NATURAL DISASTERS: FEMA's Disaster Declaration Process

Congress has felt political and financial pressure to clarify and assess the federal disaster declaration process, and directed the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to "review ... how FEMA makes initial estimates, how FEMA refines those estimates and how closely FEMA's estimates predict actual costs" (p 4).  This report lays out what local and state governments can expect from this process.

Read more about the report: http://homelandsecurity.tamu.edu/framework/threats/natural-disasters/201cfemas-disaster-declaration-process-a-primer-crs-report-to-congress.201d.html/