American Recovery and Reinvestment Act -- Improvements Needed in Implementing the Homeowners Assistance Program

Abstract

We determined whether the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) processed Homeowners Assistance Program (HAP) applications and payments in accordance with the interim rule published in the Federal Register and implementing guidance. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 allocated $555 million to expand HAP, and the National Defense Authorization Act of 2010 authorized an additional $300 million. USACE district personnel generally made accurate payments to eligible applicants in accordance with the interim rule and implementing guidance. However, district personnel processed and paid HAP applications using inconsistent policies and procedures. USACE did not issue detailed guidance on how to process payments consistently among the district offices, and district personnel did not effectively use management control checklists to detect mistakes and ensure program compliance. As a result, of 64 payments reviewed, totaling $15.8 million, district personnel underpaid three applicants $9,562.75 and overpaid five applicants $1,308.01. In addition, they did not fully support payments for seven applicants totaling $28,558.03. District personnel classified 680 of 2,479 applicants as ineligible in the Homeowners Assistance Program Management Information System as of January 31, 2010, who may have been eligible to receive HAP benefits. However, because management took action during the course of our audit, we are not making a recommendation. USACE had limited success in managing the backlog of eligible HAP applicants. As of February 23, 2011, USACE had paid 4,825 applicants $725.5 million, but had a backlog of 4,897 eligible applicants. This occurred because USACE Headquarters had not developed a detailed plan for managing the backlog. As a result, DoD did not maximize its ability to offset the losses of qualifying Service members and civilians.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 21, 2011
Accession Number
ADA555631

Entities

People

  • Patricia A. Marsh

Organizations

  • United States Department of Defense

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acquisition
  • Army Corps Of Engineers
  • Base Closures
  • Business Administration
  • Casualties
  • Civilian Personnel
  • Contractors
  • Department Of Defense
  • Department Of Veterans Affairs
  • Economic Impact
  • Employment
  • Governments
  • Information Systems
  • Law
  • National Security
  • Personnel Management
  • Statistical Sampling

Readers

  • Defense Financial Management and Audit.
  • Government Contracting/Procurement.
  • Naval Personnel Management