FEMA Did Not Sufficiently Safeguard Use of Transportation Assistance Funds
FEMA did not take sufficient actions to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse of transportation assistance funds for vehicles considered damaged or destroyed by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria in FY 2017. These weakness occurred because FEMA does not require that agencies collect and retain documentation used to establish applicant eligibility; consider pre-disaster vehicle market value when determining award amounts; provide guidance to state, territorial and tribal governments on how to set transportation assistance thresholds; and conduct post-payment reviews to ensure funds are spent appropriately. We made three recommendations that, when implemented, will help FEMA ensure it is spending Federal funds for transportation assistance properly. FEMA concurred with one recommendation and non-concurred with two recommendations.