GAO Disaster Assistance How much does it actually cost the federal government? AN OVERVIEW OF GAO-16-797 What does disaster assistance spending look like? Pull-out: The federal government spent at least $277.6 billion during fiscal years 2005 through 2014 for disaster assistance. Stacked Bar Chart: $104.5 billion Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Disaster Relief Fund $132.2 billion Disaster-Specific Programs and Activities $40.9 billion Disaster-Applicable Programs Land Activities undetermined Non-Quantifiable Disaster-Applicable Programs and Activities Source: GAO analysis of FEMA data and federal department and agency responses to GAO's data collection instrument. This is across 17 federal departments and agencies: Table: Total Obligations During Fiscal Years 2005 Through 2014 (Dollars in Thousands) Federal department Total obligations Department of Agriculture $50,200,291 Department of Commerce $2,486,283 Department of Defense $10,787,829 Department of Education $247,021 Department of Energy $48,298 Department of Health and Human Services $8,832,302 Department of Homeland Security* $145,641,028 Department of Housing and Urban Development $30,631,135 Department of the Interior $3,534,454 Department of Justice $50,330 Department of Labor $961,017 Department of Transportation $15,629,611 Department of the Treasury $12,769 Department of Veterans Affairs $59,001 Environmental Protection Agency $3,569,075 General Services Administration $18,745 Small Business Administration $4,935,171 Total $277,644,360 *Includes obligations from FEMA's Disaster Relief Fund. Note: Obligations reported for some disaster assistance programs and activities contain estimates. Source: GAO analysis of FEMA data and federal department and agency responses to GAO's data collection instrument. Not all disaster assistance spending can be quantified. The estimate of $277.6 billion represents a minimum and not the total amount of disaster assistance because relevant obligations for some programs and activities are not separately tracked or are not available. For example, costs associated with the U.S. Coast Guard's response to disaster and emergency events are funded by its search and rescue appropriation and are not separately tracked. Our report contains a detailed look at each agency's disaster assistance obligations and expenditures. Which disasters receive assistance? The federal government provides assistance before and after disasters to mitigate their impact and when the damage is severe and extensive enough to warrant it or when assistance is needed to supplement the efforts and resources of states, local governments, and disaster relief organizations in alleviating: - damage - loss - hardship - suffering Our analysis looked at both Stafford Act Disasters: Presidentially-declared major disaster or emergency and Non-Stafford Act Disasters: did not receive a Stafford Act declaration Some examples: Illustration: U.S. outline with icons Stafford Act Disasters: - Wildfires in Colorado and Oklahoma (2011-13) - Earthquakes in Washington D.C. and Virginia (2011) - Hurricanes Katrina (2005) and Sandy (2012) - Ammonium nitrate explosion in McLennan County, Texas (2013) Non-Stafford Act Disasters: - Disease or pandemic outbreaks, such as H1N1 "swine flu" (2009) - Droughts in California and Oregon (2014-15) Secretary of Agriculture declared disasters - Surge of unaccompanied migrant children along the Southwest border (2014) - Deepwater Horizon oil spill (2010) What type of assistance? We examined federal programs and activities that - mitigate - respond to - recover from disasters These activities include: Financial - grants - loans - insurance programs and Non-Financial - technical assistance - public health - environmental cleanup We divided the assistance into three categories: Box 1: FEMA's Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) The primary source of federal disaster recovery assistance, used for Stafford Act disasters This "rainy day fund" allows FEMA to fund disaster assistance in many ways when a disaster is declared. Through one method, called Mission Assignments, FEMA assigns disaster recovery duties to other agencies, and can use funds from DRF to reimburse them. Mission Assignment Example: Assigned Department: Department of Defense (DOD) Programs: FEMA assigns DOD agencies various duties in response to a Stafford Act declaration, including emergency route clearance, airspace control, and deployable temporary medical facilities. Box 2: Disaster-Specific Programs Specifically authorized for disaster assistance purposes Example: Department: Department of Housing and Urban Development Program: Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Program Purpose: Provides grants to help cities, counties, parishes, and states recover from presidentially declared disasters. Box 3: Disaster-Applicable Programs Not specifically designated for disaster or emergency situations Example: Department: Department of Health and Human Services Program: National Bioterrorism Hospital Preparedness Program Purpose: Provides funding to public health departments in states and cities to save lives during emergencies that exceed day-to-day capacity of the health and emergency response systems. Looking for more information? See GAO-16-797 at GAO.GOV This work has been released into the public domain. GAO