Emergency Relief Program 2022: FSA Should Publicly Report Progress in Issuing Payments

What GAO Found

Congress provided $3.7 billion to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to help agricultural producers who experienced crop losses caused by natural disasters in 2022. USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA) administers this aid through the Emergency Relief Program 2022 (ERP 2022).

As of March 19, 2024, FSA had issued $1.42 billion in payments, according to FSA officials. The officials told GAO that FSA had issued almost all of these payments to producers who participate in USDA's agricultural disaster insurance programs. Such producers tend to have larger farms and grow major crops (e.g., corn and wheat). Also, all had previously received some other form of assistance for crop losses in 2022.

FSA has not provided GAO any updates on the status of additional payments through June 2024. In late June 2024, FSA stated that it had halted ERP 2022 payments and had begun analyzing how to restructure payments considering a June 2024 court-ordered injunction. GAO will continue to monitor the program.

FSA has a public website, the ERP Dashboard, which reports all ERP payments, but the dashboard does not include ERP 2022 data, as of July 2024. In March 2024, FSA officials told GAO that they tracked ERP 2022 payments with an internal dashboard that is updated weekly. The officials said FSA had not updated the external dashboard because doing so was not a priority.

Payment data may be used by agricultural producers and their advocacy organizations, as well as by oversight entities, to understand progress made in implementing program activities. Such data could also provide valuable information about the number of applications FSA has received and processed, the total amount it has disbursed, the types of crop losses those disbursements covered, and states in which FSA made those disbursements. Without timely reporting of payments issued through ERP 2022, interested stakeholders, including oversight entities, may not have the assurance that FSA is making sufficient progress in providing aid to producers who experienced crop losses from disasters in 2022.

Why GAO Did This Study

Congress provided $3.7 billion for USDA's ERP 2022 to help agricultural producers who experienced crop losses caused by natural disasters in 2022. GAO was asked to examine how USDA developed ERP 2022, how the payment methodology used affects payments to producers, and actions USDA has taken to ensure producers meet program requirements. To address these objectives, GAO requested data on ERP 2022 payments and other documents. GAO requested the information in March 2024. In June 2024, FSA officials cited a March 2024 lawsuit and a June 2024 court-ordered injunction as reasons for suspending their participation in GAO's audit. As a result, FSA has not provided the requested information or allowed officials to meet with GAO since March 2024.

GAO is sending this management letter to identify a transparency issue that FSA should address regarding the status of ERP 2022 payments and to make a related recommendation. When FSA provides the requested information, GAO will continue its broader review of ERP 2022 and issue a final report.