GAO-10-17, Disaster Assistance: Federal Assistance for Permanent Housing Primarily Benefited Homeowners; Opportunities Exist to Better Target Rental Housing Needs


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entitled 'Disaster Assistance: Federal Assistance for Permanent 
Housing Primarily Benefited Homeowners; Opportunities Exist to Better 
Target Rental Housing Needs' which was released on February 16, 2010. 

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Report to Congressional Requesters: 

United States Government Accountability Office: 
GAO: 

January 2010: 

Disaster Assistance: 

Federal Assistance for Permanent Housing Primarily Benefited 
Homeowners; Opportunities Exist to Better Target Rental Housing Needs: 

GAO-10-17: 

GAO Highlights: 

Highlights of GAO-10-17, a report to congressional requesters. 

Why GAO Did This Study: 

In response to the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes, Congress provided about 
$130 billion in disaster recovery assistance, including assistance for 
permanent housing. Congress has expressed an interest in how this 
assistance has been allocated to homeowners and rental property 
owners, particularly for state-administered programs. 

GAO’s objectives were to review (1) how federal disaster-related 
assistance for permanent housing has been provided to homeowners and 
rental property owners, (2) the extent to which federally funded 
programs have responded to the needs of homeowners and rental property 
owners, and (3) the challenges that homeowners and rental property 
owners have faced in applying for and using federal assistance, and 
potential options for addressing these challenges. To address these 
objectives, GAO analyzed documentation for key programs and program 
data, and interviewed federal, state, and local officials regarding 
the challenges associated with these programs. 

What GAO Found: 

Federal post-disaster assistance for permanent housing was made 
available to homeowners and rental property owners following the 2005 
Gulf Coast hurricanes through grants, loans, and tax incentives. State 
agencies were largely responsible for administering the programs that 
delivered most of the assistance, including the Community Development 
Block Grant (CDBG) program, the most widely used source of federal 
funds. Congress provided states with broad flexibility in their use of 
CDBG funds. 

Federal programs GAO reviewed addressed the repair and replacement 
needs of more homeowner units than rental units. In both Louisiana and 
Mississippi, more homeowner units were damaged than rental units, but 
the proportional damage to the rental stock was generally greater. 
Programs GAO reviewed provided about $13 billion in assistance for the 
repair and replacement of about 303,000 homeowner units, and about 
$1.8 billion for over 43,000 rental units. When the estimated number 
of assisted units is compared to the estimated number of damaged 
units, 62 percent of damaged homeowner units and 18 percent of damaged 
rental units were assisted, as shown below. The difference in the 
level of assistance for homeowner and rental units was largely due to 
states’ decisions to award the majority of their CDBG funds to 
programs for homeowners. 

When attempting to use the programs GAO reviewed, both homeowners and 
rental property owners encountered delays in funding availability and 
other challenges, which have likely contributed to the slow pace of 
recovery in some areas and fewer affordable units for renters. GAO and 
others have previously recommended options to minimize these 
challenges. However, without specific direction on how to better 
target disaster-related CDBG funds for the redevelopment of homeowner 
and rental units after future disasters, states’ allocation of 
assistance to homeowners and rental property owners may again result 
in significant differences in the level of assistance provided. 

Figure: Homeowner and Rental Units Damaged and Funded in Louisiana and 
Mississippi: 

[Refer to PDF for image: horizontal bar graph] 

Homeowner units ($13.0B): 
Total units damaged: 489 thousand; 
Units funded out of total damaged: 303 thousand (62%). 

Rental units ($1.8B): 
Total units damaged: 247 thousand; 
Units funded out of total damaged: 43 thousand (18%). 

Notes: Data are from Department of Homeland Security, Office of the 
Federal Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding, “Current Housing Unit 
Damage Estimates, Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma” (Feb. 12, 2006). 
Unit counts refer to units that were occupied at the time of the storm. 

Sources: GAO analysis; DHS Office of the Federal Coordinator for Gulf 
Coast Rebuilding (damage data). 

[End of figure] 

What GAO Recommends: 

In planning for recoveries from future disasters, Congress should 
consider the merits of providing more specific direction to states 
regarding the allocation of disaster-related CDBG assistance for 
homeowners and rental property owners. We received technical comments 
from federal and state agencies, which we incorporated as appropriate. 

View [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-10-17] or key 
components. For more information, contact Mathew J. Scirè at (202) 512-
8678 or sciremj@gao.gov. 

[End of section] 

Contents: 

Letter: 

Background: 

Federal Assistance for Permanent Housing after the 2005 Storms 
Included Grants, Loans, and Tax Incentives, and States Designed 
Programs to Award the Majority of This Assistance: 

Federal Disaster Housing Assistance Addressed the Repair and 
Replacement Needs of More Homeowner Units than Rental Units, and 
Progress in Completing Rental Units Has Been Limited: 

Homeowners and Rental Property Owners Faced Challenges in Applying for 
and Using Federal Assistance, but Options Exist for Reducing These 
Challenges after Future Disasters: 

Conclusions: 

Matters for Congressional Consideration: 

Agency Comments: 

Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology: 

Appendix II: Homeowner Programs Funded through the Community 
Development Block Grant Program: 

Appendix III: Small Rental Housing Programs Funded through the 
Community Development Block Grant Program: 

Appendix IV: Programs Funded through Tax Incentives: 

Appendix V: Home Disaster and Physical Disaster Business Loan Programs: 

Appendix VI: Other Programs Reviewed: 

Appendix VII: Rental Units Funded and Completed: 

Appendix VIII: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments: 

Tables: 

Table 1: Federal Programs Available for the Repair or Replacement of 
Permanent Housing after the 2005 Gulf Coast Hurricanes: 

Table 2: Federal Programs That Were Available to Benefit Homeowners 
and Renters through the Repair or Replacement of Damaged Housing, by 
Potential Household Type Served: 

Table 3: Homeowner and Rental Property Units Funded by Federal Post- 
Disaster Programs in Louisiana and Mississippi: 

Table 4: Federal Assistance Awarded for Permanent Housing in Louisiana 
and Mississippi (dollars in millions): 

Table 5: Number of Homeowner Units Funded and Total Amounts Awarded 
through the Road Home Homeowner Program (Louisiana) and the Homeowner 
Assistance Program (Mississippi), by State and Parish/County: 

Table 6: Median Number of Days between Date Application Received and 
Date of First Disbursement for the Road Home Homeowner Program 
(Louisiana) and the Homeowner Assistance Program (Mississippi), by 
State and Parish/County: 

Table 7: Number of Rental Units Funded and Amounts of Loans Awarded 
through the Road Home Small Rental Property Program (Louisiana) and 
the Small Rental Assistance Program (Mississippi), by State and 
Parish/County: 

Table 8: Median Number of Days between Date Application Received and 
Date of Closing for the Road Home Small Rental Property Program 
(Louisiana) and the Small Rental Assistance Program (Mississippi), by 
State and Parish/County: 

Table 9: Gulf Opportunity Zone Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (GO Zone 
LIHTC) Units Funded and in Service, by State and Parish/County: 

Table 10: GO Zone Tax-Exempt Private Activity Bonds Issued for 
Homeowner and Rental Projects, by State and Amount Issued: 

Table 11: New Markets Tax Credit Allocations for Use in the Gulf 
Opportunity Zone, Largest to Smallest: 

Table 12: Homeowner Units Funded and Loan Amounts Approved through the 
Home Disaster Loan Program, by State and Parish/County: 

Table 13: Number of Loans Approved and Amounts Loaned through the 
Physical Disaster Business Loan Program, by State and Parish/County: 

Table 14: Rental Units Assisted and Amounts Awarded through the 2005 
Capital Fund Emergency/Natural Disaster Funding Program, by State: 

Table 15: Approved Hazard Mitigation Grant Program Projects for 
Louisiana and Mississippi, by State: 

Table 16: Individuals and Households Program: Repair or Replacement 
Assistance Awarded and Homeowner Units Assisted in Louisiana and 
Mississippi, by State and Parish/County: 

Table 17: Units Funded and Completed and Amounts Awarded through 
Mississippi's Long Term Workforce Housing Program, by Household Type: 

Table 18: Public Assistance for Permanent Work Awarded to Public 
Housing Authorities in Louisiana and Mississippi, by State and Amount 
Obligated: 

Figures: 

Figure 1: Percentage of Homeowners and Renters That Paid More than 30 
Percent of Their Annual Income on Housing in 2004: 

Figure 2: Post-Disaster Housing Assistance Program Administrators and 
Available Funding, by Funding Allocated or Available: 

Figure 3: Dates When Post-Disaster Funds for Permanent Housing Became 
Available: 

Figure 4: Homeowner and Rental Units That Sustained Damage for 
Selected Parishes and Counties in Louisiana and Mississippi: 

Figure 5: Proportion of Homeowner and Rental Units That Sustained 
Damage in Selected Parishes and Counties: 

Figure 6: Homeowner and Rental Units Damaged and Funded in Louisiana 
and Mississippi: 

Figure 7: Timeline for the CDBG-Funded Homeowner and Rental Programs 
in Louisiana and Mississippi: 

Figure 8: Median Number of Days for Applications to Be Processed: 

Abbreviations: 

CDBG: Community Development Block Grant: 

DHS: Department of Homeland Security: 

FEMA: Federal Emergency Management Agency: 

GO Zone: Gulf Opportunity Zone: 

HMGP: Hazard Mitigation Grant Program: 

HUD: Department of Housing and Urban Development: 

IHP: Individuals and Households Program: 

LIHTC: Low-Income Housing Tax Credit: 

MDA: Mississippi Development Authority: 

MSA: metropolitan statistical area: 

OCD: Louisiana Office of Community Development: 

PHA: public housing agency: 

SBA: Small Business Administration: 

Stafford Act: Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
Assistance Act: 

Treasury: Department of the Treasury: 

[End of section] 

United States Government Accountability Office: 
Washington, DC 20548: 

January 14, 2010: 

The Honorable Joseph I. Lieberman:
Chairman:
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: 
United States Senate: 

The Honorable Mary L. Landrieu:
Chairman:
Subcommittee on Disaster Recovery:
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: 
United States Senate: 

Hurricane Katrina made landfall on the Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005, 
and was the worst natural disaster in our nation's history in terms of 
geographic scope, the severity of its destruction, and the number of 
persons displaced from their homes. The storm caused damage in 
Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi. It devastated far more 
residential property than any other recent hurricane, destroying or 
making uninhabitable an estimated 300,000 homes. It displaced 
thousands of homeowners and renters and created a need for an 
unprecedented level of recovery assistance. Then, just 1 month later 
on September 24, 2005, Hurricane Rita struck, severely damaging or 
destroying more than 23,600 housing units in southwest Louisiana and 
southeast Texas. 

In response to the damage caused by these hurricanes, the government 
provided significant funding for the recovery of the region, including 
funds for rebuilding housing. Congress provided about $130 billion in 
disaster recovery assistance, including about $19.7 billion in 
Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds. The Department of 
Housing and Urban Development (HUD) provided Louisiana and 
Mississippi--the two states most affected--with the majority of these 
supplemental CDBG funds, which were to be used in part for housing 
recovery. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) within the 
Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Small Business 
Administration (SBA), and the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) 
also provided various resources--grants, loans, and tax incentives--
for the recovery of permanent housing. However, while Congress has 
provided funding for the recovery of housing in the affected areas, 
some displaced residents are still unable to return to their homes, in 
part because of the slow pace of the repair and replacement of 
permanent housing and the lack of affordable housing. 

Congress has raised questions about how federal funds for housing 
recovery have been allocated for the repair of homeowner and rental 
housing units, particularly under programs for which states have 
discretion regarding the amount and types of assistance available to 
homeowners and rental property owners. In light of these questions, 
this report examines the federal assistance provided to homeowners and 
rental property owners after the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes. Our work 
focused on Louisiana and Mississippi, the states most affected by 
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Specifically, we reviewed (1) how federal 
disaster-related assistance for permanent housing has been provided to 
homeowners and rental property owners affected by the 2005 Gulf Coast 
hurricanes; (2) the extent to which federally funded programs 
responded to the needs of homeowners compared to rental property 
owners in repairing or replacing units damaged by these hurricanes; 
and (3) the challenges that homeowners and rental property owners have 
faced in applying for and using federal assistance, and potential 
options for addressing these challenges. 

To describe how federal disaster-related assistance for permanent 
housing was provided to homeowners and rental property owners, we 
identified federal programs that made assistance available for the 
repair and replacement of housing after the disasters, reviewed 
eligibility criteria and award processes, and determined when funds 
became available. We included programs that federal agencies, subject 
matter experts, and studies and reports identified as being key to the 
repair and replacement of permanent housing for homeowners and 
renters. As a result, we did not include every program that provides 
post-disaster housing assistance. To determine the extent to which 
these programs responded to the needs of homeowners and rental 
property owners in repairing or replacing units, we compared data on 
the number of homeowner and rental units damaged to the number that 
were assisted through various programs, compared the amounts of 
assistance awarded to homeowners and rental property owners, and 
determined the extent to which repairs have been completed. We 
assessed the reliability of these data and determined that they are 
sufficiently reliable for the purpose of our report. To identify 
challenges to homeowners and rental property owners, we reviewed 
studies and reports, interviewed program administrators, and analyzed 
the timeliness of funding availability and application processing. To 
identify potential options for addressing these challenges, we 
reviewed recommendations in studies and reports, suggestions from 
program administrators and organizations that worked with disaster 
victims, and information on the congressional intent of post-disaster 
housing assistance. For more information on our scope and methodology 
see appendix I. 

We conducted our work from October 2008 through January 2010 in 
accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. 
Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain 
sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our 
findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe 
that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our 
findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. 

Background: 

After major disasters, various federal agencies provide a range of 
assistance to individual victims; state, territorial, and local 
governments; and nongovernmental entities. This assistance is 
administered through various federal programs, and is generally made 
available after the President issues a disaster declaration under the 
authority of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
Assistance Act (the Stafford Act).[Footnote 1] While the federal 
government provides significant financial assistance after major 
disasters, the federal role is primarily to assist state and local 
governments, which have the central role in recovery efforts. State 
and local governments have the main responsibility of applying for, 
receiving, and implementing federal assistance. Further, they make 
decisions about what priorities and projects the community will 
undertake for recovery. 

The Stafford Act also specifies that federal agencies providing 
financial assistance after a major disaster cannot provide assistance 
to an individual for the same loss for which another federal program 
or private insurance company has provided compensation.[Footnote 2] 
Therefore, homeowners that sustained damages from the 2005 Gulf Coast 
hurricanes must first seek assistance from their homeowner insurance 
or National Flood Insurance Program policies. Homeowners in the Gulf 
Coast area had varying levels of hazard and flood insurance coverage. 
Of the 331,070 homeowner units that sustained minor, major, or severe 
damage in Louisiana, 126,007 (38 percent) had hazard insurance only, 
and 118,928 (36 percent) had both hazard and flood insurance.[Footnote 
3] Of the 157,914 homeowner units that sustained damage in 
Mississippi, 94,792 (60 percent) had hazard insurance only, and 11,481 
(7 percent) had hazard and flood insurance. Insurance industry 
estimates indicate that homeowners in Louisiana and Mississippi 
received average payments of nearly $16,000 in each state for personal 
property claims related to Hurricane Katrina and average payments of 
$13,000 and $3,500, respectively, for personal property claims related 
to Hurricane Rita. For both Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, our analysis 
shows that $9.7 billion was paid out through the National Flood 
Insurance Program to homeowners in Louisiana and Mississippi, with a 
median claim payment of $74,000.[Footnote 4] Less is known about the 
extent to which rental property owners had hazard and flood insurance 
coverage and the amounts paid out in claims after the 2005 hurricanes 
because data are not readily available. In addition, data are not 
available to determine the extent to which insurance settlements made 
to both homeowners and rental property owners addressed their damages. 

Through executive orders, the authority to provide disaster relief 
assistance has been delegated to FEMA. FEMA provides various forms of 
temporary housing assistance, such as direct financial assistance or a 
temporary housing unit after a disaster, typically for a period no 
longer than 18 months, as directed by the Stafford Act. HUD is the 
recognized federal authority for housing assistance (including 
permanent housing) and has provided assistance such as rental housing 
vouchers and grants for federally declared major disasters in the past 
and prior to FEMA's creation in 1979. Over the years, Congress has 
provided several mechanisms for disaster assistance, including HUD's 
CDBG program funds for recovery. After the 2005 hurricanes, HUD was 
responsible for providing assistance to clients that it had already 
been assisting and for providing CDBG funds. Through the Small 
Business Act as amended, SBA has the authority to provide home and 
business loans to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate 
not fully covered by insurance. 

According to FEMA's National Disaster Housing Strategy, which was 
issued in January 2009, throughout the Hurricane Katrina response, 
responsibilities and roles that had seemed clear in previous events 
became less clear as FEMA and other federal departments and agencies 
provided increasing levels of support to state and local officials. 
For example, FEMA typically does not provide housing assistance for 
more than 18 months, and generally does not lead efforts to coordinate 
and deliver permanent housing assistance. However, in response to the 
2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes, FEMA led the coordination with states and 
local communities and implemented many of the housing options, 
including permanent housing. According to a congressional study on 
deficiencies in post-disaster housing assistance, there was a lack of 
clarity in the long-term post-disaster housing-related 
responsibilities of HUD and FEMA, and concerns have been raised 
regarding HUD's limited housing role after Hurricane Katrina and its 
role in future disasters.[Footnote 5] The National Disaster Housing 
Strategy states that HUD is uniquely positioned to assist those 
affected by a disaster and will be given lead responsibility for 
permanent housing when such assistance is needed in the future. 
[Footnote 6] 

After the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes, a variety of federal programs 
was made available to homeowners and rental property owners for the 
repair or replacement of permanent housing (see table 1). Four federal 
agencies have responsibility for these programs: DHS, HUD, SBA, and 
Treasury. DHS administers three different grant programs that can be 
used to repair or replace disaster-damaged housing and mitigate 
damages after disasters. HUD provides funding for two grant programs, 
including the CDBG program, through which states can develop post-
disaster programs that benefit both homeowners and renters. The CDBG 
program has often been relied upon as a convenient source of flexible 
funding that can be applied to disaster situations to help states 
rebuild their communities. The SBA provides two different types of 
loans for homeowners and owners of residential rental properties. Both 
loan products can fund the repair or replacement of disaster-damaged 
properties. Finally, Treasury has responsibility for three programs 
that provide additional tax incentives to the states affected by 
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita to encourage both housing and economic 
development. Congress established the Gulf Opportunity Zone Act of 
2005 to provide tax incentives to individuals and businesses in 
certain presidentially declared disaster areas. In contrast with grant 
programs, where funds come directly from the government, GO Zone 
incentives provide investors with relief from certain tax liabilities. 
[Footnote 7] 

Table 1: Federal Programs Available for the Repair or Replacement of 
Permanent Housing after the 2005 Gulf Coast Hurricanes: 

Federal Agency: Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency 
Management Agency; 
Program: Hazard Mitigation Grant Program; 
Description: Provides grants for projects that mitigate damages after 
disasters. 

Federal Agency: Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency 
Management Agency; 
Program: Federal Agency: Individual and Households Program: Repair or 
Replacement Assistance; 
Description: Federal Agency: Provides grants for the repair or 
replacement of disaster-damaged homes. 

Federal Agency: Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency 
Management Agency; 
Program: Public Assistance for Permanent Work[A]; 
Description: Provides grants to states, communities, and certain 
nonprofits, including public housing agencies (PHA). 

Federal Agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development; 
Program: Capital Fund Emergency/Natural Disaster Funding; 
Description: Provides grants to PHAs for the repair or replacement of 
public housing. 

Federal Agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development; 
Program: Community Development Block Grant Program; 
Description: Provides funds for the repair or replacement of housing, 
as well as other activities. 

Federal Agency: Small Business Administration; 
Program: Physical Disaster Business Loan; 
Description: Provides loans for the repair or replacement of 
businesses, including loans to owners of residential rental properties. 

Federal Agency: Small Business Administration; 
Program: Home Disaster Loan; 
Description: Provides loans for the repair or replacement of homes. 

Federal Agency: Department of the Treasury; 
Program: GO Zone Low-Income Housing Tax Credits; 
Description: Provides tax credits for the development of rental 
housing in the GO Zone. 

Federal Agency: Department of the Treasury; 
Program: GO Zone Tax-Exempt Private Activity Bonds; 
Description: Provides bond authority to encourage development in 
certain GO Zone areas. 

Federal Agency: Department of the Treasury; 
Program: New Markets Tax Credits (GO Zone); 
Description: Provides tax credits to encourage investment in low-
income areas of the GO Zone. 

Source: GAO. 

Note: See appendices II through VI for summaries of each program. 

[A] This program is officially known as the Public Assistance Grant 
Program. For the purposes of this review, we focused on the aspect of 
this program that funds permanent work and refer to it as the Public 
Assistance for Permanent Work Program. 

[End of table] 

Affordable housing challenges existed for both homeowners and renters 
in Louisiana and renters in Mississippi before the 2005 Gulf Coast 
hurricanes, particularly in the areas most damaged by these storms. 
According to HUD, the generally accepted definition of "affordable" is 
for a household to pay no more than 30 percent of its income on 
housing. Families who pay more than 30 percent of their annual income 
for housing are considered cost burdened. Like renters nationwide, 
renters in Louisiana and Mississippi were generally more cost burdened 
prior to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita than homeowners. For example, 
according to the 2004 American Community Survey, for the areas most 
damaged by the hurricanes, in the New Orleans metropolitan area (St. 
Charles, Orleans, St. Tammany, St. Bernard, and Plaquemines parishes) 
48 percent of renters and 24 percent of homeowners spent 30 percent or 
more of their income on housing costs, compared with 50 percent of 
renters and 21 percent of homeowners statewide. In the Gulfport-Biloxi-
Pascagoula metropolitan area in Mississippi--which includes Hancock, 
Harrison, and Jackson counties--48 percent of renters and 21 percent 
of homeowners spent 30 percent or more of their income on housing 
costs compared to 50 percent of the renters and 24 percent of 
homeowners statewide (see figure 1). 

Figure 1: Percentage of Homeowners and Renters That Paid More than 30 
Percent of Their Annual Income on Housing in 2004: 

[Refer to PDF for image: 2 vertical bar graphs] 

Louisiana: 

Homeowner: 
Metropolitan statistical area: 24%; 
Statewide: 21%. 

Renter: 
Metropolitan statistical area: 48%; 
Statewide: 50%. 

Mississippi: 

Homeowner: 
Metropolitan statistical area: 21%; 
Statewide: 24%. 

Renter: 
Metropolitan statistical area: 48%; 
Statewide: 50%. 

Source: GAO analysis of Census Bureau data. 

Note: The metropolitan statistical areas (MSA) reported in this figure 
are the New Orleans MSA in Louisiana and the Gulfport-Biloxi-
Pascagoula MSA in Mississippi. These MSAs contain the areas most 
damaged by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. 

[End of figure] 

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita increased the need for affordable housing 
in both Louisiana and Mississippi. For example, of the 82,000 rental 
units that were damaged or destroyed in Louisiana, about 54,000 were 
affordable to individuals earning less than 80 percent of the area 
median income, according to state officials. Similarly, in Mississippi 
nearly one-fourth of the 25,000 affordable rental units in three 
Mississippi coastal counties were damaged, with Hancock and Harrison 
counties sustaining the most damage to their affordable rental housing 
stock.[Footnote 8] 

Federal Assistance for Permanent Housing after the 2005 Storms 
Included Grants, Loans, and Tax Incentives, and States Designed 
Programs to Award the Majority of This Assistance: 

After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, federal assistance for the repair 
or replacement of permanent housing was made available to homeowners 
and rental property owners in three forms: grants, loans, and tax 
incentives. The largest source of assistance was the CDBG program. The 
majority of federal assistance was administered by the states, which 
designed the programs and used their discretion to prioritize 
beneficiaries. These programs made assistance available to applicants 
at different times, depending on the structure and requirements of 
each program. 

Grants, Loans, and Tax Incentives for the Repair or Replacement of 
Permanent Housing Were Available to Homeowners and Rental Property 
Owners: 

Ten federal programs that we reviewed provided grants, loans, and tax 
incentives after the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes for the repair or 
replacement of housing. Grants were made available through five 
different programs to assist with the repair of disaster-damaged 
housing; to fund hazard mitigation projects, such as the elevation of 
housing; and to repair or replace public housing or other housing 
owned by a public housing agency (PHA). Loans were made available 
through three programs (including one program that also provides 
grants) for the repair of disaster-damaged housing for homeowners and 
renters. Finally, three different tax incentive programs were made 
available to encourage the redevelopment of housing in the GO Zone for 
both homeowners and renters. While all of these programs could 
potentially be used to repair, replace, or develop housing structures, 
some could also be used for other activities, such as economic 
development. 

Of the programs we reviewed, two were available to homeowners only--
the Individual and Households Program (IHP): Repair or Replacement 
Assistance and the Home Disaster Loan Program (see table 2).[Footnote 
9] Several programs could have potentially served either homeowners or 
renters, including the CDBG program, the Hazard Mitigation Grant 
Program (HMGP), and some tax incentives. Finally, four of the programs 
we reviewed could have assisted renters by funding or providing 
incentives for the repair or replacement of rental housing. 

Table 2: Federal Programs That Were Available to Benefit Homeowners 
and Renters through the Repair or Replacement of Damaged Housing, by 
Potential Household Type Served: 

Homeowners[A]: 

Program: Home Disaster Loan[B]; 
Assistance type: Loan; 
Type of activities: Housing; 
Purpose: To provide loans for the repair or replacement of homes 
damaged by a presidentially declared or Small Business Administration-
declared disaster. 

Program: Individuals and Households Program: Repair or Replacement 
Assistance; 
Assistance type: Grant; 
Type of activities: Housing; 
Purpose: To assist with the repair or replacement of disaster-damaged 
homes. 

Homeowners and renters[A]: 

Program: Community Development Block Grant Program[C]; 
Assistance type: Grants, forgivable loans; 
Type of activities: Housing and economic development; 
Purpose: To provide funds for the repair or replacement of housing, as 
well as other activities. 

Program: GO Zone Tax-Exempt Private Activity Bonds; 
Assistance type: Tax incentive; 
Type of activities: Housing and economic development; 
Purpose: To help finance the development of private facilities and 
activities, including housing, in areas affected by the Gulf Coast 
hurricanes. 

Program: Hazard Mitigation Grant Program; 
Assistance type: Grant; 
Type of activities: Housing and other activities; 
Purpose: To fund hazard mitigation projects after presidentially 
declared disasters. 

Program: New Markets Tax Credits (GO Zone); 
Assistance type: Tax incentive; 
Type of activities: Housing and economic development; 
Purpose: To encourage investment in low-income areas affected by the 
Gulf Coast hurricanes. 

Renters[A]: 

Program: Capital Fund Emergency/Natural Disaster Funding; 
Assistance type: Grant; 
Type of activities: Housing; 
Purpose: To provide funds for the repair or replacement of public 
housing that was damaged or destroyed by emergencies or natural 
phenomena. 

Program: GO Zone Low-Income Housing Tax Credits; 
Assistance type: Tax incentive; 
Type of activities: Housing; 
Purpose: To encourage the development of rental housing in areas 
affected by the Gulf Coast hurricanes. 

Program: Physical Disaster Business Loan[B]; 
Assistance type: Loan; 
Type of activities: Housing and other activities; 
Purpose: To provide loans for the repair or replacement of businesses 
damaged by a presidentially declared or SBA-declared disaster. 

Program: Public Assistance for Permanent Work[D]; 
Assistance type: Grant; 
Type of activities: Housing and other activities; 
Purpose: To provide assistance to states, local governments, and 
public housing authorities to restore a facility, through repair or 
restoration, to its pre-disaster design, function, and capacity. 

Source: GAO. 

Note: See appendices II through VI for summaries of each program. 

[A] Potential households served. 

[B] Funds were also available for personal property losses, but such 
losses are outside of the scope of this work. 

[C] Programs funded with supplemental Community Development Block 
Grant funds. 

[D] Public Assistance for Permanent Work can be used to restore 
critical services, such as those that provide power, communications, 
education, and emergency services. This program is included because at 
the time of the 2005 hurricanes, it could have been used to repair 
rental housing that was owned by a public housing agency only if the 
public housing agency was not eligible to receive repair assistance 
under HUD's programs and authorities. 

[End of table] 

Some programs made assistance available for housing-related activities 
only. For example, Home Disaster Loans, IHP Repair or Replacement 
Assistance, and GO Zone Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) could 
only be used for housing-related activities. However, most of the 
programs we reviewed could be used for other activities as well. For 
example, CDBG funds could be used flexibly by states and were made 
available for economic development, infrastructure, historic 
preservation, and demolition. Similarly, GO Zone Private Activity 
Bonds could be used for the development of private facilities, such as 
hotels and retail facilities. 

Until recently, vouchers were made available to disaster victims to 
subsidize rents in existing housing as a temporary source of housing 
assistance.[Footnote 10] According to some housing experts, vouchers, 
specifically Housing Choice Vouchers, which are permanent, should have 
been provided to disaster victims, especially low-income renters, more 
quickly after the Gulf Coast hurricanes. Congress first made Housing 
Choice Vouchers available for families affected by the hurricanes in 
September 2008.[Footnote 11] 

State Agencies Administered the Majority of Available Funds: 

State agencies administered the majority of federal assistance 
available for the repair or replacement of permanent housing, 
including nearly $19 billion in CDBG disaster relief recovery funds, 
over $13 billion in tax incentives, and nearly $2 billion in HMGP 
funds (see figure 2). Louisiana and Mississippi created new state 
offices to design and administer the programs funded with the 
supplemental CDBG funds, including housing programs. In Louisiana, the 
Louisiana Recovery Authority was created and charged with establishing 
spending priorities and policies related to the state's use of the 
supplemental CDBG funds. In addition, a Disaster Recovery Unit was 
created within the state's Office of Community Development, which has 
managed the state's CDBG program over the past two decades, to 
administer the funds.[Footnote 12] In Mississippi, the Governor's 
Office of Recovery and Renewal was established and given primary 
responsibility for designing housing recovery programs funded with 
supplemental CDBG funds. The Mississippi Development Authority's 
Disaster Recovery Division was responsible for managing Mississippi's 
share of CDBG disaster relief funds. 

Figure 2: Post-Disaster Housing Assistance Program Administrators and 
Available Funding, by Funding Allocated or Available: 

[Refer to PDF for image: table] 

Homeowners[A]: 

Program: Home Disaster Loan[B]; 
Administrator: Federal: Small Business Administration; 
Description of funds available: $4.0 billion. 

Program: Individuals and Households Program: Repair or Replacement 
Assistance[B]; 
Administrator: Federal: Department of Homeland Security, Federal 
Emergency Management Agency; 
Description of funds available: $684 million. 

Homeowners and renters[A]: 

Program: Community Development Block Grants (CDBG)[C]: Louisiana CDBG 
Program: Road Home Homeowners Program; 
Administrator: State: Louisiana Recovery Authority, Office of 
Community Development; 
Description of funds available: $13.4 billion[D]. 

Program: Community Development Block Grants (CDBG)[C]: Louisiana CDBG 
Program: Road Home Small Rental Property Program; 
Administrator: State: Louisiana Recovery Authority, Office of 
Community Development; 
Description of funds available: $13.4 billion[D] (combined with 
previous program). 

Program: Community Development Block Grants (CDBG)[C]: Mississippi 
CDBG Program: Homeowner Assistance Program; 
Administrator: State: Mississippi Development Authority; 
Description of funds available: $5.5 billion. 

Program: Community Development Block Grants (CDBG)[C]: Mississippi 
CDBG Program: Small Rental Assistance Program; 
Administrator: State: Mississippi Development Authority; 
Description of funds available: $5.5 billion (combined with previous 
program). 

Program: Community Development Block Grants (CDBG)[C]: Mississippi 
CDBG Program: Public Housing Program; 
Administrator: State: Mississippi Development Authority; 
Description of funds available: $5.5 billion (combined with previous 2 
programs). 

Program: Community Development Block Grants (CDBG)[C]: Mississippi 
CDBG Program: Long Term Workforce Housing Program; 
Administrator: State: Mississippi Development Authority; 
Description of funds available: $5.5 billion (combined with previous 3 
programs). 

Program: GO Zone Tax-Exempt Private Activity Bonds[F]: GO Zone Tax-
Exempt Private Activity Bond (Louisiana); 
Administrator: State: Louisiana State Bond Commission; 
Description of funds available: $7.84 billion in allocation authority. 

Program: GO Zone Tax-Exempt Private Activity Bonds[F]: GO Zone Tax-
Exempt Private Activity Bond (Mississippi); 
Administrator: State: Mississippi Development Authority; 
Description of funds available: $4.92 billion in allocation authority. 

Program: New Markets Tax Credits (GO Zone)[G]; 
Administrator: Federal: Department of the Treasury; 
Description of funds available: $1 billion in allocation authority. 

Renters[A]: 

Program: Capital Fund Emergency/Natural Disaster Funding; 
Administrator: Federal: Department of Housing and Urban Development; 
Description of funds available: $29.8 million. 

Program: GO Zone Low-Income Housing Tax Credits(LIHTCs)[H]: GO Zone 
Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (Louisiana); 
Administrator: State: Louisiana Housing Finance Agency; 
Description of funds available: $170 million in allocation authority. 

Program: GO Zone Low-Income Housing Tax Credits(LIHTCs)[H]: GO Zone 
Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (Mississippi); 
Administrator: State: Mississippi HOME Corporation; 
Description of funds available: $106 million in allocation authority. 

Program: Physical Disaster Business Loan[B]; 
Administrator: Federal: Small Business Administration; 
Description of funds available: $270 million. 

Program: Public Assistance for Permanent Work[B]; 
Administrator: Federal: Department of Homeland Security, Federal 
Emergency Management Agency; 
Description of funds available: $33 million. 

Source: GAO. 

Notes: For the description of funds available, figures refer to the 
total amounts appropriated or provided in allocation authority after 
the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes. Allocation authority refers to the 
maximum amount that can be awarded. 

[A] Potential households served. 

[B] IHP Repair or Replacement Assistance and Public Assistance for 
Permanent Work are funded through the Disaster Relief Fund. Home 
Disaster Loans and Physical Disaster Business Loans are funded through 
regular appropriations, and received $1.3 billion in additional 
appropriations after Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma. For these 
four programs, we used the amount awarded in Louisiana and 
Mississippi. For the Public Assistance for Permanent Work Program, we 
used the amounts awarded to public housing agencies. 

[C] CDBG funds were also available to Alabama, Florida, and Texas. 

[D] Of these funds, the state of Louisiana made nearly $9 billion 
available for the Road Home Homeowner Program and $751 million for the 
Road Home Small Rental Assistance Program, as of January 2009. 

[E] Of these funds, the state of Mississippi made $1.96 billion 
available for the Homeowner Assistance Program, $262.5 million 
available for the Small Rental Assistance Program, $350 million 
available for the Long Term Workforce Housing Program, and $105 
million available for a Public Housing Program. 

[F] GO Zone Tax-Exempt Private Activity Bond authority was also 
available to Alabama. 

[G] Within the Department of the Treasury, the Community Development 
Financial Institutions Fund administers the New Market Tax Credit 
Program (GO Zone). These credits were available for redevelopment work 
in Alabama. 

[H] GO Zone Low-Income Housing Tax Credits were also available in 
Alabama, Florida, and Texas. 

[End of figure] 

State agencies were responsible for administering two of the three tax 
incentive programs that we reviewed. For the GO Zone Private Activity 
Bond and LIHTC Programs, states were authorized to allocate additional 
tax-exempt bond financing and low-income housing tax credits.[Footnote 
13] Each eligible state was responsible for setting up an application 
process and selecting qualified projects to receive allocations up to 
each state's allocation authority under the GO Zone Act. As we 
previously reported, Louisiana and Mississippi generally allocated the 
GO Zone bond provisions on a first-come, first-served basis, and did 
not consistently target the allocations to assist recovery in the most 
damaged areas, although Louisiana did set aside some of its allocation 
authority for the most damaged parishes.[Footnote 14] In contrast, in 
allocating funds for the GO Zone LIHTC program, the state housing 
finance agencies in Louisiana and Mississippi gave priority to the GO 
Zone counties with the most hurricane-related damage. 

State agencies also administered FEMA's HMGP. According to FEMA 
officials, state agencies in Louisiana and Mississippi accepted 
applications from local jurisdictions for the funds, and forwarded 
applications to FEMA for review and funding. State mitigation plans 
document the state's priorities for the use of HMGP funds, and states 
are required to update an administrative plan for implementing HMGP 
funds after every disaster. Plans for the use of HMGP funds should 
include mitigation activities that are cost effective, environmentally 
sound, and either statewide or property specific. 

Federal agencies directly administered six of the sources of post- 
disaster housing assistance we reviewed, which accounted for 
approximately $5 billion in available funds and $1 billion in 
available tax incentives (see figure 2). For example, the Community 
Development Financial Institutions Fund within Treasury administers 
the New Markets Tax Credit program, which competitively allocated tax 
credit authority--the amount of investment for which investors can 
claim a 39 percent tax credit over 7 years--to Community Development 
Entities. FEMA administers both the IHP Repair or Replacement 
Assistance and the Public Assistance for Permanent Work programs. For 
the IHP Repair or Replacement Assistance Program, FEMA reviewed 
applications and awarded funds to homeowners for losses that were not 
covered by insurance. Through the Public Assistance for Permanent Work 
Program, FEMA reviewed applications for assistance from PHAs and could 
award assistance to PHAs for damages to PHA-owned rental housing that 
was not funded with HUD funds (i.e., public housing could not be 
funded). HUD was responsible for awarding Capital Fund/Emergency 
Natural Disaster funds to PHAs on a first-come, first-served basis for 
the repair or replacement of a public housing development damaged as a 
result of a natural disaster. PHAs that experienced an emergency 
situation or a natural disaster were eligible to apply for and receive 
funds from the reserve provided that they complied with certain 
requirements. For example, according to HUD's Grant Handbook, funds 
provided because of a disaster were only available to the extent that 
needed repairs were in excess of payments from insurance claims and 
other federal sources, such as FEMA funds for disaster-related 
emergency work (but not permanent work).[Footnote 15] SBA was 
responsible for administering the Home Disaster and Physical Disaster 
Business Loan Programs. SBA reviewed applications for assistance and 
provided loans to eligible applicants. (See appendix V for additional 
information about these programs.) 

States Created New Programs to Deliver CDBG Funds to Homeowners and 
Rental Property Owners and Used Their Discretion in Prioritizing 
Beneficiaries and Designing Programs: 

Congress provided states broad discretion and flexibility in deciding 
how to allocate CDBG funds and for what purposes. The CDBG program is 
the federal government's most widely available source of financial 
assistance to support state-and local government-directed neighborhood 
revitalization, housing rehabilitation, and economic development 
activities. Congress provided states with supplemental CDBG funding to 
help them recover from the Gulf Coast hurricanes, beginning in 
December 2005. To provide the states additional flexibility in 
delivering disaster relief, many of the statutory and regulatory 
provisions governing the use of the funds were waived or modified. HUD 
issued guidance in February 2006 stating that the funds should be used 
toward unmet housing needs in areas of concentrated distress. In 
addition, in June 2006 Congress required states to use at least $1 
billion for the repair, rehabilitation, and reconstruction of 
affordable rental housing, including public and other HUD-assisted 
housing.[Footnote 16] This requirement was intended to ensure that 
states were not only investing in homeownership but also in the 
housing needs of all affected residents. 

To make CDBG funds available for the repair or replacement of 
permanent housing, both Louisiana and Mississippi created new programs 
for homeowners and small rental property owners (owners of rental 
properties with up to four units).[Footnote 17] As we recently 
reported, Louisiana created the Road Home Homeowner Program, through 
which funds were made available to homeowners to rebuild homes on 
their own property, sell their properties and relocate within the 
state, or sell their homes and relocate outside the state. Mississippi 
created the Homeowner Assistance Program for homeowners that sustained 
flood damage. The first round of funding was limited to homeowners 
that did not have flood insurance because they were located outside of 
a federally designated flood zone. (See appendix II for additional 
information about these programs.) 

Louisiana also created the Road Home Small Rental Property Program for 
owners of small rental properties in the most damaged parishes and 
made forgivable loans available in two funding rounds.[Footnote 18] 
Property owners had to independently finance needed repairs and rent 
out their units to income-eligible tenants. Once the units were ready 
for occupancy, the state would conduct inspections and authorize the 
disbursement of the loan. In December 2008 the state announced an 
additional option for program participants, designed to provide up- 
front financing. According to program administrators, this option was 
created to increase the production of rental housing with CDBG funds 
and to accelerate the distribution of funds to small rental property 
owners. According to program administrators, as of November 2009, 
1,024 property owners had agreed to participate in this option. 

Mississippi created the Small Rental Assistance Program for owners of 
small rental properties in four counties (Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, 
and Pearl River) and made forgivable loans available in two funding 
rounds. The program was designed to offer four types of assistance: 
(1) rental income subsidy, (2) repair or reconstruction of a Katrina- 
damaged property, (3) reconstruction or conversion reimbursement of a 
non-Katrina-damaged property, or (4) new construction reimbursement. 
[Footnote 19] The state of Mississippi generally disbursed loans in 
two installments, half when the property owner provided a building 
permit and the remainder when the property owner provided a 
certificate of occupancy. 

In addition, Mississippi used CDBG funds to address the need for 
workforce housing and public housing. Mississippi created a Long Term 
Workforce Housing Program to provide grants and loans to local units 
of government, nonprofits, and for-profit organizations to provide 
long-term affordable housing in Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, and Pearl 
River counties. This program was designed to benefit households that 
earned 120 percent of area median income or less. The program could be 
used to develop or repair housing for homeowners or renters. The state 
also designated CDBG funds for the repair or replacement of public 
housing units that were damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Using these 
funds, the state created a Public Housing Program to make grants 
available to five PHAs that sustained damage. 

Other Assistance Was Made Available through Existing Programs and 
Processes: 

Generally, the federal and state administrators of programs other than 
CDBG that we reviewed used existing processes to make post-disaster 
housing assistance available to homeowners and renters. For example, 
FEMA used its existing, but streamlined, processes to make IHP Repair 
or Replacement Assistance and Public Assistance for Permanent Work 
available to eligible homeowners and PHAs, respectively. FEMA accepted 
applications for IHP Repair or Replacement Assistance via phone and 
the Internet. Applicants who were awarded housing assistance, but who 
had remaining unmet housing needs because damages exceeded the maximum 
award, were referred to SBA for a disaster home loan application. 
[Footnote 20] Similarly, SBA used its existing processes to make Home 
Disaster and Physical Disaster Business Loans available to eligible 
homeowners. Consistent with its existing processes, SBA made loan 
applications available to applicants after they registered with FEMA 
and used its existing loan underwriting criteria to evaluate loan 
applications. The administrators of these programs did not create new 
programs to make post-disaster housing assistance available. As we 
have previously reported, SBA encountered challenges processing the 
large volume of applications after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita but has 
since taken steps to more effectively process large increases in 
application volume.[Footnote 21] 

Similarly, state agencies generally used existing procedures to award 
GO Zone LIHTCs and HMGP funds. Specifically, in both Louisiana and 
Mississippi, the state housing finance agencies announced the 
availability of the additional credits through qualified allocation 
plans, reviewed and scored the applications received, and awarded the 
credits to the highest scoring applicants. Likewise, the state 
administrators of HMGP funds in Louisiana stated they did not make 
changes to their normal application processes after Hurricanes Katrina 
and Rita. In contrast, Mississippi changed its HMGP application 
process by developing a Web-based system to accept applications. This 
system allowed applicants to submit a pre-application for HMGP funds 
online. 

Programs Made Federal Funds and Tax Incentives Available at Different 
Times after the Storms: 

Federal disaster assistance is generally authorized after a disaster 
declaration. Thus after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita were declared as 
disasters, HMGP funds, IHP Repair or Replacement Assistance, and 
Public Assistance for Permanent Work were made available from FEMA and 
Home Disaster Loans and Physical Disaster Business Loans were made 
available from SBA. HUD's Capital Fund Emergency/Natural Disaster 
Funding does not require a presidential disaster declaration to become 
available; this program was available to PHAs that were affected by 
the hurricanes. 

CDBG-funded assistance for homeowners and small rental property owners 
did not become available until HUD accepted the program designs. Each 
state had to submit an Action Plan to HUD detailing the plans for the 
uses of its supplemental CDBG funds, and each had to submit amendments 
to these plans for substantial changes. HUD accepted Louisiana's 
Action Plan for the Road Home Homeowner and Small Rental Assistance 
Programs in May 2006, and the state began accepting applications for 
the homeowner program in August 2006 and the small rental program in 
January 2007 (see figure 3). According to an administrator of 
Louisiana's CDBG-funded programs, the homeowner program was initiated 
first because homeowners lost real property, homeowners are less 
transient than renters, and the state perceived rental property owners 
as having other federal resources for recovery, such as tax credits 
and SBA loans. HUD accepted Mississippi's Action Plan for the 
Homeowner Assistance Program in April 2006 and the Small Rental 
Assistance Program in July 2007. The state began accepting 
applications for the homeowner and small rental programs in April 2006 
and September 2007, respectively. According to officials from the 
Mississippi Governor's office, one of the reasons that the homeowner 
program was implemented first was because there were more homeowners 
than renters in the coastal counties. In addition, according to state 
officials, it was possible for the state to implement a compensation 
program for homeowners more quickly, because funds could be provided 
directly to homeowners without the requirement for environmental 
review assessments. In contrast, the officials stated that programs 
that are established as construction programs, like their Small Rental 
Assistance Program, trigger environmental review assessments, which 
take time to address. Delays in the availability of CDBG funding for 
homeowners and renters will be discussed later in this report. 

Figure 3: Dates When Post-Disaster Funds for Permanent Housing Became 
Available: 

[Refer to PDF for image: timeline] 

August 2005: 
Hurricane Katrina. 

September 2005: 
Hurricane Rita. 

December 2005: 
New Markets Tax Credits (Go Zone). 

January 2006: 
GO Zone Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (Mississippi). 

February 2006: 
GO Zone Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (Louisiana). 

April 2006: 
Homeowner Assistance Program (CDBG-Mississippi); 
GO Zone Tax-Exempt Private Activity Bond (Louisiana); 
GO Zone Tax-Exempt Private Activity Bond (Mississippi). 

August 2006: 
Road Home Homeowner Program (CDBG-Louisiana); 
Mississippi Public Housing Program. 

January 2007: 
Road Home Small Rental Property Program (CDBG-Louisiana). 

September 2007: 
Small Rental Assistance Program (CDBG-Mississippi). 

June 2008: 
Long Term Workforce Housing Program (CDBG-Mississippi). 

Source: GAO. 

Notes: 

This figure does not include programs that were available immediately 
after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita: Capital Fund Emergency/Natural 
Disaster Funding, HMGP funds, IHP Repair or Replacement Assistance, 
Home Disaster Loans, Physical Disaster Business Loans, and Public 
Assistance for Permanent Work. 

We defined the date when funds became available as the date when the 
administering agency announced or began accepting applications. For 
the GO Zone Tax-Exempt Private Activity Bond Program, we reported the 
dates that states either made the first final approval or allocation. 

[End of figure] 

Federal Disaster Housing Assistance Addressed the Repair and 
Replacement Needs of More Homeowner Units than Rental Units, and 
Progress in Completing Rental Units Has Been Limited: 

Federal programs we reviewed addressed the repair and replacement 
needs of more homeowner units than rental units. In both states, more 
homeowner units were damaged than rental units, but the proportional 
damage to the rental stock was generally greater. A comparison of the 
number of units damaged to the number of units funded shows that 
federal assistance addressed the repair and replacement needs of about 
62 percent of damaged homeowner units and about 18 percent of damaged 
rental units. The difference in the level of assistance for homeowner 
and rental units was largely due to states' decisions to allocate most 
of their CDBG funds to programs for homeowners. States used their 
broad discretion under CDBG to decide what proportion of the funds 
went to homeowners and rental property owners. Of the rental units 
that have received funding, a limited number have been completed, and 
data are generally not available for the completion status of 
homeowner units. 

More Homeowner Units Were Damaged than Rental Units, but a Greater 
Proportion of the Rental Housing Stock Sustained Damage: 

As a result of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, an estimated 489,000 
homeowner and 247,000 rental units sustained minor, major, or severe 
damage in Louisiana and Mississippi. Specifically, in Louisiana an 
estimated 331,070 homeowner units and 184,179 rental units sustained 
damage, and in Mississippi 157,914 homeowner units and 62,470 rental 
units sustained damage. Most of the damage was concentrated in 
specific areas in Louisiana and Mississippi. In eight parishes in 
Louisiana (Calcasieu, Cameron, Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. 
Bernard, St. Tammany, and Vermillion), an estimated 220,225 homeowner 
units and 139,249 rental units sustained damage. In Mississippi, an 
estimated 60,344 homeowner units and 33,964 rental units were damaged 
in three counties (Hancock, Harrison, and Jackson) (see figure 4). 
[Footnote 22] 

Figure 4: Homeowner and Rental Units That Sustained Damage for 
Selected Parishes and Counties in Louisiana and Mississippi: 

[Refer to PDF for image: illustrated maps] 

Maps of the Gulf Coast depicting counties in four categories. 

Owner occupied: 

Louisiana: 220,225 units; 
Information on homeowner and rental units not available: counties not 
specified; 
20,000 or fewer units: Cameron Parish; Plaquemines Parish; St. Bernard 
Parish; Vermillion Parish; 
20,001 to 40,000 units: Calcasieu Parish; St. Tammany Parish; 
More than 40,000 units: Jefferson Parish; Orleans Parish. 

Mississippi: 60,344 units; 
Information on homeowner and rental units not available: counties not 
specified; 
20,000 or fewer units: Hancock County; 
20,001 to 40,000 units: Harrison County; Jackson County; 
More than 40,000 units: None. 

Renter occupied: 

Louisiana: 220,225 units; 
Information on homeowner and rental units not available: counties not 
specified; 
20,000 or fewer units: Calcasieu Parish; Cameron Parish; Plaquemines 
Parish; St. Bernard Parish; Vermillion Parish; 
20,001 to 40,000 units: Jefferson Parish; 
More than 40,000 units: Orleans Parish. 

Mississippi: 60,344 units
Information on homeowner and rental units not available: counties not 
specified; 
20,000 or fewer units: Hancock County; Jackson County; 
20,001 to 40,000 units: Harrison County; 
More than 40,000 units: None. 

Sources: GAO analysis; DHS, Office of the Federal Coordinator for Gulf 
Coast Rebuilding (damage data); MapInfo (map). 

Notes: Data are from Department of Homeland Security, Office of the 
Federal Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding, "Current Housing Unit 
Damage Estimates, Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma" (Feb. 12, 2006). 
Unit counts refer to units that were occupied at the time of the storm. 

[End of figure] 

A greater number of homeowner units were damaged compared to rental 
units in both Louisiana and Mississippi. However, in Louisiana a 
greater proportion of rental units were damaged. For example, in 
Louisiana, 35 percent of the rental housing stock sustained damage, 
compared with 29 percent of the homeowner stock.[Footnote 23] In 
Mississippi, the proportions of damaged homeowner and rental units 
were more similar: 22 percent of the rental housing stock damaged, 
compared to 21 percent of the homeowner stock. In the three counties 
in Mississippi that sustained the most damage, 80 percent of the 
rental stock and 64 percent of the homeowner stock sustained damage. 
In the eight Louisiana parishes with the most damage, 66 percent of 
the rental stock and 63 percent of the homeowner stock was damaged 
(see figure 5). 

Figure 5: Proportion of Homeowner and Rental Units That Sustained 
Damage in Selected Parishes and Counties: 

[Refer to PDF for image: maps and pie-charts] 

State: Louisiana: 
Parishes: Calcasieu; Cameron; Jefferson; Orleans; Plaquemines; St. 
Bernard; Vermillion; 
Percentage of units damaged: Owner occupied: 63%; 
Percentage of units damaged: Renter occupied: 66%. 

State: Mississippi; 
Counties: Harrison; Hancock; Jackson; 
Percentage of units damaged: Owner occupied: 64%; 
Percentage of units damaged: Renter occupied: 80%. 

Sources: GAO analysis of Census Bureau data; DHS, Office of the 
Federal Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding (damage data); MapInfo 
(map). 

Notes: Data are from Department of Homeland Security, Office of the 
Federal Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding, "Current Housing Unit 
Damage Estimates, Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma" (Feb. 12, 2006). 
Unit counts refer to units that were occupied at the time of the storm. 

[End of figure] 

While available damage estimates indicate the need for housing in 
Louisiana and Mississippi in the immediate period after Hurricanes 
Katrina and Rita, the housing markets in these states have changed 
over the past several years as a result of displacement and other 
demographic changes. For example, a recent study noted that while the 
New Orleans metropolitan area is home to a population that is equal to 
about 90 percent of the pre-Katrina households receiving mail, school 
enrollment across the metropolitan area has slowed, suggesting that 
the population that has returned is different than the pre-storm 
population.[Footnote 24] A November 2008 HUD report states that while 
the demand for affordable rental units is less than before Katrina, it 
is difficult to assess how much this population will grow--and 
therefore difficult to determine the demand for affordable rental 
housing.[Footnote 25] 

Federal Assistance Addressed the Repair and Replacement Needs of More 
Homeowners than Rental Property Owners: 

For the programs we reviewed for which data were available, federal 
assistance was provided to repair or replace more homeowner units than 
rental units in Louisiana and Mississippi (see table 3). Specifically, 
federal programs provided assistance to about 303,000 homeowner units 
compared to over 43,000 rental units. CDBG, IHP Repair or Replacement 
Assistance, and the Home Disaster Loan Program were the key federal 
sources of assistance for homeowners. Homeowners can be eligible to 
receive assistance from multiple federal programs, and we identified 
about 115,000 units that received funding from two or more programs we 
reviewed. Of the programs that provided assistance to rental property 
owners, GO Zone LIHTC funded the largest number of rental units (about 
23,000). 

Table 3: Homeowner and Rental Property Units Funded by Federal Post- 
Disaster Programs in Louisiana and Mississippi: 

Homeowners[A]: 

Program: Home Disaster Loan[B]; 
Homeowner units funded: 76,296; 
Rental units funded: Data not applicable. 

Program: Individual and Households Program: Repair or Replacement 
Assistance; 
Homeowner units funded: 33,004; 
Rental units funded: Data not applicable. 

Program: Multiple Programs[C]; 
Homeowner units funded: 114,511; 
Rental units funded: Data not applicable. 

Homeowners and renters[A]: 

Program: Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program[D]; 
Homeowner units funded: 74,591; 
Rental units funded: 16,857. 

Program: GO Zone Tax-Exempt Private Activity Bonds; 
Homeowner units funded: Data not available; 
Rental units funded: 216. 

Program: Hazard Mitigation Grant Program; 
Homeowner units funded: 4,167; 
Rental units funded: 0[E]. 

Program: New Markets Tax Credits (GO Zone)[F]; 
Homeowner units funded: 217; 
Rental units funded: 493. 

Renters[A]: 

Program: Capital Fund Emergency/Natural Disaster Funding[G]; 
Homeowner units funded: Data not applicable; 
Rental units funded: 2,069. 

Program: GO Zone Low-Income Housing Tax Credit; 
Homeowner units funded: Data not applicable; 
Rental units funded: 23,140[H]. 

Program: Physical Disaster Business Loan; 
Homeowner units funded: Data not applicable; 
Rental units funded: Data not available. 

Program: Public Assistance for Permanent Work; 
Homeowner units funded: Data not applicable; 
Rental units funded: 24. 

Program: Other[I]; 
Homeowner units funded: Data not applicable; 
Rental units funded: 631. 

Program: Total; 
Homeowner units funded: 302,786; 
Rental units funded: 43,430. 

Source: GAO analysis of program data from program administrators. 

Note: Data are as of December 2008 unless otherwise noted. 

[A] Potential households served. 

[B] Data are as of July 2009. 

[C] Homeowner units were funded by two or more of the programs we 
reviewed. 

[D] Unit counts for both homeowner and rental units include data for 
the CDBG-funded homeowner programs, small rental programs, and the 
Public Housing (CDBG-Mississippi) and Long Term Workforce Housing 
Program (CDBG-Mississippi). Due to limitations in the availability of 
addresses for units funded by the Long Term Workforce Housing Program, 
we could not determine whether any of these units were also funded by 
the other programs we reviewed. Unit counts for all CDBG-funded 
programs in Mississippi are as of December 2008, except for the Small 
Rental Assistance and Long Term Workforce Housing Programs, which are 
as of April 2009. 

[E] According to state administrators of HMGP funds, HMGP was not used 
to fund the repair or replacement of rental units in Louisiana or 
Mississippi. 

[F] Data reflect activities undertaken through December 2008. 

[G] Data for Mississippi are as of August 2009. 

[H] We excluded units for which the status of financing was open as of 
June 2009. 

[I] Rental units funded by a $15 million dollar appropriation to HUD 
for the redevelopment of public housing damaged by Hurricane Katrina 
(HUD awarded these funds to the Housing Authority of New Orleans). 

[End of table] 

When the estimated number of funded units is compared to the estimated 
number of damaged units in Louisiana and Mississippi, we found that 
federal programs funded about 62 percent of the estimated number of 
the damaged homeowner units and about 18 percent of the estimated 
number of damaged rental units in both states combined (see figure 6). 
In Louisiana, federal assistance from the programs we reviewed funded 
about 65 percent of the damaged homeowner units and 15 percent of the 
damaged rental units, while in Mississippi federal assistance funded 
about 56 percent and 26 percent of homeowner and rental units, 
respectively. 

Figure 6: Homeowner and Rental Units Damaged and Funded in Louisiana 
and Mississippi: 

[Refer to PDF for image: horizontal bar graph] 

Homeowner units ($13.0B): 
Total units damaged: 489 thousand; 
Units funded out of total damaged: 303 thousand (62%). 

Rental units ($1.8B): 
Total units damaged: 247 thousand; 
Units funded out of total damaged: 43 thousand (18%). 

Sources: GAO analysis; DHS Office of the Federal Coordinator for Gulf 
Coast Rebuilding (damage data). 

Notes: Data are from Department of Homeland Security, Office of the 
Federal Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding, "Current Housing Unit 
Damage Estimates, Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma" (Feb. 12, 2006). 
Unit counts refer to units that were occupied at the time of the storm. 

[End of figure] 

While the Housing Choice Voucher Program was not in our scope, this 
program is the federal government's major program for assisting very 
low-income families, the elderly, and the disabled to afford decent, 
safe, and sanitary housing in the private market.[Footnote 26] For 
fiscal years 2008 through 2009 Congress appropriated $185 million to 
fund various types of vouchers for areas impacted by Hurricanes 
Katrina and Rita and for families that were assisted under the 
Disaster Housing Assistance Program.[Footnote 27] These funds would 
support over 20,000 vouchers. 

The difference in the levels of assistance to homeowner and rental 
units is reflected in the amounts of funding awarded. Although the 
proportional damage to rental units was greater, more federal dollars 
were awarded for homeowner units through the programs we reviewed. 
Specifically, federal and state agencies awarded around $13 billion 
for homeowner units and around $1.8 billion for rental units, with the 
majority of funding awarded through the CDBG program (see table 4). Of 
the CDBG funds that Louisiana and Mississippi awarded for housing- 
related activities, the majority was awarded through homeowner 
programs. According to state officials, both states created homeowner 
programs first because more homeowner units were damaged than rental 
units. In addition, Louisiana officials stated that CDBG funds were 
not intended to assist rental property owners with their business 
investments, and the state did not want to duplicate FEMA's efforts in 
assisting displaced renters. Mississippi officials stated that many 
homeowners that sustained flood damage were not located in a flood 
zone because the federal government did not accurately identify flood 
zones, and as a result, these homeowners did not have flood insurance 
through the National Flood Insurance Program. Mississippi officials 
further stated that by providing CDBG funds to these homeowners 
(excluding those sustaining wind damage), the state helped the 
homeowners with the greatest need. 

Table 4: Federal Assistance Awarded for Permanent Housing in Louisiana 
and Mississippi (dollars in millions): 

Homeowners[B]: 

Program: Home Disaster Loan[C]; 
Estimated assistance awarded for homeowners[A]: 4,023; 
Estimated assistance awarded for renters[A]: Data not applicable. 

Program: Individual and Households Program: Repair or Replacement 
Assistance; 
Estimated assistance awarded for homeowners[A]: 684; 
Estimated assistance awarded for renters[A]: Data not applicable. 

Homeowners and renters[B]: 

Program: Community Development Block Grant Program[D]; 
Estimated assistance awarded for homeowners[A]: 7,333; 
Estimated assistance awarded for renters[A]: 1,185. 

Program: GO Zone Tax-Exempt Private Activity Bonds; 
Estimated assistance awarded for homeowners[A]: 708; 
Estimated assistance awarded for renters[A]: 16. 

Program: Hazard Mitigation Grant Program; 
Estimated assistance awarded for homeowners[A]: 219; 
Estimated assistance awarded for renters[A]: 0[E]. 

Program: New Markets Tax Credit (GO Zone)[F]; 
Estimated assistance awarded for homeowners[A]: 28; 
Estimated assistance awarded for renters[A]: Data not available. 

Renters[B]: 

Program: Capital Fund Emergency/Natural Disaster Funding[G]; 
Estimated assistance awarded for homeowners[A]: Data not applicable; 
Estimated assistance awarded for renters[A]: 30. 

Program: GO Zone Low-Income Housing Tax Credits; 
Estimated assistance awarded for homeowners[A]: Data not applicable; 
Estimated assistance awarded for renters[A]: 277. 

Program: Physical Disaster Business Loan[H]; 
Estimated assistance awarded for homeowners[A]: Data not applicable; 
Estimated assistance awarded for renters[A]: 270. 

Program: Public Assistance for Permanent Work; 
Estimated assistance awarded for homeowners[A]: Data not applicable; 
Estimated assistance awarded for renters[A]: 33. 

Program: Other[I]; 
Estimated assistance awarded for homeowners[A]: Data not applicable; 
Estimated assistance awarded for renters[A]: 15. 

Program: Total; 
Estimated assistance awarded for homeowners[A]: $12,995; 
Estimated assistance awarded for renters[A]: $1,826. 

Source: GAO analysis of program data from program administrators. 

Note: Data are as of December 2008 unless otherwise noted. 

[A] Assistance awarded refers to the amount of funds, loans, or tax 
incentives provided to finance permanent housing for homeowner and 
rental housing units. 

[B] Potential households served. 

[C] Data are as of July 2009. 

[D] Amount awarded includes data for the CDBG-funded homeowner 
programs, small rental programs, and the Public Housing (CDBG- 
Mississippi) and Long Term Workforce Housing Program (CDBG- 
Mississippi). Amounts awarded through all CDBG-funded programs in 
Mississippi are as of December 2008, except for the Small Rental and 
Long Term Workforce Housing Programs, which are as of April 2009. 

[E] According to state administrators of HMGP funds, HMGP was not used 
to fund the repair or replacement of rental units in Louisiana or 
Mississippi. 

[F] Data reflect activities undertaken through December 2008. Data on 
allocations for rental units were not readily available for the New 
Markets Tax Credits (GO Zone) program because rental units were funded 
as a part of mixed-use projects, which include both commercial and 
residential activities. 

[G] Data for Mississippi are as of August 2009. 

[H] Data are as of August 2009. 

[I] Congress provided a $15 million dollar appropriation for Public 
Housing (which HUD awarded to the Housing Authority of New Orleans) 
for the redevelopment of permanent housing damaged by Hurricane 
Katrina. 

[End of table] 

A Limited Number of Rental Units Are Complete, and the Completion 
Status of Homeowner Units Is Generally Not Tracked: 

A limited number of rental units have been completed through programs 
we reviewed that provided assistance for the repair or replacement of 
rental housing. Progress in the completion of CDBG-funded rental units 
has been limited. For example, through the CDBG-funded small rental 
housing programs, 14 percent of the 10,115 rental units funded in 
Louisiana and 25 percent of the 4,242 rental units funded in 
Mississippi were completed as of July and August 2009, respectively. 
Progress in the completion of rental units funded with GO Zone LIHTCs 
has also been limited. For example, approximately 36 percent of the 
13,888 rental units funded in Louisiana and 51 percent of the 9,252 
units funded in Mississippi were complete as of June 2009. Units 
funded with GO Zone LIHTCs are required to be placed in service by 
January 2011; otherwise the credits cannot be used. Information on the 
extent to which rental units were funded and completed through the 
other programs we reviewed can be found in appendix VII.[Footnote 28] 

The construction status of individual homeowner units was generally 
not readily available for the programs we reviewed.[Footnote 29] For 
example, according to administrators of the CDBG-funded homeowner 
programs in Louisiana and Mississippi, the states are not required to 
track the completion status of units funded because the programs 
provide compensation grants. Similarly, administrators of the Home 
Disaster Loan, IHP Repair or Replacement Assistance, and GO Zone Tax- 
Exempt Private Activity Bond programs do not track the completion 
status of homeowner units. 

Homeowners and Rental Property Owners Faced Challenges in Applying for 
and Using Federal Assistance, but Options Exist for Reducing These 
Challenges after Future Disasters: 

Both homeowners and rental property owners have faced challenges in 
applying for and using federal assistance. These challenges include 
gaps in financing needed to complete repairs and delays in the 
availability of funds. Homeowners and rental property owners have also 
faced adverse economic conditions, including high insurance premiums 
and construction costs and tightening credit markets. These challenges 
have contributed to the slow pace of recovery in the Gulf Coast 
region. Options for addressing these challenges include changing the 
allocation of assistance between homeowners and rental property 
owners, improving guidance intended to help states in designing 
programs, and reconsidering which programs are used to deliver 
permanent-housing assistance after a disaster. 

Homeowners and Small Rental Property Owners Faced Gaps in Financing 
Repairs: 

Some homeowners in Louisiana and Mississippi did not receive enough 
funding from insurance and federal assistance to complete repairs to 
their homes after the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes, and some were 
ineligible for key sources of federal assistance.[Footnote 30] A 
review of Louisiana's Road Home Homeowner Program found that some 
homeowners received insufficient grant amounts to repair the damage 
caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and were challenged from 
resulting funding gaps.[Footnote 31] These gaps in funding may have 
resulted from Louisiana's decision to use pre-storm home values to 
determine grant amounts (as opposed to using the cost of repairs), 
incorrect grant calculations, and increasing construction and 
insurance costs, according to various researchers. In Mississippi, the 
state reduced the amount available under its homeowner program when it 
decided to dedicate $600 million from this program to a Port 
Restoration Program. While this change appears to reduce the amount of 
CDBG funds available for homeowners, according to state officials, all 
eligible applications for the homeowner program were funded. Program 
administrators in Louisiana stated that their CDBG-funded homeowner 
program was not intended to make homeowners "whole." 

Other program requirements likely resulted in challenges to homeowners 
in obtaining program funds. For example, in Mississippi, homeowners 
with wind-only damage were ineligible for the first phase of the 
Homeowner Assistance Program. In addition, for the first funding 
round, only homeowners that sustained flood damage (in selected 
counties) were eligible for Mississippi's Homeowner Assistance 
Program. According to state officials, this program was intended to 
assist homeowners that lacked flood insurance because they were not in 
a federally designated flood zone. State officials stated they 
targeted homeowners that were outside of a flood zone due to concerns 
about the reliability of FEMA's flood zone designations. In addition, 
both states required homeowners to prove they had clear property 
titles. According to state officials, researchers, and organizations 
that worked with disaster victims, many Louisiana and Mississippi 
homeowners with damaged properties faced considerable difficulty in 
establishing clear title because their properties had been informally 
passed down through generations. 

Owners of rental properties also faced challenges in obtaining program 
financing due in part to decisions by the states of Louisiana and 
Mississippi to set aside a small portion of their supplemental CDBG 
funds for the repair of rental housing. While Louisiana and 
Mississippi allocated nearly $11 billion of their CDBG funds to 
homeowner programs, they targeted fewer funds (approximately $1 
billion) to the owners of small rental properties. In Louisiana, 
demand for the Road Home Small Rental Property Program was seven or 
eight times what the funding would support, according to state 
officials. Mississippi officials said they initially had twice the 
demand for their small rental program than expected, representing 
10,000 rental housing units. 

Availability of financing has also been a challenge for developers of 
larger rental housing developments, including recipients of GO Zone 
LIHTCs. Some recipients of GO Zone LIHTCs have encountered financing 
gaps due to the declining value of the credits. More specifically, 
some developers were receiving less equity from investors in exchange 
for the tax credits awarded, which has resulted in large financing 
gaps and made some planned developments not feasible. In some cases, 
state housing finance agencies pulled GO Zone LIHTCs back from 
projects that could not secure additional funds to finance the 
project, or accepted the credits back from developers, and awarded the 
credits to other projects. 

PHAs have also faced limited available funding to make repairs to 
public housing that was damaged by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Public 
housing agencies have faced considerable challenges in obtaining 
funding for the recovery of public housing units. Public housing is an 
important source of affordable housing for low-income households in 
the Gulf Coast region. The Gulf Coast states experienced a decline in 
the number of available units as a result of the storms, especially in 
the New Orleans area. For example, prior to Hurricane Katrina, the 
Housing Authority of New Orleans managed over 7,000 units of public 
housing in 10 different developments. Hurricane Katrina damaged about 
80 percent of these units (approximately 5,600 units). Less than $30 
million was available in 2005 for damage to all PHAs nationwide 
through HUD's Capital Fund Emergency/Natural Disaster Funding Program. 
HUD acknowledged that these funds were not sufficient to repair the 
public housing that was damaged by the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes. 

Homeowners and Small Rental Property Owners Faced Delays in 
Availability of Key Recovery Funds: 

In the wake of the 2005 storms, both homeowners and owners of rental 
properties faced significant challenges in receiving assistance from 
key federal programs as quickly as possible. For instance, homeowners 
in Louisiana waited a year for the Road Home Homeowner program, the 
state's CDBG-funded homeowner program, to begin accepting 
applications, and then encountered application processing times that 
were a median of 245 days. Although there were no specific time 
requirements for how quickly CDBG-funded programs should be 
implemented, federal disaster policy, as described in the Stafford 
Act, states that disaster funds and special measures must help to 
expedite the reconstruction and rehabilitation of devastated 
areas.[Footnote 32] In January 2009, FEMA issued a National Disaster 
Housing Strategy that included six goals related to post-disaster 
housing.[Footnote 33] One of the goals states that housing assistance 
should help individuals and households in returning to self-
sufficiency as quickly as possible, including obtaining permanent 
housing. As required by the supplemental appropriations acts, states 
submitted plans to HUD detailing their proposed use of CDBG funds and 
the design of their programs. After acceptance of the plans, each 
state issued descriptions of their programs, including eligibility 
requirements and application deadlines.[Footnote 34] As shown in 
figure 7, Mississippi opened its homeowner program to applicants 8 
months after Hurricane Katrina, and Louisiana opened its program 1 
year after the storm. 

Figure 7: Timeline for the CDBG-Funded Homeowner and Rental Programs 
in Louisiana and Mississippi: 

[Refer to PDF for image: timeline] 

August 29, 2005: Hurricane Katrina. 

September 24, 2005: Hurricane Rita. 

December 30, 2005: First Funding supplement approved by Congress. 

June 15, 2006: Second Funding supplement approved by Congress. 

November 13, 2007: Third Funding supplement approved by Congress.  

Homeowner programs: Mississippi: 
April 10, 2006: Application period opens (8 months after Katrina); 
September 2997: Long Term Workforce Housing Program (CDBG-Mississippi) 
begins[B] (25 months after Katrina). 

Homeowner programs: Louisiana: 
August 22, 2006: : Application period opens (12 months after Katrina). 

Rental programs: Mississippi: 
August 2006: Public Housing Program (CDBG-Mississippi) begins[A] (12 
months after Katrina); 
September 10, 1007: Application period opens (25 months after Katrina). 

Rental programs: Louisiana: 
January 29, 2007: Application period opens (17 months after Katrina). 

Source: GAO. 

Note: The figure refers to the number of months after Hurricane 
Katrina. 

[A] For the CDBG-funded Public Housing Program in Mississippi, there 
was not an official date on which the state began accepting 
applications. We reported the date that HUD accepted the Action Plan 
for this program. 

[B] For the Long Term Workforce Housing Program, we reported the date 
that the state issued a Request for Proposals for this program. HUD 
accepted the Action Plan for this program in June 2008, thus no funds 
could be awarded prior to this date. 

[End of figure] 

Owners of small rental properties in Louisiana and Mississippi faced 
longer delays than homeowners in the availability of CDBG funds to 
repair or replace properties. Louisiana began accepting applications 
for its Road Home Small Rental Property Program 17 months after 
Hurricane Katrina and Mississippi began accepting applications for its 
Small Rental Assistance Program about 2 years after the storm. 

As indicated in our prior work, delays in the initial dates that 
states began accepting applications for their CDBG-funded homeowner 
and small rental housing programs may be due in part to the states' 
lack of staffing capacity to suddenly manage CDBG programs of such 
unprecedented size.[Footnote 35] In addition, as previously noted, 
both states decided to implement programs for homeowners first, which 
delayed the initial dates states began accepting applications for the 
small rental housing programs. Furthermore, according to Mississippi 
officials, it took time to obtain HUD's acceptance of plans for its 
Small Rental Assistance Program, in part because the state had to 
reach agreement with other entities, including state historic 
preservation offices, regarding the potential impacts of this program 
on the environment and other concerns. 

Application Processing Times for CDBG Funds Further Delayed Assistance: 

After submitting their applications for CDBG funds, some homeowners 
and small rental property owners faced significant delays in the 
processing of their applications, with rental property owners 
typically facing longer delays than homeowners. For example, 
homeowners in Louisiana and Mississippi waited a median of 245 and 240 
days, respectively, from the date their application was received by 
the state until the date that they received grant funds. These 
processing times ranged from 32 to 948 days in Louisiana and from to 
70 to 945 days in Mississippi (see figure 8). For the small rental 
housing programs, successful applicants had a closing, at which point 
the terms by which forgivable loans would be disbursed to the owners 
were agreed upon. Small rental property owners in Louisiana and 
Mississippi waited a median of 494 and 405 days, respectively, from 
the date that their application was received by the state until the 
date of closing. This processing time ranged from 280 to 686 days in 
Louisiana and from to 75 to 799 days in Mississippi. 

Figure 8: Median Number of Days for Applications to Be Processed: 

[Refer to PDF for image: vertical bar graph] 

State: Louisiana; 
Homeowner program (days from application receipt to first 
disbursement): 245; 
Small rental program (days from application receipt to closing): 494. 

State: Mississippi; 
Homeowner program (days from application receipt to first 
disbursement): 240; 
Small rental program (days from application receipt to closing): 405. 

Source: GAO analysis. 

[End of figure] 

Several factors may have contributed to delays in the processing of 
applications for each state's homeowner and small rental housing 
programs, including program design changes, a lack of specific 
performance goals, and complex application processes. 

* Program design changes. Louisiana's homeowner and small rental 
programs may have experienced delays in processing applications 
because of changes to the programs' design after they were first 
established. For example, HUD ordered the state to cease operations 
for the homeowner program in March 2007. According to an e-mail from 
the HUD Assistant Secretary to key HUD staff involved in Gulf Coast 
recovery, there was an "apparent inconsistency" between Road Home 
Homeowner program operations and the approved action plan. While the 
state continued to accept and process homeowner applications after 
they were ordered to cease and desist the program, individual 
covenants had to be revised, homeowner grant awards had to be 
recalculated, and scheduled house closings were postponed.[Footnote 
36] The state redesigned the program to provide lump-sum compensation 
grants, and HUD accepted the new design in May 2007. Also, in 2009 
Louisiana created an additional option for property owners that had 
applied to the small rental property program but had not been able to 
secure up-front financing. Under the new option, the state will pay 
"advances" of funds to some rental property owners through a housing 
rehabilitation program. 

* Absence of performance goals. Neither Louisiana nor Mississippi 
initially established specific performance goals for processing 
homeowner or small rental program applications. According to state 
officials from both states, immediately after the storms it was 
difficult to determine what such performance goals should be. While 
each state's initial plans for its homeowner programs indicated that 
applications should be processed in a timely manner or a manner that 
recognizes the urgency of the need for assistance, the plans did not 
quantify goals for processing complete applications.[Footnote 37] In 
March 2007 Louisiana established performance indicators to encourage 
the timely processing of homeowner grants and established similar 
performance indicators for the small rental program in April 2008. 
There were no documented performance goals for processing applications 
for Mississippi's Homeowner Assistance or Small Rental Assistance 
Programs until March 2008. 

* Complexity of application process. According to both researchers and 
organizations that assisted disaster victims, the application 
processes for the CDBG-funded homeowner and small rental programs were 
complex, which made it difficult for some applicants to complete 
applications correctly. A 2008 report on Louisiana's CDBG-funded post-
disaster housing programs stated that both the homeowners and 
applicants for the small rental program faced rule changes, which 
caused confusion for applicants and likely contributed to delays. 
[Footnote 38] 

Adverse Economic Conditions Following the Storms Hampered Rebuilding 
Efforts: 

Homeowners and small rental property owners affected by Hurricanes 
Katrina and Rita have also experienced challenges in their rebuilding 
efforts as a result of local market conditions, particularly high 
insurance premiums and construction costs.[Footnote 39] For example, 
according to a report by the Louisiana Housing Finance Agency, 
premiums for homeowners insurance escalated to four times their pre-
Katrina level for some areas of Louisiana that were severely impacted 
by the storm.[Footnote 40] Such increases have likely made it 
difficult for some homeowners to rebuild. Researchers have stated that 
rising construction costs in both Louisiana and Mississippi pose 
challenges for redevelopment. 

The current national economic climate has also made it more difficult 
for both homeowners and developers of rental housing to secure 
adequate financing. Due to the tightening credit markets and storm-
related credit issues, many homeowners in the area affected by the 
2005 storms are finding it extremely difficult to access credit to 
cover repair costs. According to an organization that has researched 
recovery efforts in New Orleans, tightened credit markets are one of 
the key reasons that many homeowners in New Orleans have been unable 
to fully recover their homes. Also, as we have previously reported, as 
investors' interest in tax credit projects declines, developers must 
seek additional funding sources to make up for the equity shortfall. 
[Footnote 41] According to state administrators of the GO Zone LIHTC 
programs in Louisiana and Mississippi, given the financial crisis, it 
is increasingly difficult to find investors for tax credit projects, 
and it will be a challenge to meet the December 2010 deadline for 
units to be placed in service. 

Challenges Have Contributed to Several Negative Effects, Including 
Slowed Recovery of Housing: 

Both homeowners and renters have been negatively affected by financing 
gaps, delays in the availability of federal resources, and adverse 
economic conditions. Cumulatively, these and other issues have 
contributed to slow progress in repairing and replacing housing in the 
Gulf Coast. This slow progress is putting additional pressure on the 
already strained housing market.[Footnote 42] Slow redevelopment also 
contributes to neighborhood blight. According to a recent Brookings 
report, New Orleans had 65,888 vacant or blighted residential 
addresses as of March 2009, and nearly 59,000 of these addresses were 
blighted or empty lots.[Footnote 43] This was a slight decrease from 
69,727 as of September 2008. 

Another negative impact of these challenges is a lack of affordable 
housing, especially for rental households. HUD's fair market rent for 
a two-bedroom unit in the New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner metropolitan 
area increased from $676 to $1,030 or about 52 percent, between fiscal 
years 2005 and 2009.[Footnote 44] As a result of such rent increases, 
low-and moderate-income renters who could afford housing in New 
Orleans before the storm may no longer be able to find affordable 
housing. In Mississippi's coastal counties, both for-sale and rental 
housing are estimated to be less affordable than before Hurricane 
Katrina, according to a 2009 study.[Footnote 45] HUD's fair market 
rent for a two-bedroom unit in the Gulfport-Biloxi metropolitan area 
increased from $592 to $844, or about 43 percent, while the general 
price level for rent nationwide increased about 15 percent over the 
same time period. While it is projected that there will be more than a 
full recovery of subsidized rental housing units in Mississippi's 
coastal counties, it is also estimated that there will be an increased 
need for additional rental assistance in these counties, such as 
housing choice vouchers, to make available units more affordable. 
[Footnote 46] 

Finally, some of the residents who were displaced from their 
communities have not returned, especially lower-income renters. As 
previously noted, while the New Orleans metropolitan area is home to a 
population that is equal to about 90 percent of the pre-Katrina 
population, school enrollment across the metropolitan area has slowed, 
suggesting that the characteristics of the population that has 
returned are different than those of the pre-storm 
population.[Footnote 47] According to the Urban Institute, the slow 
recovery of housing--especially moderately priced rental housing--in 
the greater New Orleans region prevents many families from returning. 

Options for Addressing Challenges Include Better Allocating Assistance 
for Homeowners and Renters: 

We reviewed prior GAO work and reports by agencies and research groups 
and identified four sets of options that may help address the 
challenges faced by homeowners and rental property owners in using 
program funds. First, to address the challenges related to the gaps in 
funding available to repair and replace damaged housing--specifically 
rental housing--federal funds for permanent post-disaster housing 
could be allocated between homeowners and rental property owners based 
on need, and take into account all of the programs and resources that 
are available. For example, Congress could provide more direction to 
states on how to allocate appropriations for the CDBG program. 
Directing how grantees allocate CDBG funds would entail trade-offs. 
For example, states may have less discretion in designing post-
disaster housing programs and deciding how much funding is to be made 
available for rebuilding units occupied by homeowners and renters and 
for economic development activities. While such trade-offs exist, 
Congress has previously provided specific direction to recipients of 
CDBG funds. For example, Congress provided direction to recipients of 
funds under the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, which is based on 
the CDBG program and focuses on redevelopment of abandoned and 
foreclosed homes. Congress directed recipients of these funds to focus 
on areas of greatest need, including areas with high concentrations of 
foreclosed homes. Without specific direction on how to better target 
disaster-related CDBG funds for the redevelopment of homeowner and 
rental units after future disasters, states' allocation of assistance 
to homeowners and rental property owners may again result in 
significant differences in the level of assistance provided. 

To address the financing gaps faced by homeowners, larger amounts of 
assistance could be made available to households. Several of the 
reports we reviewed indicated that additional funds should be provided 
to homeowners that did not receive sufficient CDBG funds to recover 
from the storms. For example, one private research organization 
recommends that the federal government allocate funds to close the 
gaps created by the formula for the Road Home Homeowner Program, the 
CDBG-funded homeowner program in Louisiana.[Footnote 48] In addition, 
this organization has stated that grants should have been calculated 
based upon either the higher of the assessed value or the damage 
estimate repair costs rather than the pre-storm estimated value of 
homes. For future disasters, basing grant amounts on repair costs 
rather than property values may be helpful to households in closing 
financing gaps--especially those households that live in distressed or 
less desirable communities where property values are less than the 
cost of repairs and replacement. However, in providing larger amounts 
of assistance to individual households, fewer households may be served 
with the same amount of overall program funding. 

To help reduce delays in delivering funds for the recovery of housing, 
guidance could be developed, eligible uses of funds could be 
clarified, states could design programs to provide funds up front, and 
application processes could be simplified. We previously recommended 
that HUD issue guidance for CDBG disaster-assistance programs that 
provides information on acceptable program designs and discusses 
program elements that trigger federal environmental reviews.[Footnote 
49] We also recommended that HUD coordinate with FEMA to clarify 
options and limits of using CDBG funds with other disaster-related 
federal funds.[Footnote 50] Such guidance could help states in the 
future by clearly articulating applicable legal and financial 
requirements, as well as the types of activities that may trigger 
federal environmental review requirements. State officials in 
Louisiana have acknowledged that delays in making CDBG funds available 
to small rental property owners could have been minimized by designing 
a program that provided funds up front, rather than after property 
owners independently financed repairs. Such program designs for the 
use of CDBG funds after future disasters could potentially reduce 
delays. Furthermore, organizations that represented disaster victims 
have stated that complex application processes contributed to delays 
in Louisiana, suggesting that for future disasters, delays could be 
minimized if application processes are clear and transparent. 

Decision makers could also reconsider what federal programs should 
deliver assistance for permanent housing. A report by the Office of 
the Federal Coordinator indicated that the CDBG program should be re- 
evaluated to determine whether it should be the primary funding 
vehicle for replacing housing stock following a disaster.[Footnote 51] 
The Office of the Federal Coordinator also indicated that experts 
should convene to discuss how challenges associated with the current 
federal funding vehicles for post-disaster recovery and rebuilding--
such as CDBG, Public Assistance, Individual Assistance, and HMGP--
could be addressed and to explore ideas for potential new vehicles 
and/or frameworks. According to HUD officials, the CDBG program is not 
one of the federal government's official disaster recovery programs. 
However, to date the supplemental CDBG funds that have gone to the 
Gulf Coast have been the largest amount of CDBG disaster relief 
provided to one area in the history of the program. A previous GAO 
report stated that HUD should continue to work with the administration 
to determine what role the CDBG program should have in disaster 
recovery.[Footnote 52] HUD officials have also stated that a 
permanently authorized disaster CDBG program may be more effective in 
delivering post-disaster housing assistance. HUD officials have stated 
that if a disaster-specific CDBG program is given a permanent role, 
they would issue permanent regulations and program guidance. In 
addition, there would be less need after each disaster for HUD to 
consider the use of waivers and write federal notices to guide the use 
of CDBG funds. 

Conclusions: 

The response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita highlights the need to re- 
evaluate how housing assistance for homeowners and rental property 
owners is delivered after a disaster. If the federal government adopts 
a similar approach in the future, it will likely encounter many of the 
same challenges, including gaps in available financing for permanent 
housing and delays in the availability of program funds to victims. 
The state programs, funded under the CDBG program, the largest single 
source of federal assistance for permanent housing after the 2005 Gulf 
Coast hurricanes, focused much of their resources on addressing the 
needs of homeowners. Our analysis shows that recovery funds addressed 
a substantially larger percentage of the rebuilding needs of 
homeowners compared to rental property owners and that state-designed 
programs have not fully accounted for the needs of renters in their 
decisions regarding how to allocate funds. As a result, there 
continues to be an acute need for affordable rental housing in the 
Gulf Coast area, and many displaced residents may not be able to 
return to their communities. States, which had broad flexibility in 
their use of CDBG funds, did not prioritize the repair or replacement 
of rental housing for several reasons, including their decisions to 
rely on other sources of federal funding for rental housing, such as 
SBA loans and GO Zone LIHTCs. However, the GO Zone LIHTC program 
addressed only a small part of the repair and replacement needs of 
rental properties and furthermore, according to program 
administrators, investors' demand for tax credits in the current 
economy has been weak. In the event of a future disaster, the lack of 
specific direction to states on how to target disaster-related CDBG 
funds may again result in a significant difference in the amounts of 
assistance for the redevelopment of homeowner and rental property 
units. Within the programs, administrative improvements could be made. 
In fact, we have previously recommended that HUD issue guidance for 
CDBG disaster assistance that provides information on acceptable 
program designs and that HUD coordinate with FEMA to clarify options 
and limits of using CDBG funds with other disaster-related federal 
funds. We believe that implementing these recommendations would help 
minimize delays in making CDBG funds available for homeowners and 
rental property owners after future disasters. Furthermore, we 
continue to believe that HUD should work with the administration to 
determine what role the CDBG program should have in disaster recovery. 

Matters for Congressional Consideration: 

To the extent that the CDBG program continues to be the primary 
vehicle used to provide post-disaster assistance for permanent 
housing, Congress may wish to consider providing more specific 
direction regarding the distribution of disaster-related CDBG 
assistance that states are to provide for homeowners and renters. If 
Congress wishes to change the proportion of assistance directed to 
homeowners and rental property owners in future recovery efforts, 
Congress could, for example, require states to demonstrate to HUD that 
they are adequately addressing the needs of both homeowners and 
renters with their CDBG allocation and other resources as a condition 
for receiving funds. Alternatively, Congress could direct HUD to 
develop a formula that accounts for the housing needs of both 
homeowners and renters. Such a formula could be used by states to 
determine the proportions of their disaster CDBG funds that should be 
used for housing, specifically rental housing. Further, the formula 
could also reflect the anticipated production levels of other programs 
that provide permanent housing assistance, such as the Low-Income 
Housing Tax Credit program. 

Agency Comments: 

We provided a draft of this report to the Department of Housing and 
Urban Development, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department 
of the Treasury, and the Small Business Administration. We received 
technical comments from all of the agencies and incorporated them as 
appropriate. We also provided relevant sections of this report to 
state officials in Louisiana and Mississippi, and incorporated their 
technical comments as appropriate. 

As agreed with your offices, unless you publicly announce the contents 
of this report earlier, we plan no further distribution until 30 days 
from the report date. At that time, we will send copies of this report 
to interested congressional committees, the Secretary of the 
Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Secretary of the 
Department of Homeland Security, the Secretary of the Treasury, and 
the Administrator of the Small Business Administration. In addition, 
the report will be available at no charge on the GAO Web site at 
[hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov]. 

If you or your staff have any questions on matters discussed in this 
report or would like additional information, please contact me at 
(202) 512-8678 or sciremj@gao.gov. Major contributors to this report 
are acknowledged in appendix VIII. 

Signed by: 

Mathew J. Scirè: 
Director, Financial Markets and Community Investment: 

[End of section] 

Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology: 

Our objectives were to (1) describe how federal disaster-related 
assistance for permanent housing has been provided to homeowners and 
rental property owners affected by the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes; (2) 
evaluate the extent to which federally funded programs responded to 
the needs of homeowners and rental property owners in repairing or 
replacing units damaged by these hurricanes; and (3) describe the 
challenges that homeowners and rental property owners have faced in 
applying for and using federal assistance, and potential options for 
addressing these challenges. 

In reviewing post-disaster assistance for permanent housing provided 
after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, we focused on Louisiana and 
Mississippi because these two states sustained the most damage of the 
five states affected by these hurricanes. To identify federal programs 
that provided this assistance, we reviewed statutes and regulations, 
studies and reports by government agencies and research organizations, 
and agency Web sites. In addition, we interviewed officials from the 
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Department of 
Homeland Security (DHS), Department of the Treasury (Treasury), and 
the Small Business Administration (SBA); state and local housing 
agencies in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, Louisiana, and Biloxi, 
Gulfport, and Jackson, Mississippi; and various housing groups. We 
selected programs that were disaster-related and provided funds or tax 
incentives to encourage the development of permanent housing, which 
included repairing or replacing housing. We defined assistance for 
permanent housing as assistance for housing that is intended for long-
term occupancy. Given our methodology, we did not include every 
program that provides post-disaster housing assistance. The programs 
in our review include the following:[Footnote 53] 

* Capital Fund Emergency/Natural Disaster Funding (HUD): 

* Community Development Block Grant Program (HUD): 

* GO Zone Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (Treasury): 

* GO Zone Tax-Exempt Private Activity Bonds (Treasury): 

* Home Disaster Loan and Physical Disaster Business Loan (SBA): 

* Individuals and Households Program: Repair or Replacement Assistance 
(DHS): 

* GO Zone New Markets Tax Credits (Treasury): 

* Public Assistance for Permanent Work (DHS): 

For each of the programs identified, we determined whether homeowners, 
rental property owners, or both were potentially eligible to benefit 
from the program; whether the assistance was in the form of a grant, 
loan, or tax incentive; the types of activities that could be funded; 
and the program's purpose. We also identified whether the program was 
administered by a federal or state agency, the amount of funds 
available, and how the administering agency awarded funds. For most 
programs, we used the amount appropriated by Congress as the amount 
available. However, for programs that were funded through the Disaster 
Relief Fund (Individuals and Households Program: Repair or Replacement 
Assistance and Public Assistance for Permanent Work), we used the 
amounts awarded in Louisiana and Mississippi. More specifically, for 
the Public Assistance for Permanent Work Program, we reported the 
amount awarded to public housing authorities. We generally used the 
date that the initial application period opened, if applicable, to 
describe the dates that the programs we reviewed became available. For 
the Gulf Opportunity (GO) Zone Tax-Exempt Private Activity Bond 
Program, we reported the dates that states made either the first final 
approval or the first allocation. For Mississippi's Public Housing 
Program, which was funded through the Community Development Block 
Grant Program (CDBG), we reported the date that HUD approved the 
program design. 

To determine the extent to which the programs we reviewed responded to 
the needs of homeowners and rental property owners in repairing or 
replacing homeowner and rental units, we compared the available data 
on units funded to the estimated number of units damaged for homeowner 
and rental units. We first obtained data on the number of homeowner 
and rental units with minor, major, and severe damage in Louisiana and 
Mississippi from the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) 
published estimates.[Footnote 54] We used this information as an 
indicator of housing need at the time of the disaster. We also used 
this information to highlight the Louisiana parishes and Mississippi 
counties that sustained the most damage. Based on available data for 
damaged homeowner and rental units, we determined that eight parishes 
accounted for 70 percent of the total homeowner and rental units 
damaged in Louisiana and that three counties accounted for 43 percent 
of the total homeowner and rental units damaged in Mississippi. To 
determine the proportion of homeowner and rental units that sustained 
damage in each state and in the most damaged areas, we compared the 
estimated number of homeowner and rental units damaged to the number 
of occupied homeowner and rental units statewide and in the most 
damaged areas from the 2000 Decennial Census.[Footnote 55] 

We obtained data from program administrators on the numbers of 
homeowner and/or rental housing units that were funded. For each 
program, we requested data on the number of units funded as of 
December 2008, although for some programs, program administrators 
could not provide data as of this date. Specifically, data for 
Mississippi's Small Rental Assistance and Long Term Workforce Housing 
Programs were available as of April 2009; data for the Home Disaster 
Loan Program were available as of July 2009; data for the Capital Fund 
Emergency/Natural Disaster Funding Program for Mississippi and the 
Physical Disaster Business Loan Program were available as of August 
2009; and data for the New Markets Tax Credits (GO Zone) Program were 
available for activities that were undertaken through December 2008. 
We do not believe that the different dates for the count of units 
funded under these programs will have a material impact on the 
results, as month-to-month unit count changes have been small for the 
key programs. For Louisiana's Road Home Homeowner Program and 
Mississippi's Homeowner Assistance Program, we counted awards to 
homeowners as homeowner units funded, although homeowners are not 
required to use their grant funds to repair their homes. We were not 
able to include data on the number of rental units funded through the 
Physical Disaster Business Loan Program because SBA did not have 
readily available information on the number of rental units funded. To 
determine the number and amount of Physical Disaster Business Loans 
for the repair of residential rental properties, we obtained data 
categorized by the North American Industry Classification System. 
[Footnote 56] We included approved loans for real estate repairs only. 
Due to data limitations, we may not have included all physical 
disaster business loans that were provided for real estate repairs to 
residential rental properties. While we did not include a $15 million 
appropriation for the repair of rental housing damaged by Hurricanes 
Katrina and Rita as one of the programs in our review, we included 
these funds as well as data on the number of rental units funded with 
this appropriation as a part of our analysis because it is an 
additional source of funding for permanent rental housing. With 
available data, we compared the total number of homeowner units funded 
to the total number of homeowner units damaged in each state. 

Because some funded units may have received assistance from multiple 
programs, we took steps to avoid double counting. We compared the 
addresses of homeowner units funded by Louisiana's Road Home Homeowner 
Assistance Program, Mississippi's Homeowner Assistance Program, 
Individuals and Households Program: Repair or Replacement Assistance, 
and the Physical Home Disaster Loan Program for both Louisiana and 
Mississippi. This comparison allowed us to determine whether a unit 
was funded by only one program or by multiple programs. In order to 
ensure that an address was counted only once, we converted the 
addresses of the homeowner units funded by each of the programs we 
reviewed into a consistent format and applied standardization rules 
(for example, "Street" was consistently changed to "St."). This 
allowed us to look for double counting for over 99 percent of the 
addresses we compared. We could not compare addresses for homeowner 
units funded by the HMGP, Long Term Workforce Housing Program, and New 
Markets Tax Credits (GO Zone) Program, because unit-level data on 
rental property street addresses were not readily available. 

In addition, we summarized the amounts of assistance awarded (and 
loans approved) to homeowners and rental property owners through the 
programs we reviewed as of December 2008, unless program 
administrators could not provide funding data as of this date. For 
example, administrators of Mississippi's Small Rental Assistance and 
Long Term Workforce Housing Programs did not have archival data for 
December 2008, and thus they provided data as of April 2009. For the 
New Markets Tax Credit Program (GO Zone), funding data were available 
for activities that were undertaken through December 2008. However, 
while we could determine funding amounts for homeowner units, we could 
not determine funding amounts for rental units for this program 
because rental units are funded as a part of mixed-use projects (that 
is, projects with both commercial and residential uses). It was not 
possible to determine the amounts funded only for the rental units 
associated with mixed-use projects. 

We also obtained and analyzed data from program administrators to 
determine the extent to which funded homeowner and rental units were 
complete as of summer 2009. We were unable to determine the extent to 
which homeowner units were complete because either program 
administrators were not required to collect data or the data were not 
readily available. For most of the programs that funded rental units, 
data were available on the extent to which they were complete as of 
June, July, and August 2009 (see appendix VII). Data on the extent to 
which rental units funded through the New Markets Tax Credit Program 
(GO Zone) were complete were not readily available. 

To assess the reliability of agency data on the numbers and location 
of homeowner and rental units funded as well as the amount of 
assistance provided, we (1) performed electronic testing for obvious 
errors in accuracy and completeness; (2) reviewed related 
documentation, including audit reports on data verification for some 
programs we reviewed; and (3) worked with agency officials or 
contractors to identify any data problems. When we found 
discrepancies, such as unpopulated fields or data entry errors, we 
notified agency officials or contractors and worked with these 
officials to correct the discrepancies before conducting our analysis. 
We determined that the data were sufficiently reliable for the 
purposes of our report. 

To identify challenges to homeowners and rental property owners, we 
reviewed studies and reports about housing recovery in the areas 
affected by the hurricanes, interviewed the administrators of the 
programs we reviewed, interviewed organizations that worked with 
disaster victims to obtain permanent housing, and analyzed data on the 
timeliness of funding availability and application processing. To 
describe the timeliness of funding availability, we interviewed 
program administrators, reviewed prior GAO and other reports, and 
obtained documentation of the dates on which HUD accepted plans for 
CDBG-funded programs. Also, in examining application processing times 
for CDBG-funded programs, we obtained data from program administrators 
on each loan or grant awarded. We determined the median number of days 
between the date the application was received by the state and the 
date funds were awarded (for the homeowner programs) or the closing 
occurred (for the small rental programs). We excluded outliers and 
records with missing data to determine the median number of days 
elapsed between these points. Further, we summarized available 
information from program administrators and other reports on factors 
that may have contributed to processing delays. 

To identify potential options for mitigating the challenges we 
identified, we reviewed recommendations in studies and reports, 
suggestions from program administrators and organizations that worked 
with disaster victims to obtain permanent housing, and information on 
the congressional intent of post-disaster housing assistance, 
including the Stafford Act and FEMA's Disaster Housing Strategy. We 
discussed these options and their potential limitations. 

[End of section] 

Appendix II: Homeowner Programs Funded through the Community 
Development Block Grant Program: 

Road Home Homeowner Program (Louisiana): 

The Louisiana Road Home Homeowner Program was designed to provide a 
one-time compensation grant payment, up to a maximum of $150,000, to 
eligible homeowners whose primary residence was damaged by the 2005 
Gulf Coast hurricanes and who wished to (1) repair or rebuild their 
home, (2) purchase another home in Louisiana, or (3) sell their home 
and relocate outside of the state. After the 2005 Gulf Coast 
hurricanes, Congress made $13.4 billion available to Louisiana for 
disaster recovery. Louisiana allocated $11.5 billion of these funds to 
the Road Home Homeowner Program. To award assistance, the Office of 
Community Development (OCD) reviewed applications to determine and 
verify program eligibility. After an application was received and 
determined to be preliminarily eligible, the OCD conducted an on-site 
evaluation. After this evaluation, grant calculations were conducted 
based on the lesser of either the property's pre-storm value or the 
estimated cost of damage to the property. A final determination of 
eligibility was also made. Other assistance received--such as 
insurance proceeds or assistance from the Federal Emergency Management 
Agency (FEMA) or the Small Business Administration (SBA)--was deducted 
from the final grant amount awarded. 

The OCD also offered an Additional Compensation Grant up to a maximum 
of $50,000 to eligible homeowners who had a household income of 80 
percent of the parish median income or less. The Additional 
Compensation Grant was intended to assist with any gap between the 
estimated cost of damage and the amount(s) the homeowner received from 
the Road Home compensation grant and other assistance. 

Homeowner Assistance Program (Mississippi): 

The Mississippi Homeowner Assistance Program was designed to provide a 
one-time grant payment, up to a maximum of $150,000, to eligible 
homeowners who lived outside of the flood plain and suffered flood 
damage to their primary residence as a result of Hurricane Katrina. 
After the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes, Congress made $5.5 billion 
available to Mississippi for disaster recovery. Mississippi allocated 
$1.96 billion for this program. To award assistance, the Mississippi 
Development Authority accepted applications during its open 
application period to determine program eligibility. Once eligibility 
was established, grant calculations were conducted based on the 
largest of the following values: (1) the pre-Katrina insured value 
adjusted by an inflation factor of 35 percent; (2) the damage amount 
estimated by SBA, not to exceed 135 percent of the insurable value; or 
(3) the Mississippi Development Authority damage assessment cost to 
repair. Once the homeowner was determined to be eligible, funds were 
made available to the homeowner through a closing process using a 
mortgage lender or escrow or closing agent, or potentially by 
electronic funds transfer. In exchange for the grant payment, a 
qualifying homeowner had to agree to a covenant on their property that 
established building code, flood insurance, and elevation requirements 
for them or any future owner of the land. 

The Mississippi Development Authority later expanded the Homeowner 
Assistance Program applicant pool by implementing a second phase 
(Phase II). Phase II offered up to a maximum of $100,000 in grant 
assistance to homeowners who resided inside or outside of the flood 
plain and who had a household income at or below 120 percent of the 
area median income. 

Table 5: Number of Homeowner Units Funded and Total Amounts Awarded 
through the Road Home Homeowner Program (Louisiana) and the Homeowner 
Assistance Program (Mississippi), by State and Parish/County: 

State: Louisiana: 

Parish/County: Acadia; 
Homeowner units funded: 279; 
Amount of grant assistance awarded: $5,544,470. 

Parish/County: Allen; 
Homeowner units funded: 487; 
Amount of grant assistance awarded: $10,075,978. 

Parish/County: Ascension; 
Homeowner units funded: 136; 
Amount of grant assistance awarded: $3,957,068. 

Parish/County: Assumption; 
Homeowner units funded: 200; 
Amount of grant assistance awarded: $3,486,988. 

Parish/County: Beauregard; 
Homeowner units funded: 912; 
Amount of grant assistance awarded: $19,027,802. 

Parish/County: Calcasieu; 
Homeowner units funded: 12,313; 
Amount of grant assistance awarded: $313,703,052. 

Parish/County: Cameron; 
Homeowner units funded: 1,482; 
Amount of grant assistance awarded: $58,486,809. 

Parish/County: East Baton Rouge; 
Homeowner units funded: 174; 
Amount of grant assistance awarded: $4,581,435. 

Parish/County: East Feliciana; 
Homeowner units funded: 27; 
Amount of grant assistance awarded: $516,317. 

Parish/County: Evangeline; 
Homeowner units funded: 51; 
Amount of grant assistance awarded: $905,100. 

Parish/County: Iberia; 
Homeowner units funded: 977; 
Amount of grant assistance awarded: $26,138,919. 

Parish/County: Iberville; 
Homeowner units funded: 51; 
Amount of grant assistance awarded: $1,215,867. 

Parish/County: Jefferson; 
Homeowner units funded: 23,218; 
Amount of grant assistance awarded: $928,511,348. 

Parish/County: Jefferson Davis; 
Homeowner units funded: 819; 
Amount of grant assistance awarded: $19,783,362. 

Parish/County: Lafayette; 
Homeowner units funded: 107; 
Amount of grant assistance awarded: $1,917,445. 

Parish/County: Lafourche; 
Homeowner units funded: 743; 
Amount of grant assistance awarded: $17,400,332. 

Parish/County: Livingston; 
Homeowner units funded: 203; 
Amount of grant assistance awarded: $4,686,996. 

Parish/County: Orleans; 
Homeowner units funded: 40,783; 
Amount of grant assistance awarded: $2,455,013,610. 

Parish/County: Plaquemines; 
Homeowner units funded: 2,436; 
Amount of grant assistance awarded: $86,614,182. 

Parish/County: Pointe Coupee; 
Homeowner units funded: 14; 
Amount of grant assistance awarded: $356,394. 

Parish/County: Sabine; 
Homeowner units funded: 27; 
Amount of grant assistance awarded: $412,876. 

Parish/County: St. Bernard; 
Homeowner units funded: 10,221; 
Amount of grant assistance awarded: $645,792,150. 

Parish/County: St. Charles; 
Homeowner units funded: 914; 
Amount of grant assistance awarded: $26,488,864. 

Parish/County: St. Helena; 
Homeowner units funded: 252; 
Amount of grant assistance awarded: $4,911,715. 

Parish/County: St. James; 
Homeowner units funded: 355; 
Amount of grant assistance awarded: $7,874,097. 

Parish/County: St. John the Baptist; 
Homeowner units funded: 1,168; 
Amount of grant assistance awarded: $21,771,460. 

Parish/County: St. Landry; 
Homeowner units funded: 156; 
Amount of grant assistance awarded: $4,158,029. 

Parish/County: St. Martin; 
Homeowner units funded: 95; 
Amount of grant assistance awarded: $1,464,994. 

Parish/County: St. Mary; 
Homeowner units funded: 786; 
Amount of grant assistance awarded: $13,017,832. 

Parish/County: St. Tammany; 
Homeowner units funded: 10,463; 
Amount of grant assistance awarded: $538,165,766. 

Parish/County: Tangipahoa; 
Homeowner units funded: 1,440; 
Amount of grant assistance awarded: $33,307,532. 

Parish/County: Terrebonne; 
Homeowner units funded: 2,350; 
Amount of grant assistance awarded: $57,426,077. 

Parish/County: Vermilion; 
Homeowner units funded: 1,541; 
Amount of grant assistance awarded: $51,310,723. 

Parish/County: Vernon; 
Homeowner units funded: 139; 
Amount of grant assistance awarded: $2,706,415. 

Parish/County: Washington; 
Homeowner units funded: 1,252; 
Amount of grant assistance awarded: $23,559,492. 

Parish/County: West Baton Rouge; 
Homeowner units funded: 13; 
Amount of grant assistance awarded: $487,795. 

Parish/County: West Feliciana; 
Homeowner units funded: 3; 
Amount of grant assistance awarded: $115,534. 

Parish/County: All parishes; 
Homeowner units funded: 116,587; 
Amount of grant assistance awarded: $5,394,894,825. 

State: Mississippi: 

Parish/County: Hancock; 
Homeowner units funded: 6,278; 
Amount of grant assistance awarded: $517,112,976. 

Parish/County: Harrison; 
Homeowner units funded: 8,364; 
Amount of grant assistance awarded: $654,079,862. 

Parish/County: Jackson; 
Homeowner units funded: 10,113; 
Amount of grant assistance awarded: $658,319,634. 

Parish/County: Pearl River; 
Homeowner units funded: 92; 
Amount of grant assistance awarded: $4,666,521. 

Parish/County: All counties; 
Homeowner units funded: 24,847; 
Amount of grant assistance awarded: $1,834,178,993. 

State: Louisiana and Mississippi; 
Parish/County: All parishes and counties; 
Homeowner units funded: 141,434; 
Amount of grant assistance awarded: $7,229,073,818. 

Source: GAO analysis of data from the Louisiana Recovery Authority and 
the Mississippi Development Authority. 

Notes: Mississippi's Homeowner Assistance Program was made available 
to residents in the state's four coastal counties (Hancock, Harrison, 
Jackson, and Pearl River). Data are as of December 2008 for Louisiana 
and Mississippi. 

[End of table] 

Table 6: Median Number of Days between Date Application Received and 
Date of First Disbursement for the Road Home Homeowner Program 
(Louisiana) and the Homeowner Assistance Program (Mississippi), by 
State and Parish/County: 

State: Louisiana: 

Parish/County: Acadia; 
Median number of days: 244. 

Parish/County: Allen; 
Median number of days: 281. 

Parish/County: Ascension; 
Median number of days: 248. 

Parish/County: Assumption; 
Median number of days: 303. 

Parish/County: Beauregard; 
Median number of days: 275. 

Parish/County: Calcasieu; 
Median number of days: 236. 

Parish/County: Cameron; 
Median number of days: 340. 

Parish/County: East Baton Rouge; 
Median number of days: 244. 

Parish/County: East Feliciana; 
Median number of days: 340. 

Parish/County: Evangeline; 
Median number of days: 284. 

Parish/County: Iberia; 
Median number of days: 301. 

Parish/County: Iberville; 
Median number of days: 371. 

Parish/County: Jefferson; 
Median number of days: 202. 

Parish/County: Jefferson Davis; 
Median number of days: 283. 

Parish/County: Lafayette; 
Median number of days: 267. 

Parish/County: Lafourche; 
Median number of days: 272. 

Parish/County: Livingston; 
Median number of days: 345. 

Parish/County: Orleans; 
Median number of days: 248. 

Parish/County: Plaquemines; 
Median number of days: 377. 

Parish/County: Pointe Coupee; 
Median number of days: 350. 

Parish/County: Sabine; 
Median number of days: 338. 

Parish/County: St. Bernard; 
Median number of days: 316. 

Parish/County: St. Charles; 
Median number of days: 230. 

Parish/County: St. Helena; 
Median number of days: 330. 

Parish/County: St. James; 
Median number of days: 281. 

Parish/County: St. John the Baptist; 
Median number of days: 226. 

Parish/County: St. Landry; 
Median number of days: 279. 

Parish/County: St. Martin; 
Median number of days: 301. 

Parish/County: St. Mary; 
Median number of days: 304. 

Parish/County: St. Tammany; 
Median number of days: 216. 

Parish/County: Tangipahoa; 
Median number of days: 280. 

Parish/County: Terrebonne; 
Median number of days: 289. 

Parish/County: Vermilion; 
Median number of days: 294. 

Parish/County: Vernon; 
Median number of days: 279. 

Parish/County: Washington; 
Median number of days: 265. 

Parish/County: West Baton Rouge; 
Median number of days: 222. 

Parish/County: West Feliciana; 
Median number of days: 130. 

State median: 
Median number of days: 245. 

State: Mississippi: 

Parish/County: Hancock; 
Median number of days: 266. 

Parish/County: Harrison; 
Median number of days: 248. 

Parish/County: Jackson; 
Median number of days: 219. 

Parish/County: Pearl River; 
Median number of days: 387. 

State median: 
Median number of days: 240. 

Source: GAO analysis of data from the Louisiana Recovery Authority and 
the Mississippi Development Authority. 

Note: Data are as of December 2008 for Louisiana and Mississippi. 

[End of table] 

[End of section] 

Appendix III: Small Rental Housing Programs Funded through the 
Community Development Block Grant Program: 

Road Home Small Rental Property Program (Louisiana): 

The Louisiana Road Home Small Rental Property Program was designed to 
provide gap financing to small rental property owners in the form of 
forgivable loans for the repair of rental units.[Footnote 57] The 
restored units must be offered at affordable rents to income eligible 
renters. After the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes, $751 million was made 
available through the small rental program. To award assistance, the 
Office of Community Development (OCD) accepted and reviewed 
applications during two rounds of funding. OCD verified basic 
eligibility information and then scored and ranked eligible 
applications. OCD then conditionally awarded loan assistance to 
applicants with the highest scores. Applicants who ranked below the 
cut-off point could apply for a later round of funding. After an 
applicant was conditionally awarded assistance, OCD completed 
verification of eligibility and issued a loan commitment letter to the 
applicant. OCD disbursed the award at closing, after the units were 
repaired and income eligible tenants were identified. Only owner 
occupants of three-and four-unit properties who received compensation 
for their home were required to deduct other benefits--including 
insurance payments, assistance from the Federal Emergency Management 
Agency (FEMA), assistance or funds from the Small Business 
Administration (SBA)--from their award. 

In December 2008, OCD announced an additional option for program 
participants, which provided up-front financing. The option was 
created to increase the production of rental housing with Community 
Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds and to accelerate the 
distribution of funds to owners. In exchange for up-front financing, 
owners must provide affordable housing once the property is repaired. 
According to OCD, program participants were sent letters informing 
them of this option in 2009. 

Small Rental Assistance Program (Mississippi): 

Mississippi's Small Rental Assistance Program was designed to provide 
forgivable loans to small rental property owners in Hancock, Harrison, 
Jackson, and Pearl River Counties for the repair of rental units as an 
incentive to provide affordable rental housing to income-eligible 
renters. After the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes, about $263 million was 
made available through the small rental program. To award assistance, 
the Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) accepted and reviewed 
applications during two rounds of funding. MDA offered four types of 
loan assistance: (1) rental income subsidy assistance, (2) repair or 
reconstruction reimbursement for Katrina-damaged property, (3) 
reconstruction or conversion reimbursement for non-Katrina damaged 
property, and (4) new construction reimbursement. To apply for loan 
assistance, applicants were required to complete an application, 
choosing one of the four types of assistance. Once applicant 
eligibility was determined, MDA contacted the applicant to schedule 
the closing. Upon closing, applicants were given 24 months to complete 
all work on the structure and obtain a certificate of occupancy. The 
loan was awarded in two installments: half when the property owner 
provided a building permit, and the remainder when the owner provided 
a certificate of occupancy. 

Table 7: Number of Rental Units Funded and Amounts of Loans Awarded 
through the Road Home Small Rental Property Program (Louisiana) and 
the Small Rental Assistance Program (Mississippi), by State and 
Parish/County: 

State: Louisiana: 

Parish/County: Acadia; 
Units funded: 4; 
Amount of loan assistance awarded: $321,000. 

Parish/County: Calcasieu; 
Units funded: 220; 
Amount of loan assistance awarded: $11,090,246. 

Parish/County: Cameron; 
Units funded: 9; 
Amount of loan assistance awarded: $701,000. 

Parish/County: Iberia; 
Units funded: 13; 
Amount of loan assistance awarded: $678,000. 

Parish/County: Jefferson; 
Units funded: 457; 
Amount of loan assistance awarded: $38,169,659. 

Parish/County: Orleans; 
Units funded: 4,459; 
Amount of loan assistance awarded: $371,709,913. 

Parish/County: Plaquemines; 
Units funded: 20; 
Amount of loan assistance awarded: $1,596,200. 

Parish/County: St. Bernard; 
Units funded: 533; 
Amount of loan assistance awarded: $42,853,623. 

Parish/County: St. Tammany; 
Units funded: 164; 
Amount of loan assistance awarded: $10,927,515. 

Parish/County: Tangipahoa; 
Units funded: 11; 
Amount of loan assistance awarded: $334,150. 

Parish/County: Terrebonne; 
Units funded: 8; 
Amount of loan assistance awarded: $400,500. 

Parish/County: Vermilion; 
Units funded: 8; 
Amount of loan assistance awarded: $275,000. 

Parish/County: Washington; 
Units funded: 26; 
Amount of loan assistance awarded: 923,550. 

Louisiana Subtotal: 
Units funded: 5,932; 
Amount of loan assistance awarded: $479,980,356. 

State: Mississippi: 

Parish/County: Hancock; 
Units funded: 226; 
Amount of loan assistance awarded: $13,804,500. 

Parish/County: Harrison; 
Units funded: 660; 
Amount of loan assistance awarded: $37,083,735. 

Parish/County: Jackson; 
Units funded: 323; 
Amount of loan assistance awarded: $16,022,500. 

Parish/County: Pearl River; 
Units funded: 82; 
Amount of loan assistance awarded: $4,727,000. 

Mississippi Subtotal: 
Units funded: 1,291; 
Amount of loan assistance awarded: $71,637,735. 

Total: 
Units funded: 7,223; 
Amount of loan assistance awarded: $551,618,091. 

Source: GAO analysis of data from the Louisiana Recovery Authority and 
the Mississippi Development Authority. 

Note: Data are as of December 2008 for Louisiana and April 2009 for 
Mississippi. 

[End of table] 

Table 8: Median Number of Days between Date Application Received and 
Date of Closing for the Road Home Small Rental Property Program 
(Louisiana) and the Small Rental Assistance Program (Mississippi), by 
State and Parish/County: 

State: Louisiana: 

Parish/County: Calcasieu; 
Median number of days: 510. 

Parish/County: Jefferson; 
Median number of days: 520. 

Parish/County: Orleans; 
Median number of days: 494. 

Parish/County: St. Bernard; 
Median number of days: 484. 

Parish/County: St. Tammany; 
Median number of days: 521. 

Parish/County: Vermilion; 
Median number of days: 624. 

State median: 
Median number of days: 494. 

State: Mississippi: 

Parish/County: Hancock; 
Median number of days: 439. 

Parish/County: Harrison; 
Median number of days: 418. 

Parish/County: Jackson; 
Median number of days: 350. 

Parish/County: Pearl River; 
Median number of days: 383. 

State median: 
Median number of days: 405. 

Source: GAO analysis of data from the Louisiana Recovery Authority and 
the Mississippi Development Authority. 

Note: We only reported data for the parishes and counties for which 
they were available. Data are as of December 2008 for Louisiana and 
April 2009 for Mississippi. 

[End of table] 

[End of section] 

Appendix IV: Programs Funded through Tax Incentives: 

The Gulf Opportunity Zone (GO Zone) Act of 2005 included tax 
incentives to assist recovery and economic revitalization for 
individuals and businesses in designated areas in several states, 
including Louisiana and Mississippi, following Hurricanes Katrina and 
Rita in 2005.[Footnote 58] The tax incentives included in this review 
are extensions of existing federal tax incentives, including low-
income housing tax credits, tax-exempt private activity bonds, and new 
markets tax credits. 

GO Zone Low-Income Housing Tax Credits: 

The GO Zone Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program was designed 
to provide tax incentives to encourage the development of affordable 
rental housing between 2006 and 2008 in the areas affected by the 2005 
Gulf Coast hurricanes. A $170 million allocation was made available to 
Louisiana and $106 million was made available to Mississippi to fund 
the development of affordable rental housing. To award the tax 
incentives, the state housing finance agencies in Louisiana and 
Mississippi used their existing procedures; they announced the 
availability of the credits through qualified allocation plans, 
processed applications, and competitively awarded credits in multiple 
funding rounds. During some funding rounds, each state gave priority 
to projects proposed in the most damaged counties. 

Recipients of credits use them or sell them through an investment 
vehicle to investors to obtain equity for the development of rental 
housing. Investors receive a direct reduction in their tax liability. 
They can claim GO Zone LIHTCs for eligible projects each year for 10 
years from the time the housing developments are placed in service. 
All of the GO Zone LIHTC-funded units must be in service before 
January 1, 2011. 

Table 9: Gulf Opportunity Zone Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (GO Zone 
LIHTC) Units Funded and in Service, by State and Parish/County: 

State: Louisiana: 

Parish: Acadia; 
Total GO Zone LIHTC units funded: Number of units: 199; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Number of units: 199; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Percent in service: 100. 

Parish: Calcasieu; 
Total GO Zone LIHTC units funded: Number of units: 1,458; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Number of units: 437; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Percent in service: 30. 

Parish: Cameron; 
Total GO Zone LIHTC units funded: Number of units: 30; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Number of units: 0; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Percent in service: 0. 

Parish: East Baton Rouge; 
Total GO Zone LIHTC units funded: Number of units: 566; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Number of units: 144; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Percent in service: 25. 

Parish: Iberia; 
Total GO Zone LIHTC units funded: Number of units: 174; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Number of units: 174; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Percent in service: 100. 

Parish: Jefferson; 
Total GO Zone LIHTC units funded: Number of units: 1,010; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Number of units: 410; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Percent in service: 41. 

Parish: Lafayette; 
Total GO Zone LIHTC units funded: Number of units: 79; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Number of units: 79; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Percent in service: 100. 

Parish: Lafourche; 
Total GO Zone LIHTC units funded: Number of units: 112; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Number of units: 112; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Percent in service: 100. 

Parish: Livingston; 
Total GO Zone LIHTC units funded: Number of units: 100; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Number of units: 100; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Percent in service: 100. 

Parish: Orleans; 
Total GO Zone LIHTC units funded: Number of units: 7,655; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Number of units: 2,933; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Percent in service: 38. 

Parish: St. Bernard; 
Total GO Zone LIHTC units funded: Number of units: 288; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Number of units: 0; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Percent in service: 0. 

Parish: St. James; 
Total GO Zone LIHTC units funded: Number of units: 132; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Number of units: 32; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Percent in service: 24. 

Parish: St. Tammany; 
Total GO Zone LIHTC units funded: Number of units: 890; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Number of units: 112; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Percent in service: 13. 

Parish: Tangipahoa; 
Total GO Zone LIHTC units funded: Number of units: 479; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Number of units: 239; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Percent in service: 50. 

Parish: Terrebonne; 
Total GO Zone LIHTC units funded: Number of units: 148; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Number of units: 0; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Percent in service: 0. 

Parish: Vermilion; 
Total GO Zone LIHTC units funded: Number of units: 513; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Number of units: 62; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Percent in service: 12. 

Parish: Washington; 
Total GO Zone LIHTC units funded: Number of units: 32; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Number of units: 0; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Percent in service: 0. 

Parish: West Baton Rouge; 
Total GO Zone LIHTC units funded: Number of units: 23; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Number of units: 23; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Percent in service: 100. 

Louisiana Subtotal: 
Total GO Zone LIHTC units funded: Number of units: 13,888; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Number of units: 5,056; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Percent in service: 36. 

State: Mississippi: 

County: Attala; 
Total GO Zone LIHTC units funded: Number of units: 120; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Number of units: 48; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Percent in service: 40. 

County: Bolivar; 
Total GO Zone LIHTC units funded: Number of units: 60; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Number of units: 0; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Percent in service: 0. 

County: Copiah; 
Total GO Zone LIHTC units funded: Number of units: 50; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Number of units: 0; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Percent in service: 0. 

County: Covington; 
Total GO Zone LIHTC units funded: Number of units: 80; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Number of units: 40; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Percent in service: 50. 

County: Forrest; 
Total GO Zone LIHTC units funded: Number of units: 366; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Number of units: 366; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Percent in service: 100. 

County: George; 
Total GO Zone LIHTC units funded: Number of units: 72; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Number of units: 72; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Percent in service: 100. 

County: Grenada; 
Total GO Zone LIHTC units funded: Number of units: 32; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Number of units: 0; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Percent in service: 0. 

County: Hancock; 
Total GO Zone LIHTC units funded: Number of units: 893; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Number of units: 36; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Percent in service: 4. 

County: Harrison; 
Total GO Zone LIHTC units funded: Number of units: 3,103; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Number of units: 746; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Percent in service: 24. 

County: Hinds; 
Total GO Zone LIHTC units funded: Number of units: 1,949; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Number of units: 1,581; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Percent in service: 79. 

County: Holmes; 
Total GO Zone LIHTC units funded: Number of units: 24; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Number of units: 0; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Percent in service: 0. 

County: Jackson; 
Total GO Zone LIHTC units funded: Number of units: 983; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Number of units: 488; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Percent in service: 50. 

County: Jones; 
Total GO Zone LIHTC units funded: Number of units: 152; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Number of units: 152; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Percent in service: 100. 

County: Lauderdale; 
Total GO Zone LIHTC units funded: Number of units: 130; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Number of units: 130; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Percent in service: 100. 

County: Lowndes; 
Total GO Zone LIHTC units funded: Number of units: 129; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Number of units: 106; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Percent in service: 82. 

County: Madison; 
Total GO Zone LIHTC units funded: Number of units: 382; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Number of units: 382; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Percent in service: 100. 

County: Neshoba; 
Total GO Zone LIHTC units funded: Number of units: 32; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Number of units: 32; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Percent in service: 100. 

County: Pearl River; 
Total GO Zone LIHTC units funded: Number of units: 179; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Number of units: 136; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Percent in service: 76. 

County: Pike; 
Total GO Zone LIHTC units funded: Number of units: 108; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Number of units: 108; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Percent in service: 100. 

County: Simpson; 
Total GO Zone LIHTC units funded: Number of units: 45; 
[Empty]; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Number of units: 0; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Percent in service: 0. 

County: Warren; 
Total GO Zone LIHTC units funded: Number of units: 108; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Number of units: 108; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Percent in service: 100. 

County: Wayne; 
Total GO Zone LIHTC units funded: Number of units: 60; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Number of units: 0; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Percent in service: 0. 

County: Winston; 
Total GO Zone LIHTC units funded: Number of units: 80; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Number of units: 80; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Percent in service: 100. 

County: Yazoo; 
Total GO Zone LIHTC units funded: Number of units: 96; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Number of units: 96; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Percent in service: 100. 

Mississippi Subtotal: 
Total GO Zone LIHTC units funded: Number of units: 9,233; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Number of units: 4,707; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Percent in service: 51. 

Total: 
Total GO Zone LIHTC units funded: Number of units: 23,140; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Number of units: 9,763; 
GO Zone LIHTC units in service: Percent in service: 42. 

Source: Louisiana Housing Finance Agency and the Mississippi Home 
Corporation. 

Note: Data on units funded are as of December 2008; data on units in-
service are as of June 2009. 

[End of table] 

GO Zone Tax-Exempt Private Activity Bonds: 

GO Zone Tax-Exempt Private Activity Bonds were made available to 
governmental entities after the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes to help 
finance the development of private facilities and activities, 
including single-family and multifamily rental housing. Louisiana 
received $7.8 billion in GO Zone Tax-Exempt Private Activity Bond 
allocation authority, and Mississippi received $4.9 billion. In 
accordance with the GO Zone Act of 2005, in Louisiana, the bond 
commission had the final authority to award GO Zone bonds, and in 
Mississippi, which did not have a bond commission, the final authority 
rested with the Governor. To award allocation authority, the states of 
Louisiana and Mississippi accepted and reviewed applications and 
allocated bond authority on a first-come, first-served basis. 
Governmental entities issue the bonds, which are repaid by the 
borrowers' payments on their loans. The GO Zone bonds allowed states 
to exceed their annual state volume caps and could be used for a 
broader range of facilities than tax-exempt private activity bonds, 
which are subject to annual state volume caps. GO Zone Tax-Exempt 
Private Activity Bonds must be used between 2006 and 2010. 

Data on the number of homeowner units funded through GO Zone Tax-
Exempt Private Activity Bonds were not readily available from either 
state program administrator. In Louisiana, 216 rental units were 
funded as of December 2008, and GO Zone Tax-Exempt Private Activity 
Bonds were not used to fund rental housing in Mississippi. 

Table 10: GO Zone Tax-Exempt Private Activity Bonds Issued for 
Homeowner and Rental Projects, by State and Amount Issued: 

State: Louisiana: Projects for homeowner units: 

Issuer: Louisiana Housing Finance Agency; 
Approved project: Single-Family Mortgage; 
Amount issued: $50,000,000; 
Parish: Multiple. 

Issuer: Louisiana Housing Finance Agency; 
Approved project: Single-Family Mortgage; 
Amount issued: $50,000,000; 
Parish: Multiple. 

Issuer: Louisiana Housing Finance Agency; 
Approved project: Single-Family Mortgage; 
Amount issued: $49,995,340; 
Parish: Multiple. 

Issuer: Jefferson Parish Finance Authority; 
Approved project: Single-Family Mortgage; 
Amount issued: $41,920,250; 
Parish: Jefferson. 

Issuer: East Baton Rouge Mortgage Finance Auth. (Mortgage Backed Sec.); 
Approved project: Single-Family Mortgage; 
Amount issued: $40,850,968; 
Parish: East Baton Rouge. 

Issuer: Finance Authority of St. Tammany Parish; 
Approved project: Single-Family Mortgage; 
Amount issued: $39,754,080; 
Parish: St. Tammany. 

Issuer: Jefferson Parish Finance Authority; 
Approved project: Single-Family Mortgage; 
Amount issued: $31,402,598; 
Parish: Jefferson. 

Issuer: St. Bernard Parish Home Mortgage Authority; 
Approved project: Single-Family Mortgage; 
Amount issued: $29,999,719; 
Parish: St. Bernard. 

Issuer: Lafayette Public Trust Financing Authority; 
Approved project: Single-Family Mortgage; 
Amount issued: $29,999,520; 
Parish: Lafayette. 

Issuer: Jefferson Parish Finance Authority; 
Approved project: Single-Family Mortgage; 
Amount issued: $28,645,000; 
Parish: Jefferson. 

Issuer: Jefferson Parish Finance Authority; 
Approved project: Single-Family Mortgage; 
Amount issued: $20,899,968; 
Parish: Jefferson. 

Issuer: Houma-Terrebonne Public Trust Financing Authority; 
Approved project: Single-Family Mortgage; 
Amount issued: $15,726,000; 
Parish: Terrebonne. 

Issuer: Denham Springs/Livingston Housing & Mrg. Finance Authority; 
Approved project: Single-Family Mortgage; 
Amount issued: $14,998,875; 
Parish: Livingston. 

State: Louisiana: Projects for rental units: 

Issuer: Louisiana Housing Finance Agency; 
Approved project: Canterbury House Apartments - Sherwood Project; 
Amount issued: $16,000,000; 
Parish: East Baton Rouge. 

State: Mississippi: Projects for homeowner units: 

Issuer: Mississippi HOME Corp.; 
Approved project: MS Home Corp., Series 2006A-1 & 2006A-2; 
Amount issued: $59,997,500; 
County: Multiple. 

Issuer: Mississippi HOME Corp.; 
Approved project: Single-Family Mortgage, Series 2006B; 
Amount issued: $37,080,000; 
County: Multiple. 

Issuer: Mississippi HOME Corp.; 
Approved project: Single-Family Mortgage, Series 2007A; 
Amount issued: $20,623,054; 
County: Multiple. 

Issuer: Mississippi HOME Corp.; 
Approved project: Single-Family Mortgage, 2006E; 
Amount issued: $20,600,000; 
County: Multiple. 

Issuer: Mississippi HOME Corp.; 
Approved project: MS Home Corp., Revenue Bonds, Series 2007C-1; 
Amount issued: $20,587,600; 
County: Multiple. 

Issuer: Mississippi HOME Corp.; 
Approved project: MS Home Corp., Revenue Bonds Series 2007B-1; 
Amount issued: $20,579,040; 
County: Multiple. 

Issuer: Mississippi HOME Corp.; 
Approved project: Single-Family Mortgage, 2006C-1 AND C-2; 
Amount issued: $19,947,500; 
County: Multiple. 

Issuer: Mississippi HOME Corp.; 
Approved project: MS Home Corp., Single-Family Series 2008A-1; 
Amount issued: $18,000,000; 
County: Multiple. 

Issuer: Mississippi HOME Corp.; 
Approved project: MS Home Corp., Revenue Bonds Series 2007D-1; 
Amount issued: $15,475,713; 
County: Multiple. 

Issuer: Mississippi HOME Corp.; 
Approved project: MS Home Corp., Revenue Bonds Series 2007E-1; 
Amount issued: $15,463,775; 
County: Multiple. 

Issuer: Mississippi HOME Corp.; 
Approved project: MS Home Corp., Single-Family Series 2008B-1; 
Amount issued: $15,000,000; 
County: Multiple. 

Source: GAO analysis of Louisiana State Bond Commission and 
Mississippi Development Authority data. 

Notes: Bonds for mixed-use projects are excluded. Louisiana data are 
as of March 2009. Mississippi data are as of December 2008. 

[End of table] 

New Markets Tax Credits for the GO Zone: 

The New Markets Tax Credit program is designed to provide a tax 
incentive to investors (including financial institutions, individuals, 
and corporations) to invest in Community Development Entities, which 
then reinvest the funds in qualified low-income community 
investments.[Footnote 59] Such investments include, but are not 
limited to, residential projects. The GO Zone Act of 2005 authorized 
$1 billion of special allocation authority to be used for the recovery 
and redevelopment of the GO Zone.[Footnote 60] To award assistance, 
the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund in the 
Department of the Treasury evaluated applications for credit 
allocations from Community Development Entities proposing activities 
in the GO Zone.[Footnote 61] The Community Development Financial 
Institutions Fund also allocated tax credit authority in 2006 and 2007. 

According to our analysis of Community Development Financial 
Institutions Fund data, 217 homeowner units and 493 rental units had 
been funded with GO Zone New Markets Tax Credit allocation authority 
through 2008.[Footnote 62] While about $28 million in authority was 
awarded for homeowner units, it is not possible to determine the 
amount of authority awarded for rental units that are funded as a part 
of mixed-use projects. 

Table 11: New Markets Tax Credit Allocations for Use in the Gulf 
Opportunity Zone, Largest to Smallest: 

Year: 2006: 

Applicant name: Hibernia Community Renewal Fund, LLC; 
Award amount: $100,000,000; 
Predominant financing activity: Business financing; 
Market: LA. 

Applicant name: National Cities Fund, LLC; 
Award amount: $75,000,000; 
Predominant financing activity: Real estate financing: for-sale 
housing; 
Market: LA, MS[A]. 

Applicant name: Liberty Bank and Trust Company; 
Award amount: $60,000,000; 
Predominant financing activity: Business financing; 
Market: LA. 

Applicant name: Urban Development Fund, LLC; 
Award amount: $60,000,000; 
Predominant financing activity: Real estate financing: retail; 
Market: LA, MS[A]. 

Applicant name: Chase New Markets Corporation; 
Award amount: 50,000,000; 
Predominant financing activity: Real estate financing: retail; 
Market: LA, MS[A]. 

Applicant name: Chevron NMTC Fund, LLC; 
Award amount: $50,000,000; 
Predominant financing activity: Real estate financing and mixed-use 
(housing and commercial); 
Market: LA, MS[A]. 

Applicant name: CCG Community Partners, LLC; 
Award amount: $43,000,000; 
Predominant financing activity: Real estate financing: mixed-use 
(housing and commercial); 
Market: LA, MS[A]. 

Applicant name: American Community Renewable Energy Fund, LLC; 
Award amount: $42,000,000; 
Predominant financing activity: Business financing; 
Market: LA, MS[A]. 

Applicant name: Greystone Community Development Entity, LLC; 
Award amount: $35,000,000; 
Predominant financing activity: Real estate financing: mixed-use 
(housing and commercial); 
Market: LA, MS[A]. 

Applicant name: National Tribal Development Association; 
Award amount: $30,000,000; 
Predominant financing activity: Business financing; 
Market: LA, MS[A]. 

Applicant name: National New Markets Fund, LLC; 
Award amount: $25,000,000; 
Predominant financing activity: Real estate financing: mixed-use 
(housing and commercial); 
Market: LA, MS[A]. 

Applicant name: Enterprise Corporation of the Delta; 
Award amount: $15,000,000; 
Predominant financing activity: Business financing; 
Market: LA. 

Applicant name: Capital Link, Inc.; 
Award amount: $15,000,000; 
Predominant financing activity: Real estate financing: community 
facilities; 
Market: LA, MS[A]. 

Year: 2007: 

Applicant name: Capital One Community Renewal Fund, LLC; 
Award amount: $60,000,000; 
Predominant financing activity: Real estate financing: retail; 
Market: LA. 

Applicant name: National Trust Community Investment Corporation; 
Award amount: $60,000,000; 
Predominant financing activity: Real estate financing: community 
facilities; 
Market: LA, MS[A]. 

Applicant name: St. Bernard Parish Redevelopment, LLC; 
Award amount: $50,000,000; 
Predominant financing activity: Real estate financing: mixed use 
(housing and commercial); 
Market: St. Bernard Parish, LA. 

Applicant name: Whitney New Markets Fund, LLC; 
Award amount: $50,000,000; 
Predominant financing activity: Real estate financing: for-sale 
housing; 
Market: LA, MS[A]. 

Applicant name: CCG Community Partners, LLC; 
Award amount: $40,000,000; 
Predominant financing activity: Real estate financing: mixed use 
(housing and commercial); 
Market: LA, MS[A]. 

Applicant name: American Community Renewable Energy Fund, LLC; 
Award amount: $30,000,000; 
Predominant financing activity: Business financing; 
Market: LA, MS[A]. 

Applicant name: Advantage Capital Community Development Fund, LLC; 
Award amount: $28,000,000; 
Predominant financing activity: Business financing; 
Market: LA, MS[A]. 

Applicant name: HFHI-SA NMTC I, LLC; 
Award amount: $25,000,000; 
Predominant financing activity: Real estate financing: for-sale 
housing; 
Market: LA, MS[A]. 

Applicant name: Community Development Funding, LLC; 
Award amount: $20,000,000; 
Predominant financing activity: Real estate financing: community 
facilities; 
Market: LA, MS[A]. 

Applicant name: $MBFC Community Development Entity, Inc.; 
Award amount: 20,000,000; 
Predominant financing activity: Business financing; 
Market: MS. 

Applicant name: The Valued Advisor Fund; 
Award amount: $17,000,000; 
Predominant financing activity: Financing of other Community 
Development Entities; 
Market: LA, MS[A]. 

Total: 
Award amount: $1,000,000,000. 

Source: Community Development Financial Institutions Fund. 

Note: Data are for activities undertaken through December 2008. 

[A] The market included Alabama. 

[End of table] 

[End of section] 

Appendix V: Home Disaster and Physical Disaster Business Loan Programs: 

The Small Business Administration (SBA) provides federal long-range 
recovery funding after a presidentially declared or SBA-declared 
disaster through the Disaster Loan Program. After the 2005 hurricanes, 
homeowners could apply to this program for a Home Disaster Loan up to 
a maximum of $200,000 for real estate repairs.[Footnote 63] Business 
owners (including rental property owners) could apply for a Physical 
Disaster Business Loan up to a maximum of $2 million for real estate 
and personal property. Homeowners and business owners could use loan 
funds to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate not 
covered by insurance or other assistance. Business owners could also 
use loan funds for inventory, supplies, machinery and equipment, and 
other business assets owned by the business and not covered by 
insurance or other assistance.[Footnote 64] After the hurricanes, SBA 
sent a loan application package to homeowners and business owners that 
first registered with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) 
and met initial income eligibility criteria. 

To make a disaster loan, SBA reviewed the loan application package, 
and applicants were approved or denied based on their ability to repay 
the loan and other criteria, such as credit history. After the 
application was approved, SBA began the loan process, which included 
loss verification, underwriting (which includes the decision to loan 
funds), approval, closing for loan authorization and agreement, and 
initial disbursement. SBA loan applications became available after the 
hurricanes occurred and incremental application deadlines were 
determined for each state. For Louisiana and Mississippi, the 
application period for Hurricane Katrina was October 2005 through 
April 2006. For Louisiana, the application period for Hurricane Rita 
was November 2005 through April 2006. 

Table 12: Homeowner Units Funded and Loan Amounts Approved through the 
Home Disaster Loan Program, by State and Parish/County: 

State: Louisiana: 

Parish/County: Acadia; 
Homeowner units funded: 128; 
Amount loaned: $4,385,700. 

Parish/County: Allen; 
Homeowner units funded: 67; 
Amount loaned: $2,453,800. 

Parish/County: Ascension; 
Homeowner units funded: 107; 
Amount loaned: $2,447,600. 

Parish/County: Assumption; 
Homeowner units funded: 42; 
Amount loaned: $861,800. 

Parish/County: Avoyelles; 
Homeowner units funded: 2; 
Amount loaned: $15,000. 

Parish/County: Beauregard; 
Homeowner units funded: 271; 
Amount loaned: $10,009,040. 

Parish/County: Calcasieu; 
Homeowner units funded: 2,309; 
Amount loaned: $103,538,121. 

Parish/County: Cameron; 
Homeowner units funded: 635; 
Amount loaned: $54,997,352. 

Parish/County: East Baton Rouge; 
Homeowner units funded: 236; 
Amount loaned: $5,066,500. 

Parish/County: East Feliciana; 
Homeowner units funded: 17; 
Amount loaned: $283,000. 

Parish/County: Evangeline; 
Homeowner units funded: 18; 
Amount loaned: $387,100. 

Parish/County: Iberia; 
Homeowner units funded: 273; 
Amount loaned: $11,862,700. 

Parish/County: Iberville; 
Homeowner units funded: 24; 
Amount loaned: $833,800. 

Parish/County: Jefferson; 
Homeowner units funded: 8,829; 
Amount loaned: $281,729,853. 

Parish/County: Jefferson Davis; 
Homeowner units funded: 198; 
Amount loaned: $7,732,000. 

Parish/County: Lafayette; 
Homeowner units funded: 79; 
Amount loaned: $1,964,300. 

Parish/County: Lafourche; 
Homeowner units funded: 444; 
Amount loaned: $10,354,700. 

Parish/County: Livingston; 
Homeowner units funded: 203; 
Amount loaned: $4,679,900. 

Parish/County: Orleans; 
Homeowner units funded: 15,614; 
Amount loaned: $1,141,120,125. 

Parish/County: Plaquemines; 
Homeowner units funded: 1,482; 
Amount loaned: $114,393,447. 

Parish/County: Pointe Coupee; 
Homeowner units funded: 10; 
Amount loaned: $292,000. 

Parish/County: Rapides; 
Homeowner units funded: 3; 
Amount loaned: $67,500. 

Parish/County: Sabine; 
Homeowner units funded: 25; 
Amount loaned: $645,600. 

Parish/County: St. Bernard; 
Homeowner units funded: 8,005; 
Amount loaned: $792,869,473. 

Parish/County: St. Charles; 
Homeowner units funded: 573; 
Amount loaned: $12,166,884. 

Parish/County: St. Helena; 
Homeowner units funded: 42; 
Amount loaned: $832,500. 

Parish/County: St. James; 
Homeowner units funded: 79; 
Amount loaned: $1,921,600. 

Parish/County: St. John the Baptist; 
Homeowner units funded: 343; 
Amount loaned: $6,625,800. 

Parish/County: St. Landry; 
Homeowner units funded: 54; 
Amount loaned: $1,263,600. 

Parish/County: St. Martin; 
Homeowner units funded: 38; 
Amount loaned: $1,042,000. 

Parish/County: St. Mary; 
Homeowner units funded: 97; 
Amount loaned: $2,506,564. 

Parish/County: St. Tammany; 
Homeowner units funded: 5,761; 
Amount loaned: $277,961,281. 

Parish/County: Tangipahoa; 
Homeowner units funded: 540; 
Amount loaned: $13,825,000. 

Parish/County: Terrebonne; 
Homeowner units funded: 586; 
Amount loaned: $19,489,074. 

Parish/County: Vermilion; 
Homeowner units funded: 559; 
Amount loaned: $32,443,837. 

Parish/County: Vernon; 
Homeowner units funded: 95; 
Amount loaned: $2,332,585. 

Parish/County: Washington; 
Homeowner units funded: 558; 
Amount loaned: $19,477,830. 

Parish/County: West Baton Rouge; 
Homeowner units funded: 23; 
Amount loaned: $823,000. 

Parish/County: West Feliciana; 
Homeowner units funded: 1; 
Amount loaned: 10,000. 

Parish/County: Winn; 
Homeowner units funded: 1; 
Amount loaned: $38,200. 

Louisiana: Subtotal: 
Homeowner units funded: 48,371; 
Amount loaned: $2,945,750,166. 

State: Mississippi: 

Parish/County: Adams; 
Homeowner units funded: 22; 
Amount loaned: $435,400. 

Parish/County: Amite; 
Homeowner units funded: 23; 
Amount loaned: $459,100. 

Parish/County: Attala; 
Homeowner units funded: 6; 
Amount loaned: $106,700. 

Parish/County: Choctaw; 
Homeowner units funded: 4; 
Amount loaned: $220,600. 

Parish/County: Claiborne; 
Homeowner units funded: 13; 
Amount loaned: $190,943. 

Parish/County: Clarke; 
Homeowner units funded: 80; 
Amount loaned: $1,542,000. 

Parish/County: Clay; 
Homeowner units funded: 1; 
Amount loaned: $25,000. 

Parish/County: Copiah; 
Homeowner units funded: 58; 
Amount loaned: $1,501,572. 

Parish/County: Covington; 
Homeowner units funded: 154; 
Amount loaned: $3,126,600. 

Parish/County: Forrest; 
Homeowner units funded: 664; 
Amount loaned: $17,666,135. 

Parish/County: Franklin; 
Homeowner units funded: 6; 
Amount loaned: $152,700. 

Parish/County: George; 
Homeowner units funded: 306; 
Amount loaned: $7,928,500. 

Parish/County: Greene; 
Homeowner units funded: 74; 
Amount loaned: $1,922,700. 

Parish/County: Hancock; 
Homeowner units funded: 3,505; 
Amount loaned: $256,455,013. 

Parish/County: Harrison; 
Homeowner units funded: 7,849; 
Amount loaned: $413,763,541. 

Parish/County: Hinds; 
Homeowner units funded: 175; 
Amount loaned: $2,584,079. 

Parish/County: Holmes; 
Homeowner units funded: 6; 
Amount loaned: $108,700. 

Parish/County: Humphreys; 
Homeowner units funded: 2; 
Amount loaned: $51,000. 

Parish/County: Jackson; 
Homeowner units funded: 5,800; 
Amount loaned: $271,344,095. 

Parish/County: Jasper; 
Homeowner units funded: 119; 
Amount loaned: $2,004,200. 

Parish/County: Jefferson; 
Homeowner units funded: 9; 
Amount loaned: $378,900. 

Parish/County: Jefferson Davis; 
Homeowner units funded: 84; 
Amount loaned: $1,229,500. 

Parish/County: Jones; 
Homeowner units funded: 492; 
Amount loaned: $12,652,400. 

Parish/County: Kemper; 
Homeowner units funded: 14; 
Amount loaned: $213,000. 

Parish/County: Lamar; 
Homeowner units funded: 312; 
Amount loaned: $8,387,300. 

Parish/County: Lauderdale; 
Homeowner units funded: 132; 
Amount loaned: $2,082,500. 

Parish/County: Lawrence; 
Homeowner units funded: 68; 
Amount loaned: $1,311,800. 

Parish/County: Leake; 
Homeowner units funded: 8; 
Amount loaned: $257,200. 

Parish/County: Lincoln; 
Homeowner units funded: 92; 
Amount loaned: $2,126,800. 

Parish/County: Lowndes; 
Homeowner units funded: 17; 
Amount loaned: $413,000. 

Parish/County: Madison; 
Homeowner units funded: 33; 
Amount loaned: $480,300. 

Parish/County: Marion; 
Homeowner units funded: 195; 
Amount loaned: $5,385,300. 

Parish/County: Neshoba; 
Homeowner units funded: 17; 
Amount loaned: $247,700. 

Parish/County: Newton; 
Homeowner units funded: 44; 
Amount loaned: $950,300. 

Parish/County: Noxubee; 
Homeowner units funded: 8; 
Amount loaned: $205,200. 

Parish/County: Oktibbeha; 
Homeowner units funded: 9; 
Amount loaned: $231,300. 

Parish/County: Pearl River; 
Homeowner units funded: 1,169; 
Amount loaned: $36,874,217. 

Parish/County: Perry; 
Homeowner units funded: 82; 
Amount loaned: $1,691,400. 

Parish/County: Pike; 
Homeowner units funded: 119; 
Amount loaned: $2,271,600. 

Parish/County: Rankin; 
Homeowner units funded: 50; 
Amount loaned: $905,100. 

Parish/County: Scott; 
Homeowner units funded: 23; 
Amount loaned: $372,000. 

Parish/County: Simpson; 
Homeowner units funded: 59; 
Amount loaned: $1,067,100. 

Parish/County: Smith; 
Homeowner units funded: 65; 
Amount loaned: $899,800. 

Parish/County: Stone; 
Homeowner units funded: 381; 
Amount loaned: $8,754,800. 

Parish/County: Walthall; 
Homeowner units funded: 150; 
Amount loaned: $3,860,900. 

Parish/County: Warren; 
Homeowner units funded: 18; 
Amount loaned: $358,000. 

Parish/County: Wayne; 
Homeowner units funded: 71; 
Amount loaned: $1,644,200. 

Parish/County: Wilkinson; 
Homeowner units funded: 17; 
Amount loaned: $282,500. 

Parish/County: Winston; 
Homeowner units funded: 10; 
Amount loaned: $187,100. 

Parish/County: Yazoo; 
Homeowner units funded: 10; 
Amount loaned: $152,800. 

Mississippi: Subtotal: 
Homeowner units funded: 22,625; 
Amount loaned: $1,077,462,595. 

Total: 
Homeowner units funded: 70,996; 
Amount loaned: $4,023,212,762. 

Source: GAO analysis of SBA Home Disaster Loan data. 

Notes: Data are as of July 2009. Data include amounts loaned to 
homeowners for real estate repairs only through the Home Disaster Loan 
program. Amounts loaned for other eligible uses under the Home 
Disaster Loan Program are not included. 

[End of table] 

Table 13: Number of Loans Approved and Amounts Loaned through the 
Physical Disaster Business Loan Program, by State and Parish/County: 

State: Louisiana: 

Parish/County: Acadia; 
Number of loans approved: 2; 
Amount loaned: $87,000. 

Parish/County: Allen; 
Number of loans approved: 2; 
Amount loaned: $3,125. 

Parish/County: Ascension; 
Number of loans approved: 5; 
Amount loaned: $121,075. 

Parish/County: Assumption; 
Number of loans approved: 1; 
Amount loaned: $6,250. 

Parish/County: Beauregard; 
Number of loans approved: 3; 
Amount loaned: $15,958. 

Parish/County: Calcasieu; 
Number of loans approved: 89; 
Amount loaned: $5,574,946. 

Parish/County: Cameron; 
Number of loans approved: 8; 
Amount loaned: $730,225. 

Parish/County: East Baton Rouge; 
Number of loans approved: 10; 
Amount loaned: $227,117. 

Parish/County: Iberia; 
Number of loans approved: 5; 
Amount loaned: $114,825. 

Parish/County: Jackson; 
Number of loans approved: 1; 
Amount loaned: $71,700. 

Parish/County: Jefferson; 
Number of loans approved: 454; 
Amount loaned: $19,804,222. 

Parish/County: Jefferson Davis; 
Number of loans approved: 1; 
Amount loaned: $9,000. 

Parish/County: Lafayette; 
Number of loans approved: 3; 
Amount loaned: $140,158. 

Parish/County: Lafourche; 
Number of loans approved: 16; 
Amount loaned: $655,940. 

Parish/County: Livingston; 
Number of loans approved: 3; 
Amount loaned: $24,862. 

Parish/County: Orleans; 
Number of loans approved: 1,883; 
Amount loaned: $142,494,756. 

Parish/County: Plaquemines; 
Number of loans approved: 25; 
Amount loaned: $946,059. 

Parish/County: St. Bernard; 
Number of loans approved: 301; 
Amount loaned: $24,915,985. 

Parish/County: St. Charles; 
Number of loans approved: 13; 
Amount loaned: $872,327. 

Parish/County: St. James; 
Number of loans approved: 3; 
Amount loaned: $25,914. 

Parish/County: St. John the Baptist; 
Number of loans approved: 16; 
Amount loaned: $431,773. 

Parish/County: St. Landry; 
Number of loans approved: 2; 
Amount loaned: $19,000. 

Parish/County: St. Martin; 
Number of loans approved: 1; 
Amount loaned: $37,500. 

Parish/County: St. Mary; 
Number of loans approved: 2; 
Amount loaned: $94,900. 

Parish/County: St. Tammany; 
Number of loans approved: 158; 
Amount loaned: $9,192,034. 

Parish/County: Tangipahoa; 
Number of loans approved: 22; 
Amount loaned: $413,456. 

Parish/County: Terrebonne; 
Number of loans approved: 4; 
Amount loaned: $120,200. 

Parish/County: Vermillion; 
Number of loans approved: 4; 
Amount loaned: $205,300. 

Parish/County: Vernon; 
Number of loans approved: 4; 
Amount loaned: $67,422. 

Parish/County: Washington; 
Number of loans approved: 16; 
Amount loaned: $425,550. 

Louisiana: Subtotal; 
Number of loans approved: 3,057; 
Amount loaned: $207,848,578. 

State: Mississippi: 

Parish/County: Clarke; 
Number of loans approved: 2; 
Amount loaned: $5,100. 

Parish/County: Covington; 
Number of loans approved: 3; 
Amount loaned: $29,085. 

Parish/County: Forrest; 
Number of loans approved: 38; 
Amount loaned: $1,198,488. 

Parish/County: George; 
Number of loans approved: 10; 
Amount loaned: $274,450. 

Parish/County: Hancock; 
Number of loans approved: 167; 
Amount loaned: $10,605,634. 

Parish/County: Harrison; 
Number of loans approved: 492; 
Amount loaned: $31,372,768. 

Parish/County: Hinds; 
Number of loans approved: 5; 
Amount loaned: $113,628. 

Parish/County: Jackson; 
Number of loans approved: 264; 
Amount loaned: $14,790,614. 

Parish/County: Jasper; 
Number of loans approved: 2; 
Amount loaned: $79,900. 

Parish/County: Jefferson; 
Number of loans approved: 1; 
Amount loaned: $11,000. 

Parish/County: Jefferson Davis; 
Number of loans approved: 2; 
Amount loaned: $19,700. 

Parish/County: Jones; 
Number of loans approved: 15; 
Amount loaned: $554,811. 

Parish/County: Lamar; 
Number of loans approved: 4; 
Amount loaned: $42,182. 

Parish/County: Lawrence; 
Number of loans approved: 1; 
Amount loaned: $31,800. 

Parish/County: Lincoln; 
Number of loans approved: 2; 
Amount loaned: $111,900. 

Parish/County: Lowndes; 
Number of loans approved: 3; 
Amount loaned: $608,225. 

Parish/County: Madison; 
Number of loans approved: 1; 
Amount loaned: $56,400. 

Parish/County: Marion; 
Number of loans approved: 5; 
Amount loaned: $128,100. 

Parish/County: Newton; 
Number of loans approved: 1; 
Amount loaned: $10,000. 

Parish/County: Noxubee; 
Number of loans approved: 1; 
Amount loaned: $10,000. 

Parish/County: Pearl; 
Number of loans approved: 28; 
Amount loaned: $1,548,274. 

Parish/County: Pike; 
Number of loans approved: 9; 
Amount loaned: $421,800. 

Parish/County: Simpson; 
Number of loans approved: 1; 
Amount loaned: $10,000. 

Parish/County: Stone; 
Number of loans approved: 10; 
Amount loaned: $164,060. 

Parish/County: Walthall; 
Number of loans approved: 4; 
Amount loaned: $98,267. 

Parish/County: Warren; 
Number of loans approved: 3; 
Amount loaned: $46,275. 

Parish/County: Wayne; 
Number of loans approved: 4; 
Amount loaned: $63,789. 

Parish/County: Wilkinson; 
Number of loans approved: 2; 
Amount loaned: $51,900. 

Parish/County: Yazoo; 
Number of loans approved: 3; 
Amount loaned: $24,600. 

Mississippi: Subtotal; 
Number of loans approved: 1,083; 
Amount loaned: $62,482,749. 

Total: 
Number of loans approved: 3,790; 
Amount loaned: $270,331,328. 

Source: GAO analysis of SBA Physical Disaster Business Loan data. 

Notes: Data are as of August 2009. Data include amounts loaned for 
real estate repairs for residential rental properties only through the 
Physical Disaster Business Loan program. Due to data limitations, 
these data may not include all loans made for the repair of 
residential rental properties. 

[End of table] 

Unit-level data are not readily available for the Physical Disaster 
Business Loan Program. 

Some loans included properties in multiple counties, parishes, and/or 
states. The total includes these loans only once, therefore county-or 
parish-level numbers will not add up to the totals for each state. 

For loans made for properties in multiple counties, the loan amounts 
by county were estimated based on the number of properties in each 
county. 

[End of section] 

Appendix VI: Other Programs Reviewed: 

Capital Fund Emergency/Natural Disaster Funding: 

The Capital Fund Emergency/Natural Disaster Funding Program is 
administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) 
and is designed to provide grants to public housing authorities (PHA) 
for the repair or replacement of public housing that is damaged or 
destroyed by emergencies or natural phenomena, such as hurricanes, 
flooding, or earthquakes. Congress appropriates funds to this program 
each year. For 2005, a total of $29.7 million was appropriated for the 
Capital Fund reserve. To award assistance after the 2005 Gulf Coast 
hurricanes, HUD reviewed applications from PHAs and awarded grants on 
a first-come, first-served basis. Grant funds pay for a PHA's needs 
that are in excess of its insurance coverage or other federal 
assistance, such as assistance provided by the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency (FEMA). 

Table 14: Rental Units Assisted and Amounts Awarded through the 2005 
Capital Fund Emergency/Natural Disaster Funding Program, by State: 

State: Louisiana; 
Housing authority: Housing Authority of New Orleans; 
Rental units assisted: 1,684; 
Amount awarded: $21,804,000. 

State: Mississippi; 
Housing authority: Biloxi Housing Authority; 
Rental units assisted: 385; 
Amount awarded: $7,881,000. 

Source: The Housing Authority of New Orleans and the Biloxi Housing 
Authority. 

Notes: Unit data are as of December 2008 for Louisiana and August 2009 
for Mississippi. Parish Housing Authority of Alabama was awarded the 
balance of the funds available in the reserve fund for damage related 
to Hurricane Katrina. 

[End of table] 

Hazard Mitigation Grant Program: 

The Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) is administered by FEMA. 
The HMGP provides grants to states, local governments, and Indian 
tribes for long-term hazard mitigation projects following a major 
disaster declaration. The program is intended to reduce the loss of 
life and property in future disasters by funding mitigation measures. 
HMGP funding is calculated based on the percentage of the funds spent 
on Public and Individual Assistance for each presidentially declared 
disaster. Generally about 12 months after a disaster, FEMA determines 
the amount of HMGP funds to be allocated to each affected state. 

To be eligible for HMGP assistance, a project must provide a long-term 
solution to a specific risk, such as elevating a flood-prone property 
or acquiring a flood-prone property for demolition or relocation. 
During the recovery phase of a disaster, local jurisdictions select 
projects that could reduce property damage from future disasters and 
submit grant applications to the state, and the state submits 
applications to FEMA. FEMA conducts a final eligibility review to 
ensure compliance with federal regulations. FEMA generally requires 
states to submit their project applications within 12 months of the 
date the disaster was declared. However, after the 2005 Gulf Coast 
hurricanes, FEMA provided a number of deadline extensions for 
Louisiana and Mississippi, with the final deadline for Mississippi set 
at June 30, 2009, and at October 30, 2009, for Louisiana. 

Table 15: Approved Hazard Mitigation Grant Program Projects for 
Louisiana and Mississippi, by State: 

State: Louisiana; 
Number of properties approved: 4,016; 
Amount of federal funds obligated: $210,098,045. 

State: Mississippi; 
Number of properties approved: 151; 
Amount of federal funds obligated: 9,234,429. 

State: Total; 
Number of properties approved: 4,167; 
Amount of federal funds obligated: $219,332,474. 

Source: GAO analysis of FEMA HMGP data. 

Note: Data are as of December 2008. Unit-level data were not available. 

[End of table] 

Individuals and Households Program: Repair or Replacement Assistance: 

The Individuals and Households Program (IHP) makes grants and direct 
services available to disaster victims. Several types of assistance 
are available through IHP, including Repair Assistance and Replacement 
Assistance.[Footnote 65] Repair and Replacement Assistance was 
available for the repair of homes to safe and sanitary living 
conditions, and to help replace disaster-damaged homes. Following 
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the maximum allowance for repair 
assistance was $5,200 and the maximum allowance for replacement 
assistance was $10,500. 

FEMA reviews applications and conducts property inspections to 
determine eligibility and grant amounts. Generally, FEMA accepts 
applications for 60 days from the disaster date, but the application 
period was extended to April 2006 after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. 
To be eligible for assistance, the applicant must be a U.S. citizen, a 
non-citizen national, or a qualified alien, and must have owned a home 
in a presidentially declared disaster area. 

Table 16: Individuals and Households Program: Repair or Replacement 
Assistance Awarded and Homeowner Units Assisted in Louisiana and 
Mississippi, by State and Parish/County: 

State: Louisiana: 

Parish/County: Acadia; 
Repair assistance awarded: $2,317,692; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 1,203; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $245,234; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 25; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $18,130; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 2. 

Parish/County: Allen; 
Repair assistance awarded: $1,285,448; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 925; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $147,000; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 14; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $16,700; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 2. 

Parish/County: Ascension; 
Repair assistance awarded: $1,721,933; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 1,323; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $178,500; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 17; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $43,770; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 5. 

Parish/County: Assumption; 
Repair assistance awarded: $1,605,648; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 927; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $42,000; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 4; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $9,824; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 2. 

Parish/County: Beauregard; 
Repair assistance awarded: $3,042,163; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 1,755; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $406,283; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 39; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $26,837; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 3. 

Parish/County: Calcasieu; 
Repair assistance awarded: $14,782,400; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 6,797; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $3,943,716; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 383; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $620,976; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 62. 

Parish/County: Cameron; 
Repair assistance awarded: $2,135,633; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 489; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $8,465,520; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 824; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $1,173,795; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 116. 

Parish/County: East Baton Rouge; 
Repair assistance awarded: $2,827,233; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 2,765; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $42,000; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 5; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $10,500; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 1. 

Parish/County: East Feliciana; 
Repair assistance awarded: $665,467; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 502; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $0; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 0; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $15,700; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 1. 

Parish/County: Evangeline; 
Repair assistance awarded: $463,930; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 352; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $63,000; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 6; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $14,551; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 2. 

Parish/County: Iberia; 
Repair assistance awarded: $4,975,644; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 2,197; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $656,319; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 64; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $139,622; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 14. 

Parish/County: Iberville; 
Repair assistance awarded: $1,169,652; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 892; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $31,500; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 3; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $37,151; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 4. 

Parish/County: Jefferson; 
Repair assistance awarded: $28,903,886; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 9,769; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $7,713,267; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 801; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $494,059; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 51. 

Parish/County: Jefferson Davis; 
Repair assistance awarded: $1,660,503; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 950; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $283,392; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 27; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $44,134; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 4. 

Parish/County: Lafayette; 
Repair assistance awarded: $1,747,921; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 1,087; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $157,500; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 15; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $10,500; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 1. 

Parish/County: Lafourche; 
Repair assistance awarded: $4,249,156; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 2,455; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $660,392; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 63; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $248,765; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 25. 

Parish/County: Livingston; 
Repair assistance awarded: $3,606,550; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 2,559; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $409,500; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 40; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $99,700; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 10. 

Parish/County: Orleans; 
Repair assistance awarded: $25,699,952; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 6,812; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $159,311,004; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 15,487; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $5,987,241; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 617. 

Parish/County: Plaquemines; 
Repair assistance awarded: $2,469,772; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 683; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $24,398,166; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 2,394; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $1,093,364; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 113. 

Parish/County: Pointe Coupee; 
Repair assistance awarded: $359,617; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 249; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $21,000; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 2; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $0; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 0. 

Parish/County: Sabine; 
Repair assistance awarded: $624,801; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 436; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $73,500; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 7; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $21,000; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 2. 

Parish/County: St. Bernard; 
Repair assistance awarded: $8,734,478; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 1,827; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $33,239,976; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 3,253; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $2,759,724; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 280. 

Parish/County: St. Charles; 
Repair assistance awarded: $2,360,106; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 1,306; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $281,722; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 27; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $126,000; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 12. 

Parish/County: St. Helena; 
Repair assistance awarded: $644,216; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 488; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $73,500; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 7; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $10,500; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 1. 

Parish/County: St. James; 
Repair assistance awarded: $1,465,395; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 853; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $63,000; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 6; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $10,500; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 1. 

Parish/County: St. John the Baptist; 
Repair assistance awarded: $2,373,360; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 1,334; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $366,585; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 35; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $34,972; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 5. 

Parish/County: St. Landry; 
Repair assistance awarded: $1,662,531; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 1,391; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $52,500; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 5; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $0; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 0. 

Parish/County: St. Martin; 
Repair assistance awarded: $1,344,000; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 911; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $52,500; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 5; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $21,000; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 2. 

Parish/County: St. Mary; 
Repair assistance awarded: $2,940,521; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 1,745; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $336,100; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 33; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $93,903; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 9. 

Parish/County: St. Tammany; 
Repair assistance awarded: $26,910,824; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 9,201; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $5,585,873; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 551; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $1,337,662; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 136. 

Parish/County: Tangipahoa; 
Repair assistance awarded: $7,761,196; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 5,306; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $1,032,549; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 102; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $312,773; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 32. 

Parish/County: Terrebonne; 
Repair assistance awarded: $11,144,445; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 4,582; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $838,990; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 80; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $203,735; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 20. 

Parish/County: Vermilion; 
Repair assistance awarded: $8,624,493; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 2,843; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $1,420,556; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 136; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $200,221; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 21. 

Parish/County: Vernon; 
Repair assistance awarded: $1,626,824; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 1,071; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $132,496; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 12; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $21,962; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 2. 

Parish/County: Washington; 
Repair assistance awarded: $6,572,981; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 2,894; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $959,907; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 93; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $345,687; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 33. 

Parish/County: West Baton Rouge; 
Repair assistance awarded: $335,327; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 315; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $10,500; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 1; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $10,500; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 1. 

Parish/County: West Feliciana; 
Repair assistance awarded: $149,564; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 107; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $0; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 0; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $0; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 0. 

Louisiana: Subtotal; 
Repair assistance awarded: $190,965,263; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 81,301; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $251,695,546; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 24,566; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $15,615,457; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 1,592. 

State: Mississippi: 

Parish/County: Adams; 
Repair assistance awarded: $$684,598; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 598; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $$31,500; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 3; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $0; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 0. 

Parish/County: Amite; 
Repair assistance awarded: $533,378; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 620; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $31,500; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 3; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $10,500; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 1. 

Parish/County: Attala; 
Repair assistance awarded: $134,242; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 134; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $21,000; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 2; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $10,500; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 1. 

Parish/County: Choctaw; 
Repair assistance awarded: $62,968; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 57; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $0; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 0; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $0; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 0. 

Parish/County: Claiborne; 
Repair assistance awarded: $412,378; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 400; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $31,500; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 3; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $31,500; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 3. 

Parish/County: Clarke; 
Repair assistance awarded: $1,140,112; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 702; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $189,000; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 18; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $63,000; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 6. 

Parish/County: Copiah; 
Repair assistance awarded: $1,036,412; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 983; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $73,500; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 7; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $10,500; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 1. 

Parish/County: Covington; 
Repair assistance awarded: $1,277,046; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 925; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $262,500; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 25; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $134,876; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 13. 

Parish/County: Forrest; 
Repair assistance awarded: $4,351,696; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 2,149; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $651,000; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 62; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $220,411; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 22. 

Parish/County: Franklin; 
Repair assistance awarded: $259,946; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 213; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $21,000; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 2; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $0; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 0. 

Parish/County: George; 
Repair assistance awarded: $3,262,715; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 1,506; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $491,357; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 47; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $431,771; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 42. 

Parish/County: Greene; 
Repair assistance awarded: $1,222,950; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 673; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $199,500; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 19; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $159,007; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 16. 

Parish/County: Hancock; 
Repair assistance awarded: $18,479,544; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 4,082; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $20,903,327; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 2,033; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $4,225,390; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 425. 

Parish/County: Harrison; 
Repair assistance awarded: $34,452,180; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 9,058; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $22,421,997; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 2,194; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $5,035,254; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 499. 

Parish/County: Hinds; 
Repair assistance awarded: $1,885,691; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 1,828; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $41,003; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 4; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $10,500; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 1. 

Parish/County: Holmes; 
Repair assistance awarded: $393,861; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 355; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $21,000; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 2; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $10,500; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 1. 

Parish/County: Humphreys; 
Repair assistance awarded: $86,991; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 83; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $10,500; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 1; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $0; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 0. 

Parish/County: Jackson; 
Repair assistance awarded: $44,405,898; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 10,711; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $6,490,725; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 637; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $1,744,454; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 176. 

Parish/County: Jasper; 
Repair assistance awarded: $1,454,331; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 773; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $280,361; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 27; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $21,000; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 2. 

Parish/County: Jefferson; 
Repair assistance awarded: $566,201; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 422; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $73,500; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 7; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $31,500; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 3. 

Parish/County: Jefferson Davis; 
Repair assistance awarded: $1,064,136; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 663; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $105,000; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 10; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $31,500; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 3. 

Parish/County: Jones; 
Repair assistance awarded: $3,964,442; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 2,232; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $1,008,000; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 96; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $304,187; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 29. 

Parish/County: Kemper; 
Repair assistance awarded: $445,062; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 302; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $31,500; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 3; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $21,000; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 2. 

Parish/County: Lamar; 
Repair assistance awarded: $2,806,719; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 1,332; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $519,842; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 50; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $134,380; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 13. 

Parish/County: Lauderdale; 
Repair assistance awarded: $2,048,831; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 1,424; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $199,500; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 19; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $106,223; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 10. 

Parish/County: Lawrence; 
Repair assistance awarded: $1,075,712; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 743; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $115,500; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 11; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $52,500; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 5. 

Parish/County: Leake; 
Repair assistance awarded: $183,383; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 240; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $21,000; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 2; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $0; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 0. 

Parish/County: Lincoln; 
Repair assistance awarded: $1,155,520; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 869; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $94,500; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 9; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $42,000; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 4. 

Parish/County: Lowndes; 
Repair assistance awarded: $314,907; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 266; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $0; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 0; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $0; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 0. 

Parish/County: Madison; 
Repair assistance awarded: $362,219; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 338; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $0; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 0; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $10,500; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 1. 

Parish/County: Marion; 
Repair assistance awarded: $2,228,746; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 1,314; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $367,500; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 35; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $136,064; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 14. 

Parish/County: Neshoba; 
Repair assistance awarded: $261,327; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 205; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $10,500; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 1; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $17,850; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 2. 

Parish/County: Newton; 
Repair assistance awarded: $508,450; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 346; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $42,000; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 4; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $10,500; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 1. 

Parish/County: Noxubee; 
Repair assistance awarded: $370,989; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 322; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $42,000; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 4; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $24,173; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 3. 

Parish/County: Oktibbeha; 
Repair assistance awarded: $267,048; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 187; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $105,000; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 10; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $21,000; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 2. 

Parish/County: Pearl River; 
Repair assistance awarded: $5,624,843; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 2,593; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $1,486,406; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 143; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $899,031; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 88. 

Parish/County: Perry; 
Repair assistance awarded: $1,310,804; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 706; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $273,000; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 26; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $117,267; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 12. 

Parish/County: Pike; 
Repair assistance awarded: $2,026,500; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 1702; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $244,469; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 23; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $92,353; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 9. 

Parish/County: Rankin; 
Repair assistance awarded: $593,941; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 551; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $123,321; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 12; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $42,000; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 4. 

Parish/County: Scott; 
Repair assistance awarded: $567,655; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 510; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $73,500; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 7; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $51,403; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 5. 

Parish/County: Simpson; 
Repair assistance awarded: $1,104,176; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 834; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $115,500; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 11; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $42,000; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 4. 

Parish/County: Smith; 
Repair assistance awarded: $624,210; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 422; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $94,500; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 9; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $31,500; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 3. 

Parish/County: Stone; 
Repair assistance awarded: $2,624,852; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 1079; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $783,306; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 75; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $446,143; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 43. 

Parish/County: Walthall; 
Repair assistance awarded: $2,037,464; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 1022; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $266,700; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 26; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $107,433; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 10. 

Parish/County: Warren; 
Repair assistance awarded: $522,453; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 427; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $31,500; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 3; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $0; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 0. 

Parish/County: Wayne; 
Repair assistance awarded: $1,459,841; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 981; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $126,000; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 12; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $145,125; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 15. 

Parish/County: Wilkinson; 
Repair assistance awarded: $418,924; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 453; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $10,500; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 1; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $0; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 0. 

Parish/County: Winston; 
Repair assistance awarded: $128,234; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 114; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $0; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 0; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $0; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 0. 

Parish/County: Yazoo; 
Repair assistance awarded: $270,074; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 277; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $52,500; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 5; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $10,500; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 1. 

Mississippi: Subtotal; 
Repair assistance awarded: $152,474,601; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 58,726; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $58,588,812; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 5,703; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $15,047,293; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 1,495. 

Statewide Totals: 
Repair assistance awarded: $343,439,863; 
Units receiving repair assistance: 140,027; 
Replacement assistance awarded: $310,274,358; 
Units receiving replacement assistance: 30,269; 
Both repair and replacement assistance awarded: $30,662,750; 
Units receiving both repair and replacement assistance: 3,087. 

Source: GAO analysis of IHP Repair or Replacement Assistance data as 
of December 2008. 

[End of table] 

Long Term Workforce Housing (Mississippi): 

The Long Term Workforce Housing Program was designed to provide grants 
and loans to local units of government, nonprofit organizations, and 
for-profit organizations to develop permanent affordable housing for 
homeowners and renters in Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, and Pearl River 
counties. For this program, housing must benefit those who earn 120 
percent of area median income or less. The state of Mississippi made 
$350 million of its disaster Community Development Block Grant funds 
available for this program. To award the assistance, the Mississippi 
Development Authority reviewed proposals from applicants, evaluated 
them based on specific selection criteria, and awarded funds to the 
highest scoring applicants. The selected projects were projected to 
produce approximately 5,850 affordable homeowner and rental units. 

Table 17: Units Funded and Completed and Amounts Awarded through 
Mississippi's Long Term Workforce Housing Program, by Household Type: 

Household type: Homeowner; 
Units funded: 2,502; 
Units complete: 15; 
Amount awarded: $103,593,204. 

Household type: Rental; 
Units funded: 906; 
Units complete: 0; 
Amount awarded: $41,577,949. 

Source: Mississippi Development Authority. 

Notes: Data on units funded and amount awarded are as of April 2009. 
Data on units complete are as of August 2009. 

[End of table] 

Public Assistance for Permanent Work: 

FEMA's Public Assistance for Permanent Work Program can be used to 
provide state and local governments, including PHAs, with grants to 
restore damaged facilities, through repair or restoration, to their 
pre-disaster condition.[Footnote 66] To award assistance, FEMA reviews 
requests for assistance and awards grants to states. Grant amounts are 
generally determined by evaluating repair costs and reducing grant 
amounts by the amount of funding awarded or anticipated to be awarded 
by other sources (such as assistance from other federal agencies or 
insurance settlements). States are then responsible for notifying 
applicants that funds are available and for disbursing those funds, 
generally on a reimbursement basis. While Public Assistance generally 
provides 75 percent of repair costs, the cost share for projects 
related to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita has been adjusted to provide 
100 percent of federal funding. 

PHAs that did not qualify for assistance for permanent restoration 
costs from HUD under the Housing Act of 1937 were able to apply 
directly to FEMA for permanent restoration work. Such work could 
include repairs to PHA-owned rental units. 

Data on the number of units funded and completed with Public 
Assistance Funds for Permanent Work were not available from FEMA. 
According to the Housing Authority of New Orleans, which received the 
largest obligation of funds, no units had been funded or completed as 
of August 2009. According to the Region VIII Housing Authority in 
Mississippi, the only PHA in Mississippi that was awarded funds, 24 
units were funded and completed in 2006. 

Table 18: Public Assistance for Permanent Work Awarded to Public 
Housing Authorities in Louisiana and Mississippi, by State and Amount 
Obligated: 

State: Louisiana: 

Public housing agency: The Housing Authority of New Orleans; 
Parish or county: Orleans; 
Federal share obligated: $31,840,846. 

Public housing agency: Housing Authority of Slidell; 
Parish or county: St. Tammany; 
Federal share obligated: State: $473,305. 

Public housing agency: Lake Charles Housing Authority; 
Parish or county: Calcasieu; 
Federal share obligated: State: $11,436. 

Public housing agency: Southwest Acadia Consolidated Housing Authority; 
Parish or county: Acadia; 
Federal share obligated: State: $5,695. 

Public housing agency: Jennings Housing Authority; 
Parish or county: Jefferson Davis; 
Federal share obligated: State: $5,000. 

Public housing agency: Covington Housing Authority; 
Parish or county: St. Tammany; 
Federal share obligated: State: $4,265. 

Louisiana: Subtotal; 
Federal share obligated: $32,340,547. 

State: Mississippi: 

Public housing agency: Region VIII Housing Authority; 
Parish or county: Harrison; 
Federal share obligated: $329,567. 

Mississippi: Subtotal; 
Federal share obligated: $329,567. 

Total: 
Federal share obligated: $32,670,114. 

Source: FEMA's Louisiana Temporary Recovery Office; FEMA's Mississippi 
Temporary Recovery Office. 

Notes: Louisiana data are as of May 2009. Mississippi data are as of 
June 2009. 

[End of table] 

Public Housing Program (Mississippi): 

The Mississippi Public Housing Program was designed to provide grants 
to PHAs for the repair or replacement of public housing that was 
damaged by Hurricane Katrina. The state made $105 million of its 
disaster Community Development Block Grant funds available for this 
program. To award assistance, the Mississippi Development Authority 
reviewed applications from PHAs and determined award amounts based 
upon documentation of damage and funding the PHA received or expected 
to receive from insurance or from the Capital Fund for 
Emergency/Natural Disaster Funding Program. According to the Action 
Plan for this program, funds were to be made available to eligible 
PHAs when construction commenced, and would be paid on a "draw down" 
basis as the obligation to pay occurred. According to the Mississippi 
Development Authority, $48 million had been awarded to five PHAs for 
the funding of 1,594 public housing units as of December 2008. As of 
August 2009, 1,210 public housing units were complete and in service. 

[End of section] 

Appendix VII Rental Units Funded and Completed: 

Table: 

Program: Capital Fund Emergency/Natural Disaster Funding; 
Louisiana: Units funded: 1,684; 
Louisiana: Units complete: 1,684; 
Louisiana: Funded as of: Dec. 2008; 
Louisiana: Complete as of: Aug. 2009; 
Mississippi: Units funded: 385; 
Mississippi: Units complete: 385; 
Mississippi: Funded as of: Aug. 2009; 
Mississippi: Complete as of: Aug. 2009. 

Program: GO Zone Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTCs); 
Louisiana: Units funded: 13,888; 
Louisiana: Units complete: 5,056; 
Louisiana: Funded as of: Dec. 2008; 
Louisiana: Complete as of: June 2009; 
Mississippi: Units funded: 9,252; 
Mississippi: Units complete: 4,707[ A]; 
Mississippi: Funded as of: Dec. 2008; 
Mississippi: Complete as of: June 2009. 

Program: GO Zone Tax-Exempt Private Activity Bonds; 
Louisiana: Units funded: 216; 
Louisiana: Units complete: 216; 
Louisiana: Funded as of: Dec. 2008; 
Louisiana: Complete as of: Aug. 2009; 
Mississippi: Units funded: 0; 
Mississippi: Units complete: 0; 
Mississippi: Funded as of: Dec. 2008; 
Mississippi: Complete as of: Aug. 2009. 

Program: Long Term Workforce Housing Program (CDBG-Mississippi); 
Louisiana: Units funded: [Empty]; 
Louisiana: Units complete: [Empty]; 
Louisiana: Funded as of: [Empty]; 
Louisiana: Complete as of: [Empty]; 
Mississippi: Units funded: 906; 
Mississippi: Units complete: 15; 
Mississippi: Funded as of: Apr. 2009; 
Mississippi: Complete as of: Aug. 2009. 

Program: New Markets Tax Credits (GO Zone); 
Louisiana: Units funded: 351; 
Louisiana: Units complete: Data not available; 
Louisiana: Funded as of: Dec. 2008; 
Louisiana: Complete as of: Data not available; 
Mississippi: Units funded: 142; 
Mississippi: Units complete: Data not available; 
Mississippi: Funded as of: Dec. 2008; 
Mississippi: Complete as of: Data not available. 

Program: Public Assistance for Permanent Work; 
Louisiana: Units funded: 0; 
Louisiana: Units complete: 0; 
Louisiana: Funded as of: Dec.2008; 
Louisiana: Complete as of: Aug. 2009; 
Mississippi: Units funded: 24; 
Mississippi: Units complete: 24; 
Mississippi: Funded as of: Dec.2008[B]; 
Mississippi: Complete as of: Aug. 2009. 

Program: Public Housing Program (CDBG-Mississippi); 
Louisiana: Units funded: [Empty]; 
Louisiana: Units complete: [Empty]; 
Louisiana: Funded as of: [Empty]; 
Louisiana: Complete as of: [Empty]; 
Mississippi: Units funded: 1,594; 
Mississippi: Units complete: 1,210; 
Mississippi: Funded as of: Dec. 2008; 
Mississippi: Complete as of: Aug. 2009. 

Program: Road Home Small Rental Property Program (CDBG-Louisiana) and 
Small Rental Assistance Program (CDBG-Mississippi); 
Louisiana: Units funded: 10,115; 
Louisiana: Units complete: 1,406; 
Louisiana: Funded as of: Dec. 2008; 
Louisiana: Complete as of: July 2009; 
Mississippi: Units funded: 4,242; 
Mississippi: Units complete: 1,072; 
Mississippi: Funded as of: Apr. 2009; 
Mississippi: Complete as of: Aug. 2009. 

Program: Public Housing (Housing Authority of New Orleans)[C]; 
Louisiana: Units funded: 631; 
Louisiana: Units complete: 0; 
Louisiana: Funded as of: Dec. 2008; 
Louisiana: Complete as of: Aug. 2009; 
Mississippi: Units funded: [Empty]; 
Mississippi: Units complete: [Empty]; 
Mississippi: Funded as of: [Empty]; 
Mississippi: Complete as of: [Empty]. 

Program: Total; 
Louisiana: Units funded: 26,885; 
Louisiana: Units complete: 8,362; 
Mississippi: Units funded: 16,545; 
Mississippi: Units complete: 7,413. 

Source: GAO analysis of program data. 

[A] We excluded units for which the status of financing was open as of 
June 2009. 

[B] According to the Region VIII Housing Authority in Mississippi, 24 
units were funded and completed in 2006 with funds from the Public 
Assistance for Permanent Work. Based on this information, we asserted 
that 24 were funded as of December 2008 and complete as of August 2009. 

[C] This table includes units funded by a $15 million appropriation 
for the redevelopment of permanent housing damaged by Hurricane 
Katrina. HUD awarded these funds to the Housing Authority of New 
Orleans. 

[End of table] 

[End of section] 

Appendix VIII GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments: 

GAO Contact: 

Mathew J. Scirè, (202) 512-8678 or sciremj@gao.gov: 

Staff Acknowledgments: 

Major contributors to this report were Daniel Garcia-Diaz, Assistant 
Director; Vanessa Dillard; Shamiah Kerney; and Lisa Moore. Johnnie 
Barnes, Cindy Gilbert, Thomas Gilbert, John McGrail, John Mingus, and 
Jennifer Schwartz also made key contributions to this report. 

[End of section] 

Footnotes: 

[1] The Stafford Act is codified as amended at 42 U.S.C. § 5121 et seq. 

[2] 42 U.S.C. § 5155. 

[3] According to DHS, minor damage is defined as damage that is less 
than $5,200; major damage is defined as damage that is greater than or 
equal to $5,200 and less than $30,000; and severe damage is that which 
is greater than or equal to $30,000. Hazard insurance generally 
provides coverage for property damage caused by fire, wind, storms, 
and other similar risks. 

[4] This figure represents payments to homeowners with building 
coverage for their primary residence. The total was for 117,643 claims. 

[5] Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Disaster Recovery of the Committee on 
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs United States Senate, Far 
From Home: Deficiencies in Federal Disaster Housing Assistance After 
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and Recommendations for Improvement 
(Washington, D.C., February 2009). 

[6] FEMA, National Disaster Housing Strategy (Washington, D.C., 
Jan.16, 2009). 

[7] The GO Zone is the geographic area established in the Act for 
which additional tax incentives were made available to designated 
areas following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, including Louisiana and 
Mississippi. 

[8] RAND Gulf States Policy Institute, Assessing Progress in 
Rebuilding the Housing Market in Mississippi in the Wake of Hurricane 
Katrina, RAND Corporation (Santa Monica, Calif., 2007). 

[9] For this review, we focused on programs that provided assistance 
with structures only, not personal property. While some components of 
the IHP program assist with the replacement of personal property, the 
IHP Repair or Replacement grant programs do not. See appendix I for 
more information about our scope and methodology. 

[10] HUD provided temporary vouchers to households that were receiving 
some form of housing assistance prior to the hurricanes through the 
Disaster Voucher Program. According to HUD, this program will end on 
September 30, 2010. Some recipients of these vouchers have 
transitioned to HUD's regular Housing Choice Voucher program. FEMA and 
HUD, through an Interagency Agreement, provided temporary vouchers to 
households that were not receiving housing assistance prior to the 
hurricanes through the Disaster Housing Assistance Program. This 
program ended on October 31, 2009. 

[11] Pub. L. 110-329. In September 2008 Congress appropriated $85 
million for Housing Choice Vouchers for families assisted under the 
Disaster Housing Assistance Program whose assistance would otherwise 
end on March 1, 2009. According to HUD, as a result of this 
appropriation, HUD converted over 11,000 families to the Housing 
Choice Voucher Program. 

[12] In 2008, the Office of Community Development merged with the 
Louisiana Recovery Authority to create a more centralized structure 
for authority and oversight of the state's recovery activities. 

[13] For each of these two provisions, existing tax incentives were 
extended, granting additional authority to GO Zone areas in addition 
to regular, annual allocations available to the affected states. 

[14] GAO, Gulf Opportunity Zone: States Are Allocating Federal Tax 
Incentives to Finance Low-Income Housing and a Wide Range of Private 
Facilities, [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-08-913] 
(Washington, D.C.: July 16, 2008). 

[15] FEMA could award funds to PHAs for emergency work, such as debris 
removal, demolition of unsafe structures, or any actions necessary to 
reduce an immediate threat to life, property, and public health and 
safety. 

[16] Pub. L. 109-234. 

[17] The state administrators of supplemental CDBG funds in Louisiana 
and Mississippi also used the funds to finance smaller housing-related 
programs, such as the CDBG Piggy-Back Program in Louisiana. 

[18] Funding was available to the following parishes: Acadia, 
Calcasieu, Cameron, Iberia, Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. 
Bernard, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Terrebonne, Vermilion, and 
Washington. 

[19] In the second round, the third option was changed to the 
rehabilitation or conversion of an existing property to a rental 
property. 

[20] If an applicant's income exceeds certain thresholds, FEMA 
automatically refers him or her to the SBA. 

[21] GAO, Small Business Administration: Actions Needed to Provide 
More Timely Disaster Assistance, [hyperlink, 
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-06-860] (Washington, D.C.: July 28, 
2006). 

[22] The eight parishes in Louisiana represent 70 percent of the total 
homeowner and rental units damaged statewide, and the three counties 
in Mississippi represent 43 percent of the total homeowner and rental 
units damaged statewide. Homeowner and rental unit damage data were 
not available for other parishes and counties in Louisiana and 
Mississippi. 

[23] References to damage in this report refer to the total number of 
units that sustained minor, major, and severe damage. 

[24] Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings and the Greater New 
Orleans Community Data Center, The New Orleans Index: Tracking the 
Recovery of New Orleans and the Metro Area (August 2009). 

[25] U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Post Katrina 
New Orleans: The State of Affordable Rental Housing, Impact 200 Key 
Initiative 8.2 (Washington, D.C., November 2008). 

[26] Through the Housing Choice Voucher program, a housing subsidy is 
paid to the landlord directly by the PHA on behalf of the 
participating family. The family then pays the difference between the 
actual rent charged by the landlord and the amount subsidized by the 
program. 

[27] Congress appropriated funding for these vouchers in Pub. L. 110- 
252, Pub. L. 110-329, Pub. L. 111-32. 

[28] For each program we reviewed, data are collected and maintained 
by individual program administrators or their contractors. For some of 
the programs we reviewed, program administrators stated that their 
information systems did not have "archive features," meaning they 
could not provide data for previous dates but could provide only 
current data. As a result, for some programs, such as Mississippi's 
Small Rental Assistance Program, program administrators could not 
provide information as of the dates we requested, but as of the date 
they ran the data request. See appendix VII. 

[29] Information on the status of homeowner units was available for 
Mississippi's CDBG-funded Long Term Workforce Housing Program. As of 
August 2009, 15 homeowner units were complete. 

[30] Homeowner's insurance, flood insurance, and wind insurance can be 
used to repair real property. Flood insurance includes privately 
funded insurance and flood insurance funded by the National Flood 
Insurance Program. 

[31] Kalima Rose, Annie Clark, and Dominique Duval-Diop, Filling the 
Gaps in Recovery: New Orleans Non-Profits Address Voids Left by 
Housing Recovery Programs (New Orleans, La., PolicyLink, 2008). 

[32] The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 
Act (Pub. L. 93-288, as amended) §101. 

[33] FEMA, National Disaster Housing Strategy (Washington, D.C., Jan. 
16, 2009). 

[34] HUD expresses its "acceptance" of grantee action plans rather 
than its "approval." According to HUD officials, this distinction is 
important as it underscores the grantee's legal responsibility to 
carry out CDBG activities in accordance with program requirements. 

[35] GAO, Gulf Coast Disaster Recovery: Community Development Block 
Grant Program Guidance to States Needs to Be Improved, [hyperlink, 
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-09-541] (Washington, D.C.: June 19, 
2009). 

[36] [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-09-541]. 

[37] According to a 2008 RAND report on Louisiana's Road Home 
Homeowner Program, while specific goals were not initially established 
for timeliness of grant processing, goals were established for the 
quantity of activities to be conducted in different time periods. RAND 
Gulf States Policy Institute, Timely Assistance: Evaluating the Speed 
of Road Home Grantmaking (Santa Monica, Calif., RAND Corporation, 
2008). 

[38] Kalima Rose, Annie Clark, and Dominique Duval-Diop, A Long Way 
Home: The State of Housing Recovery in Louisiana (New Orleans, La., 
PolicyLink, 2008). According to a Louisiana-based organization that 
worked with disaster victims, the list of required documents was 
incorrect on the state's Web site for a period of time, which created 
confusion for applicants and caused delays when applicants had to 
resubmit application paperwork. 

[39] GAO, Disaster Housing: FEMA Needs More Detailed Guidance and 
Performance Measures to Help Ensure Effective Assistance After Major 
Disasters, [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-09-796] 
(Washington, D.C.: Aug. 28, 2009); Margery Austin Turner, Barika X. 
Williams, Glenn Kates, Susan J. Popkin, Carol Rabenhorst, Affordable 
Rental Housing in Healthy Communities: Rebuilding After Hurricanes 
Katrina and Rita, The Urban Institute (Washington, D.C., May 2007). 

[40] GCR & Associates, Inc., Louisiana and New Orleans Metro Housing 
Needs Assessment--Louisiana Housing Finance Agency (New Orleans, La., 
Feb. 15, 2008). 

[41] [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-08-913]. 

[42] DHS, Office of the Federal Coordinator, Gulf Coast Affordable 
Rental Housing Roundtable (Washington, D.C., Jan. 15, 2009). 

[43] A residential address could represent either homeowner or rental 
units. 

[44] HUD annually estimates the fair market rent for all metropolitan 
and nonmetropolitan areas nationwide for the Housing Choice Voucher 
program. Fair market rents represent the cost of modest housing (equal 
to the 40th percentile in the distribution of rents) in specific 
markets. 

[45] The Compass Group LLC and the Southern Mississippi Planning and 
Development District, Mississippi Housing Data Project; Executive 
Summary Mississippi Gulf Coast (January 2009). 

[46] Ibid. According to this report, by 2011 there is projected to be 
a less-than-full recovery of small rental and market rate rental units. 

[47] Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings and the Greater New 
Orleans Community Data Center, The New Orleans Index: Tracking the 
Recovery of New Orleans and the Metro Area (August 2009). 

[48] Kalima Rose, Annie Clark, and Dominique Duval-Diop, A Long Way 
Home: The State of Housing Recovery in Louisiana (New Orleans, La., 
PolicyLink, 2008). 

[49] [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-09-541]. 

[50] [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-09-541]. 

[51] DHS, Office of the Federal Coordinator, Gulf Coast Affordable 
Rental Housing Roundtable (Washington, D.C., Jan. 15, 2009). 

[52] [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-09-541]. 

[53] Although we did not include the Housing Choice Voucher program in 
our review, we acknowledge the role of the voucher program in making 
rental housing affordable in the areas affected by the 2005 hurricanes 
and included information about the number of vouchers that were made 
available. 

[54] Damage data are from DHS, Office of the Federal Coordinator for 
Gulf Coast Rebuilding, Current Housing Unit Damage Estimates, 
Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma (Feb. 12, 2006). Minor damage is 
defined as damage that is less than $5,200; major damage is defined as 
damage that is greater than or equal to $5,200 and less than $30,000; 
and severe damage is that which is greater than or equal to $30,000. 

[55] Data from the Decennial Census accessed from American Factfinder 
on [hyperlink, http://www.census.gov]. 

[56] The North American Industry Classification System is the standard 
used by federal statistical agencies in classifying business 
establishments for the purpose of collecting, analyzing, and 
publishing statistical data related to the U.S. business economy. 

[57] Small rental properties in Louisiana and Mississippi are 
properties with one to four rental units. 

[58] GO Zone Low-Income Housing Tax Credits were also available to 
areas affected by Hurricane Wilma. 

[59] Community Development Entities are domestic partnerships or 
corporations with a primary mission of serving or providing investment 
capital for low-income communities or low-income purposes. 

[60] Pub. L. No. 109-135 (Dec. 21, 2005). 

[61] For additional information about how the NMTC program works, see 
GAO, Tax Policy: New Markets Tax Credit Appears to Increase Investment 
by Investors in Low-Income Communities, but Opportunities Exist to 
Better Monitor Compliance, [hyperlink, 
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-07-296] (Washington, D.C.: Jan. 31, 
2007). 

[62] Community Development Entities are required to report the status 
of their New Market Tax Credit projects to the Community Development 
Financial Institutions Fund once a year. 

[63] Homeowners and renters could also apply for a maximum of $40,000 
for personal property. 

[64] Amounts loaned for any purpose other than real estate repairs are 
not included in this appendix. 

[65] The IHP also provides temporary housing assistance, permanent 
housing construction assistance in insular areas or remote locations, 
and other needs assistance, which provides funds for expenses such as 
transportation and personal property. For this review, we focused on 
programs that provided assistance with structures only, not personal 
property. 

[66] Permanent work includes restoring a facility to its pre-disaster 
design, function, and capacity. Aside from permanent work, FEMA funds 
other types of work under its Public Assistance Grant Program so that 
communities can quickly respond to and recover from presidentially 
declared disasters. These activities include debris removal and 
emergency protective measures. Debris removal and emergency protective 
measures are considered "emergency work." 

[End of section] 

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