FEMA spent 13 percent of the $95 billion drawn from its disaster relief fund in 2004-2013 on administrative costs, double the proportion during the 10-year period ending in 1998, GAO has said.
Such costs include salary and travel costs for the disaster workforce, rent and security expenses for field operations, and supplies and information technology for field staff, among other things.
“FEMA recognized that administrative costs have increased and has taken steps intended to better control and reduce these costs, such as setting a goal in its recent strategic plan to lower these costs, and creating administrative cost targets. However, FEMA does not require these targets be met, and GAO found that had FEMA met its targets, administrative costs could have been reduced by hundreds of millions of dollars,” the report said.
GAO also found that FEMA lacks an integrated plan with time frames and milestones to hold senior officials accountable for achieving its goals to reduce and more effectively control costs, and does not track administrative costs by major disaster program.
GAO had made similar findings and made similar recommendations in 2012.
The report is here: http://www.gao.gov/assets/670/667606.pdf
