Hurricane Sandy Disaster Relief : Select Assessments

Hurricane Sandy struck the United States in October 2012, causing an estimated $65 billion in damages. FEMA provides assistance to survivors through IHP and other programs. Part of its mission is to provide assistance quickly, but the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) previously identified weaknesses in FEMA''s ability to do so while protecting government resources. Moreover, GAO''s 2006 reports on Hurricane Katrina and Rita showed that FEMA did not consistently validate the identity of applicants or inspect damaged properties. This book discusses the extent to which FEMA implemented controls to help prevent IHP payments that are at risk of being improper or potentially fraudulent; and challenges FEMA and states faced obtaining information to help prevent IHP payments from duplicating or overlapping with other sources in its response to Hurricane Sandy. This book also discusses the timeliness of SBA''s disaster assistance to small businesses; the loan approval rates for small businesses and reasons for decline for Hurricane Sandy and previous disasters; the extent to which SBA has implemented programs mandated by the Small Business Disaster Response and Loan Improvements Act of 2008; the progress DOT has made allocating, obligating, and disbursing DRAA surface transportation funds; how FTA''s new Public Transportation Emergency Relief program compares to FEMA''s and FHWA''s emergency relief programs; and the extent to which FTA and FEMA have implemented their memorandum of agreement to coordinate their roles and responsibilities when providing assistance to transit agencies.