SBA told disaster survivors in one region what it withheld in another
Summary
In 2024, a new federal rule let some disaster survivors skip a requirement to apply for (and be denied or partially funded by) an SBA loan before getting certain FEMA aid. GAO reviewed SBA's press releases and fact sheets across all 76 presidentially declared disasters in 2023-2024 and found the agency's two field operations centers communicated that change wildly differently: the East center told survivors in 96% of its post-rule press releases; the West center told them in just 5%. Both centers were following the same national templates.
One national template, two different outcomes
's Disaster Loan Program is not small: it supported about $1.7 billion⧉ in lending in fiscal year 2024 alone, approving more than 27,000 direct loans to help homeowners, renters, and businesses recover from floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes. officials told that outreach materials are meant to be standardized nationwide, apart from disaster-specific details -- the agency introduced press-release templates and a review process in 2022 and fact-sheet templates in 2023, updating them after the rule took effect. 's review of 45 East-region and 31 West-region disasters found the standardization didn't hold: the two centers' materials diverged sharply on exactly the information survivors needed to know whether an loan was required at all.
View data as table
| "No SBA loan needed first" -- East | 96% |
|---|---|
| "No SBA loan needed first" -- West | 5% |
| Updated mitigation funding -- East | 92% |
| Updated mitigation funding -- West | 0% |
It wasn't only one piece of missing information
The -application gap wasn't isolated. 's 2023 rule also expanded the funding available for mitigation measures -- work that reduces future disaster risk, like elevating a home above flood level. The East center mentioned the higher mitigation amount in 92% of its press releases⧉; the West center mentioned it in none. Other pieces of the rule changes -- updated home loan limits, the extended deferment period -- were communicated consistently by both centers, near 100% each, meaning the gap wasn't a wholesale breakdown so much as a specific pattern affecting two particular pieces of information. 's review measured what 's own materials did and didn't say, not whether any individual survivor was actually confused, delayed, or discouraged as a result.
View data as table
| Disaster Recovery Center -- before | 2.6 |
|---|---|
| Disaster Recovery Center -- after | 2.9 |
| Business Recovery Center -- before | 2.8 |
| Business Recovery Center -- after | 4.3 |
SBA didn't change how it staffs disaster response, and didn't commit to fixing the outreach gap
told it hasn't changed⧉ how it allocates staff or opens recovery centers since the rule took effect -- staffing per Disaster Recovery Center held roughly steady, while Business Recovery Center staffing rose somewhat. made one recommendation: that build controls to keep its regional outreach materials consistent. 's formal response didn't say whether it agreed or disagreed, offering only technical comments; had no comments on the draft at all. said it 'maintain[s] that the recommendation should be implemented.' Separately, found the underlying 2023 rule changes -- higher loan limits, longer deferment -- were seen as genuinely useful in the field: officials in 6 of the 7 rural communities visited said the changes would help survivors navigate scarce local contractors and rising post-disaster costs.
The takeaway
- The same policy reached almost everyone in one region, almost no one in the other. 96% of East-region press releases told survivors they didn't need an loan first; 5% of West-region releases did.
- The gap wasn't a one-off. A second piece of the same rule change -- expanded mitigation funding -- showed an even bigger split: 92% vs. 0%.
- didn't commit to a fix. Its only formal response to 's recommendation was technical comments, with no stated agreement or disagreement.
This is the first of two planned reports on these rule changes; a second report, expected later in 2026, will examine how the changes affected actual loan-application outcomes rather than just outreach materials. 's review covered 's own press releases and fact sheets, not direct survivor surveys -- it doesn't measure how many people were actually confused or discouraged, only what 's own published materials did and didn't say.
Sources(1) ▾
- U.S. Government Accountability Office, Disaster Loan Program: SBA Should Ensure Consistent Outreach to Survivors (GAO-26-108688) (2026-05-18) — Q&A-format report to the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, the first of two planned reports examining 's 2023 disaster-loan rule and 's 2024 rule change. Read in full via WebFetch (returned as binary, saved to a local path) converted with pdftotext -layout. gao.gov · original document
Comments
Always open. Logged-in readers can annotate paragraphs in place.
In January 2024, changed its rules⧉ so that some disaster survivors no longer had to first apply for -- and be denied or only partially funded by -- an disaster loan before qualifying for certain aid. reviewed the press releases and fact sheets issued for all 76 presidentially declared disasters in 2023 and 2024 to see how well the agency explained this change. It found a stark regional split: 's East Field Operations Center mentioned the new option in 96% of its post-rule-change press releases. Its West Field Operations Center mentioned it in just 5%.