and effectively mobilize resources in the aftermath of a disaster, like those that affected the United States in 2017.
GAO was asked to review the federal government's response to the three 2017 hurricanes and California wildfires. This report assesses, among other things, (1) FEMA and USACE's use of advance contracts, (2) FEMA's planning and reporting of selected advance contracts, and (3) challenges, if any, with FEMA's use of these contracts.
GAO analyzed data from the Federal Procurement Data System-Next Generation through May 31, 2018; selected a non-generalizable sample of 14 FEMA and USACE advance contracts that were competed and obligated over $50 million, or non-competed and obligated over $10 million, in response to the 2017 disasters; and interviewed FEMA and USACE officials.

What GAO Found

In response to Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, as well as the 2017 California wildfires, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) relied heavily on advance contracts. As of May 31, 2018, FEMA and USACE obligated about $4.5 billion for various goods and services through these contracts, see figure below.
GAO found limitations in FEMA's use of some advance contracts that provided critical goods and services to survivors, including
an outdated strategy and unclear guidance on how contracting officers should use advance contracts during a disaster, and
challenges performing acquisition planning.
FEMA also did not always provide complete information in its reports to congressional committees. Specifically, GAO found 29 advance contract actions that were not included in recent reports due to shortcomings in FEMA's reporting methodology, limiting visibility into its disaster contract spending.
FEMA identified challenges with advance contracts in 2017, including federal coordination with states and localities on their use. FEMA is required to coordinate with states and localities and encourage them to establish their own advance contracts with vendors. However, GAO found inconsistencies in that coordination and the information FEMA uses to coordinate with states and localities on advance contracts. Without consistent information and coordination with FEMA, states and localities may not have the tools needed to establish their own advance contracts for critical goods and services and quickly respond to future disasters.

What GAO Recommends

GAO is making nine recommendations to FEMA, including that it update its strategy and guidance to clarify the use of advance contracts, improve the timeliness of its acquisition planning activities, revise its methodology for reporting disaster contracting actions to congressional committees, and provide more consistent guidance and information to contracting officers to coordinate with and encourage states and localities to establish advance contracts. FEMA concurred with our recommendations.