Full text
United States Government Accountability Office
Report to Congressional Committees
EMERGENCY
May 2024
RENTAL
ASSISTANCE
Treasury Should
Improve Data
Completeness and
Public Reporting
GAO-24-107084
May 2024
EMERGENCY RENTAL ASSISTANCE
Treasury Should Improve Data Completeness and
Public Reporting
Highlights of GAO-24-107084, a report to
congressional committees
Why GAO Did This Study What GAO Found
The ERA program helps low-income The Department of the Treasury administers the Emergency Rental Assistance
households affected by the COVID-19 (ERA) program, which provides about $47 billion to tribal, state, territorial, and
pandemic pay rent, utilities, and other certain local governments and the District of Columbia (grantees). Congress
housing-related costs. ERA1 funds appropriated ERA funding twice, and Treasury considers these appropriations as
have expired, but grantees are still separate programs (ERA1 and ERA2). Grantees that submitted data to Treasury
expending ERA2 funds, which do not as of June 30, 2023, reported expending about 87 percent of total ERA funds.
expire until September 2025.
Grantees’ Total Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA1 and ERA2) Expenditures Publicly
The CARES Act includes a provision Reported, by Program
for GAO to monitor federal efforts to
respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This report continues GAO’s reporting
on ERA and examines (1) the status of
Treasury’s efforts to ensure ERA has
complete data and to address potential
improper payments, and (2) Treasury’s
disclosure of the limitations of ERA2
data. Note: For more details, see fig. 2 in GAO-24-107084.
GAO analyzed ERA2 quarterly data on Consistent with its prior work on ERA, GAO found Treasury had not collected
expenditures and household
complete ERA2 data or assessed the risk of improper payments. Treasury was
demographics and payments as of
not collecting complete data on the program’s expenditures, demographics, and
June 30, 2023, the most recent
available at the time of analysis. GAO payments to households, as of June 30, 2023. For example, 3 percent of ERA2
also compared Treasury’s most recent grantees, whose funds totaled $581 million, did not submit required data for the
publicly available reports (second second quarter of 2023. Also, Treasury said 10 percent of grantees whose funds
quarter of 2023) against agency totaled $787 million did not report data on payments made to individual
guidance and interviewed Treasury households as of June 30, 2023. According to Treasury, all but five grantees
officials. reported household payment data for the fourth quarter of 2023. To help improve
its data collection, Treasury has shifted from quarterly to cumulative reporting
What GAO Recommends (which allows grantees to correct data reported in prior quarters), but significant
GAO recommends Treasury revise its data limitations remain. Treasury also has not assessed the program’s risk of
public reports on ERA2 to clearly improper payments to households, which GAO identified as a significant risk. As
disclose data limitations. GAO also GAO reported in 2022, improving ERA data collection and assessing improper
reiterates its 2022 recommendations payment risks would better position Treasury to oversee the ERA program and
(GAO-23-105410) that Treasury address program risks.
improve ERA data collection and
ERA2 publicly available quarterly reports contain some notes on general
complete a detailed assessment of
limitations to the reported data, but do not clearly disclose more specific
improper payment risks. Treasury
agreed with GAO’s recommendation
limitations. Specifically, the reports do not disclose that the data may underreport
and provided a status update on the ERA2 funds and payments to households because not all grantees reported
2022 recommendations. complete information. The reports also do not disclose which or how many local
jurisdictions have declined ERA2 funds and transferred those funds to their state
or another locality. In addition, the reports do not explain that the demographic
information provided on households receiving assistance represents only those
grantees that provided such information, not all grantees. These specific
omissions may lead a user of the reports to draw inaccurate conclusions about
View GAO-24-107084. For more information, the ERA2 program. Clear disclosure on the limitations of the ERA2 data would
contact Jill M. Naamane at (202) 512-8678 or
naamanej@gao.gov.
facilitate interpretation of the data and give Congress and the public a better
understanding of what is known about the program and its outcomes.
United States Government Accountability Office
Contents
Letter 1
Background 3
Data Continue to Be Incomplete and Improper Payment Risks
Remain 7
Treasury’s Public Reports on ERA2 Do Not Disclose Data
Limitations 11
Conclusions 16
Recommendation for Executive Action 16
Agency Comments 17
Appendix I Comments from the Department of the Treasury 20
Appendix II GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments 22
Figures
Figure 1: Reporting Requirements for ERA Grantees, by Program 5
Figure 2: Grantees’ Total Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA1
and ERA2) Expenditures Publicly Reported, by Program 6
Figure 3: Selected Excerpts from Treasury’s Emergency Rental
Assistance (ERA2) Report, Second Quarter 2023 13
Abbreviations
ERA Emergency Rental Assistance
OMB Office of Management and Budget
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Page i GAO-24-107084 Emergency Rental Assistance
Letter
441 G St. N.W.
Washington, DC 20548
May 23, 2024
Congressional Committees
Congress appropriated a total of $46.55 billion to the Department of the
Treasury for Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) to address financial
and housing instability caused by the COVID-19 pandemic—$25 billion in
December 2020 (ERA1) and $21.55 billion in March 2021 (ERA2). 1 ERA
makes funding available to tribal, state, territorial, and certain local
governments and the District of Columbia (grantees). 2 These grantees
used funds to develop ERA programs and provide financial assistance to
eligible households for rent, utilities, and other eligible expenses. 3
The CARES Act includes a provision for us to monitor and oversee
federal efforts to prepare for, respond to, and recover from the COVID-19
pandemic. 4 We previously reported on issues related to the administration
and oversight of ERA, including delays in spending and the need for more
complete program data. 5 Our prior work primarily focused on ERA1 funds.
This report continues our reporting on ERA and examines (1) the status
of Treasury’s efforts to ensure the ERA program has complete data and
to address potential improper payments, and (2) the extent to which
Treasury has disclosed any limitations of the ERA2 data.
For the first objective, we reviewed Treasury’s ERA1 and ERA2
expenditure, demographic, and payment data as of June 30, 2023, for
1Specifically, in December 2020, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, authorized
Treasury to disburse $25 billion to ERA1 grantees. In March 2021, the American Rescue
Plan Act of 2021 authorized Treasury to disburse $21.55 billion to ERA2 grantees. We
refer to the two appropriations as the ERA program for convenience. Treasury considers
each appropriation to be a separate program managed by the same office.
2ERA2 did not include an allocation of funds to tribal governments or tribally designated
housing entities.
3Both ERA statutes authorize the use of appropriated funds toward the payment of utilities
and home energy costs. See 15 U.S.C. §§ 9058a(c)(2)(A)(iii), 9058c(d)(1)(A)(i)(III). For
purposes of this report, the term “utilities” includes home energy costs.
4Pub. L. No. 116-136, div. B, § 19010, 134 Stat. 281, 579–81 (2020). All of GAO’s reports
related to the COVID-19 pandemic are available at https://www.gao.gov/coronavirus.
5GAO, Emergency Rental Assistance: Treasury’s Oversight Is Limited by Incomplete Data
and Risk Assessment, GAO-23-105410 (Washington, D.C.: Dec. 20, 2022); Emergency
Rental Assistance: Additional Grantee Monitoring Needed to Manage Known Risks,
GAO-22-105490 (Washington, D.C.: Feb. 10, 2022).
Page 1 GAO-24-107084 Emergency Rental Assistance
completeness to determine the extent to which these data have improved
since our December 2022 report. 6 We assessed the completeness and
reliability of Treasury’s data by reviewing summary statistics for key
variables and technical documentation, and by interviewing Treasury
officials responsible for the data. We found Treasury’s data sufficiently
reliable for describing (1) the completeness of grantee reporting on ERA2
cumulative expenditures, (2) the national expenditure rate, (3)
demographic data, and (4) payment data. 7 However, we identified certain
weaknesses in Treasury’s data, which we discuss later in this report. We
also interviewed Treasury officials on the status of Treasury’s efforts to
ensure the ERA program has complete data and to address potential
improper payments.
To examine the extent to which Treasury has disclosed any limitations of
ERA2 data, we assessed Treasury’s publicly available cumulative
program data reports for the first and second quarters of 2023 (the most
recent available at the time of our analysis). 8 We compared the
information provided in these reports against Treasury’s ERA2 reporting
guidance and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidelines on
disseminating quality information. 9 We also interviewed Treasury officials
about the content of these reports.
We conducted this performance audit from September 2023 to May 2024
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
6Payment data are grantee-reported rental or utility financial assistance payments to
eligible recipients, such as renter households and landlords. GAO-23-105410.
7We also analyzed Treasury’s publicly available cumulative expenditures for ERA1 and
ERA2 to calculate the national expenditure rate (percentage of total ERA funds expended
by grantees). In addition, we calculated the proportion of ERA2 expenditures by category
(such as financial assistance, eviction prevention services, and affordable rental housing).
We assessed the reliability of Treasury’s publicly available data on ERA1 and ERA2
grantees’ expenditures by reviewing summary statistics for key variables and technical
documentation and interviewing Treasury officials. We determined these data to be
sufficiently reliable for reporting on grantees’ cumulative expenditures and the national
expenditure rate.
8All years in this report are calendar year, unless otherwise noted.
9Department of the Treasury, Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERA2) Reporting
Guidance (Mar. 30, 2023); Office of Management and Budget, Guidelines for Ensuring
and Maximizing the Quality, Objectivity, Utility, and Integrity of Information Disseminated
by Federal Agencies; Republication, 67 Fed. Reg. 8452 (Feb. 22, 2002).
Page 2 GAO-24-107084 Emergency Rental Assistance
the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and
conclusions based on our audit objectives.
Background
ERA Program Overview Congress appropriated a total of $46.55 billion for ERA. Congress
appropriated $25 billion in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, and
$21.55 billion in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. 10 Treasury
considers these appropriations as separate programs and refers to them
as ERA1 and ERA2, respectively. ERA1 funds were generally available
for expenditure to grantees until September 30, 2022, and ERA2 funds
are to remain available for expenditure until September 30, 2025. 11
Treasury’s Office of Capital Access (formerly known as the Office of
Recovery Programs) administers the ERA program and shares some
monitoring and oversight authority with Treasury’s Office of Inspector
General. The Office of Capital Access is responsible for overseeing
grantees’ administration and expenditures of ERA funds by, for example,
collecting and monitoring ERA program data from grantees. Treasury’s
Office of Inspector General is responsible for overseeing ERA funds, such
as by investigating allegations of fraud. 12
Grantees are to primarily expend their allocations to provide payments to
landlords and utility providers on behalf of eligible renter households for
rent and utilities or rental and utility arrears, and other expenses related to
10Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, Pub. L. No. 116-260, div. N, tit. V, § 501(a), 134
Stat. 1182, 2069 (2020) (codified at 15 U.S.C. § 9058a(a)). American Rescue Plan Act of
2021, Pub. L. No. 117-2, tit. III, § 3201(a)(1), 135 Stat. 4, 54 (codified at 15 U.S.C. §
9058c(a)).
11The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 extended the availability of ERA1 funds from
December 30, 2021, to September 30, 2022. Pub. L. No. 117-2, tit. III, § 3201(h), 135
Stat. 4, 58. In a July 29, 2022, notice, Treasury extended the deadline for ERA1 funds
received through reallocation to December 29, 2022, for grantees who had requested a
90-day extension prior to the notice, in accordance with 15 U.S.C. § 9058a(e)(2). For
more information on Treasury’s reallocation of ERA1 funds, see GAO-23-105410.
12The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 provided the Office of Inspector General with
$6.5 million to monitor and oversee the disbursement, receipt, and use of ERA1 funds and
to recoup certain funds spent in violation of eligible uses. 15 U.S.C. § 9058a(i)(3). For
ERA2 funds, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 provided the Office of Inspector
General with $3 million for oversight. 15 U.S.C. § 9058c(a)(2)(C).
Page 3 GAO-24-107084 Emergency Rental Assistance
housing, as allowed by law. 13 Grantees are also able to expend their
funds for administrative costs (up to 10 and 15 percent for ERA1 and
ERA2, respectively) and housing stability services (up to 10 percent in
each program). 14
Under ERA2, once grantees have obligated at least 75 percent of their
total allocated ERA2 funds for financial assistance, administrative costs,
and housing stability services by October 1, 2022, they may expend their
unobligated funds for the construction, rehabilitation, and preservation of
affordable rental housing and additional eviction prevention services for
very low-income families. 15
Data Reporting ERA grantees are required to submit periodic reports to Treasury,
Requirements including data on program activities, expenditures, household
demographics, and payments made to households. The Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2021, required Treasury to report on six performance
measures, each broken down by race, ethnicity, and gender. 16 Treasury
13For ERA1, if landlords and utility providers do not participate in the program, grantees
may provide the financial assistance directly to the eligible household. According to
Treasury guidance, ERA2 does not require grantees to seek the cooperation of the
landlord or utility provider before providing direct assistance to the tenant. Households that
are eligible to receive ERA1 assistance were generally those that (1) experienced a
financial hardship directly or indirectly due to the COVID-19 pandemic or qualified for
unemployment benefits, (2) at least one member demonstrated a risk of housing instability
or homelessness, and (3) were low-income, defined as having household income not
exceeding 80 percent of their area median or as established by the Department of
Housing and Urban Development. The eligibility requirements for households receiving
ERA2 funds are generally the same as those for ERA1 households, but the statute
authorizing ERA2 requires that the financial hardship be during or due directly or indirectly
to the COVID-19 pandemic.
14Housing stability services help households maintain or obtain housing and include
services such as eviction prevention and diversion programs and mediation between
landlords and tenants.
15An obligation is a definite commitment that creates a legal liability of the government for
the payment of goods and services ordered and received. The statute establishing ERA2
defines very low-income families generally as those whose incomes do not exceed 50
percent of the median family income for their area.
1615 U.S.C. § 9058a(g)(1) and (2). The performance measures are the number of
households served, type of assistance provided, average household payment amount,
household income level, application-funding rate, and the average payment length.
Page 4 GAO-24-107084 Emergency Rental Assistance
guidance required monthly and quarterly reporting on expenditures. 17
ERA1 grantees are no longer submitting these data to Treasury because
ERA1 funds have expired, and the program has ended. ERA1 grantees
were required to submit final program data (in the form of a “closeout
report”) to Treasury by January 30, 2023. 18
Treasury guidance requires ERA2 grantees to report program data every
quarter through September 2025 (see fig. 1). Beginning in calendar year
2023, Treasury changed its quarterly reporting requirement to require
ERA2 grantees to report cumulative data rather than data only covering
the quarter.
Figure 1: Reporting Requirements for ERA Grantees, by Program
The closeout report for grantees that received ERA1 reallocated funds was due on April 28, 2023.
a
Treasury’s guidance outlines what data ERA2 grantees are required to
report, including
• cumulative obligations and expenditures by type (e.g., financial
assistance or affordable rental housing);
• number of households that received ERA assistance;
• number of households served at certain income levels;
17The monthly reporting requirement for ERA1 and ERA2 grantees was from April 2021
through June 30, 2022. Monthly reports required two data points: the total number of
participant households in the reporting period and the total amount of ERA funds
expended in the reporting period. Department of the Treasury, Emergency Rental
Assistance Program Reporting Guidance (Dec. 8, 2022).
18The closeout report for grantees that received ERA1 reallocated funds was due on April
28, 2023.
Page 5 GAO-24-107084 Emergency Rental Assistance
• number of households served by race, ethnicity, and gender; and
• information on unique payments made to households, such as physical
address of household and amount and date of each payment. 19
Treasury publishes certain data from these grantee-submitted reports on
the agency’s website every quarter through its ERA2 cumulative program
data report (quarterly report). These reports include data on total
obligations and expenditures by grantee, the total number of payments
made to households, and the total number of households that received
assistance by certain income levels.
Status of ERA According to data available on Treasury’s website, ERA grantees
Expenditures expended 87 percent of funds reported (see fig. 2). ERA1 grantees
reported expending 94 percent of their funds from January 1, 2021,
through December 31, 2022. 20 ERA2 grantees reported expending 80
percent of their funds as of the end of the second quarter of 2023 (June
30, 2023). Of the 80 percent of funds ERA2 grantees expended, 99.98
percent went to financial assistance to households, housing stability
services, and administrative expenses. Less than 1 percent (0.01
percent) of funds were expended on construction of affordable rental
housing properties and eviction prevention services.
Figure 2: Grantees’ Total Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA1 and ERA2) Expenditures Publicly Reported, by Program
Note: Expenditures reflect information as it was reported by grantees and may be incomplete. ERA1
data are from January 1, 2021, through December 31, 2022. According to Treasury, the 6 percent of
19Department of the Treasury, Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERA2) Reporting
Guidance. Treasury collects these data in two separate files, one containing grantee-level
program data and the other file containing participant household payment data. These two
files are not publicly available. Treasury uses selected data from these two files in its
public reports, including grantee expenditures and payments made to participating
households. According to Treasury officials, they primarily use the participant household
data file for research on the impact and effectiveness of the program.
20Grantees were to use all ERA1 funds by December 29, 2022. According to Treasury, the
6 percent of funds not accounted for in the ERA1 public report is partly explained by
allowable operational costs associated with closing out the ERA1 program. This includes
administrative costs and funds obligated, but not yet expended, for financial assistance.
Page 6 GAO-24-107084 Emergency Rental Assistance
funds not accounted for in the ERA1 public report is partly explained by allowable operational costs
associated with closing out the program. ERA2 data are as of June 30, 2023.
a
This accounts only for the funds received by grantees and not $54.5 million authorized for
administrative and oversight responsibilities of Treasury and Treasury’s Office of Inspector General.
Consistent with our December 2022 report, we found that, as of February
Data Continue to Be 2, 2024, Treasury had not collected complete data on ERA2. 21 In our
Incomplete and December 2022 report, we found the following:
Improper Payment • Twenty percent of grantees did not report data on ERA1 and ERA2
Risks Remain payments made to individual households served in 2021.
• Data Treasury reported publicly for the first three quarters of 2021 that
were disaggregated by demographics were missing 44–55 percent of
households served with ERA1 funds.
Similarly, as part of this review, we found the following:
• Based on data available at the time of our analysis, 96 of the 378 ERA2
grantees (25 percent) did not report data on ERA payments made to
individual households served, as of June 30, 2023. 22 However, in May
2024, Treasury officials told us that 58 of the 96 grantees we identified as
nonreporting were not included in the file the agency provided for our
analysis due to a file transfer error. According to Treasury officials, this
means that 38 of the 378 ERA2 grantees (10 percent) did not report
household payment data for the second quarter of 2023. 23 Treasury
officials told us they did not become aware of the file transfer error until
they reviewed our draft report. Also, in response to our review, Treasury
officials said they were able to increase reporting compliance among
these grantees in the fourth quarter of 2023, reducing the number of
nonreporting grantees to five.
21GAO-23-105410.
22We excluded the state of Arkansas from the total number of ERA2 grantees because,
according to Treasury, the state had not accepted ERA2 funds at the time of our review.
23According to an email between Treasury and its data contractor, some grantees were
not included in the data Treasury provided to us because their data submissions did not
pass validation (for example, some grantees submitted files that were missing payment
amounts and dates and others submitted files that did not contain any data). This is
consistent with our December 2022 report in which we found data were missing for 26
percent of payments in 2021. GAO-23-105410.
Page 7 GAO-24-107084 Emergency Rental Assistance
• Of the 378 ERA2 grantees, 48 (13 percent) did not report demographic
information for households they provided financial assistance to as of
June 30, 2023. 24
• Of the 378 ERA2 grantees, 13 (3 percent) did not report total
expenditures of their ERA2 funds as of June 30, 2023. Together, these
13 grantees received about $581 million in ERA2 funds.
In our 2022 report, we recommended that Treasury expediently collect
complete and accurate ERA data, including quarterly payment data and
performance measures required by the Consolidated Appropriations Act,
2021. 25 Treasury agreed with the recommendation and has taken some
steps to improve the completeness of ERA data. Specifically, Treasury
officials stated their requirement for grantees to submit final program data
(closeout data) would address ERA1 data that were missing or
inaccurately reported in prior quarters. They said this requirement also
would help ensure data collection met all statutory reporting
requirements. However, we could not confirm this because as of May 3,
2024, Treasury was in the process of validating and finalizing the ERA1
data. Treasury did not have an estimated date for publishing the closeout
report that would provide these data but anticipates publishing them in
late 2024. As a result, Treasury has not yet fully implemented the
recommendation.
For ERA2, Treasury officials said the agency continues to take steps to
address prior reporting challenges. They noted that the shift to requiring
cumulative—rather than quarterly—data reporting allows grantees to
correct missing or inaccurate data reported in prior quarters. Treasury
officials said the agency has also provided technical assistance to
grantees to help improve their reporting. However, officials said they
24Of these 48 grantees, 21 did not submit demographic data. The other 27 grantees
reported zeros for all demographic categories. We could not estimate the number of
households served that were not accounted for in Treasury’s data because 13 of the 48
ERA2 grantees that did not report demographic data also did not submit data on the
number of households they assisted, as of June 30, 2023. As part of its technical review of
our draft report, Treasury identified an error in the public report we used to calculate the
number of grantees that did not submit demographic data as of June 30, 2023. According
to Treasury, 19 grantees (not 21) did not submit the required information. Treasury
updated its public reporting to reflect this change as of February 23, 2024. Our analysis
reflects the 21 grantees missing as of June 30, 2023.
25GAO-23-105410 and GAO, Priority Open Recommendations: Department of the
Treasury, GAO-23-106469 (Washington, D.C.: July 7, 2023).
Page 8 GAO-24-107084 Emergency Rental Assistance
recognized that ERA2 data continue to be incomplete (as also shown in
our analysis) and that improvement efforts were ongoing.
Further, in our December 2022 report, we found data anomalies that
indicated a risk of improper payments to households. Specifically, we
found that household level data were missing for about 26 percent of the
$17.1 billion in ERA payments to households that grantees reported in
2021. This potentially placed the ERA program well above the statutory
threshold for risks of significant improper payments (1.5 percent of
program outlays or $100 million). 26 However, Treasury had not assessed
improper payments to households in the program. As a result, we
recommended that Treasury complete a detailed assessment of the ERA
program’s susceptibility to improper payments, such as a quantitative
analysis that incorporates grantee payment data and other relevant data
sources.
Treasury agreed with this recommendation, but as of April 16, 2024, had
not taken steps to directly address it. As we reported in December 2022,
Treasury completed a risk assessment that focused on the risk of
improper payments in the agency’s disbursement of ERA allocations
made to grantees. This assessment concluded that the program was not
susceptible to significant improper payments. 27 However, as we also
reported in 2022, the risk assessment did not account for missing data or
duplicative payments at the household level. As part of this review,
Treasury also said it reviews grantees’ single audit reports to identify
potential improper payments risks. 28 However, Treasury did not provide
documentation on the number of reviews or how these reviews have
26A program is considered to be susceptible to significant improper payments if, in the
preceding fiscal year, the sum of the program’s improper payments and payments whose
propriety cannot be determined due to lacking or insufficient documentation (unknown
payments) may have exceeded either (1) 1.5 percent of program outlays and $10 million
or (2) $100 million (regardless of the improper payment rate). See 31 U.S.C. § 3352(a)(3).
OMB’s guidance clarifies that payments include transfers of federal funds by a federal
grantee to any nonfederal person or entity, such as a landlord or tenant. Unknown
payments may not necessarily be improper payments but are to be included in the risk
assessment for the purpose of determining the program’s susceptibility to improper
payments.
27In its comments on this report, Treasury officials confirmed they had completed this
assessment.
28The Single Audit Act establishes requirements for nonfederal entities that receive federal
awards to undergo single audits (or, in limited circumstances, program-specific audits) of
those awards annually (unless a specific exception applies) when they spend at least
$750,000 in federal awards in their fiscal year. 31 U.S.C. §§ 7501-06; 2 C.F.R. § 200.501.
Page 9 GAO-24-107084 Emergency Rental Assistance
informed decisions related to the risk of improper payments to
households in the program.
Our analysis of ERA2 payment data from the second quarter of 2023
showed the program continued to potentially exceed the statutory
threshold for significant improper payments risks.
• As noted earlier, based on available data at the time of our analysis,
about 25 percent of ERA2 grantees did not report on ERA payments
made to individual households served as of the second quarter of 2023.
In total, these grantees received about $4.1 billion in ERA2 funds, which
exceeds the statutory threshold for risks of significant improper
payments.
• As previously stated, in response to our draft report, Treasury said 10
percent of ERA2 grantees did not report payments made to households
served as of the second quarter of 2023. 29 According to Treasury, these
grantees received a total of $787 million in ERA2 funds. This amount also
exceeds the statutory threshold for risks of significant improper payments
and represents funds that Treasury is unable to assess to identify
potential improper payments risks. In May 2024, Treasury officials told us
that they had worked with grantees to increase reporting compliance.
According to Treasury officials, all but five of the previously mentioned 96
grantees reported household payment data for the fourth quarter of 2023.
In total, these five grantees received $42 million in ERA2 funds.
While Treasury has taken some steps to improve compliance with ERA2
reporting requirements, the data anomalies in the household payment
data we have identified in our prior work and this review continue to be a
concern. As a result, we reiterate the importance of improving these data
and assessing the program’s susceptibility to improper payments. Taking
such steps would better position Treasury and its Office of Inspector
General to oversee the ERA program and address improper payment
risks. It would also provide Congress and taxpayers with a better
understanding of program outcomes. We will continue to monitor and
evaluate Treasury’s efforts to address our recommendations.
29Treasury officials attributed the missing data to a file transfer error, which they did not
become aware of until they reviewed our draft report.
Page 10 GAO-24-107084 Emergency Rental Assistance
Treasury publishes quarterly reports of ERA2 data, but the reports do not
Treasury’s Public clearly disclose data limitations such as missing grantees. As previously
Reports on ERA2 Do stated, Treasury’s ERA2 cumulative program data reports, available on
Treasury’s website, provide quarterly updates on grantees’ program
Not Disclose Data expenditures and on participating households. 30 The data in these reports
Limitations are based on information that grantees submit to Treasury. The reports
include cumulative information on ERA2 funds at the national and grantee
level, such as the total ERA2 funds expended. They also include
information on funds obligated and expended for activities such as
financial assistance, development of affordable rental housing, and
eviction prevention services. In addition, the reports provide a breakdown
of household demographics, such as income level, race and ethnicity,
and gender.
Treasury’s ERA2 reporting guidance states that Treasury’s performance
and financial reporting requirements are designed to ensure maximum
public transparency around use of ERA2 award funds. 31 Further,
according to OMB guidance, federal agencies should ensure they
disseminate information in an accurate, clear, complete, and unbiased
manner. 32
However, Treasury’s quarterly reports do not contain disclosures (1) of
potential underreporting of ERA2 funds, (2) that some local jurisdictions
transferred funds, (3) of underreporting of household demographic
information, or (4) of underreporting of the number of payments to
households. Because they lack these disclosures, the quarterly reports
could lead users to draw inaccurate conclusions about the status of ERA2
funds and program performance.
30For purposes of our audit, we reviewed the ERA2 cumulative program data reports for
the first two quarters of calendar year 2023, which were the most recent available at the
time of our analysis. Treasury’s ERA reports are publicly available at
https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/coronavirus/assistance-for-state-local-and-tribal-g
overnments/emergency-rental-assistance-program/reporting (accessed Nov. 11, 2023).
31Department of the Treasury, Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERA2) Reporting
Guidance (Washington D.C.: Mar. 30, 2023).
32Office of Management and Budget, Guidelines for Ensuring and Maximizing the Quality,
Objectivity, Utility, and Integrity of Information Disseminated by Federal Agencies;
Republication, 67 Fed. Reg. 8452 (Feb. 22, 2002). See also the Department of the
Treasury Information Quality Guidelines available at
https://home.treasury.gov/department-of-the-treasury-information-quality-guidelines
(accessed Feb. 20, 2024).
Page 11 GAO-24-107084 Emergency Rental Assistance
Limited disclosure of extent of underreporting of ERA2 funds.
According to Treasury, 23 (out of a total of 378) ERA2 grantees did not
submit required data, including total expenditures, for the first quarter of
2023 and were not included in Treasury’s published report. In total, these
grantees received about $847 million in ERA2 funds. 33 A total of 13
grantees receiving about $581 million did not submit data for the second
quarter of 2023. 34
Both quarterly reports included a note stating the report contained data
for grantees that submitted reports for the reporting period. In addition,
during our review, Treasury added another note to the second quarter
report explaining that the total ERA2 allocation amount only includes
allocations to grantees with submitted reports for the reporting period (see
fig. 3).
33The second quarter of 2023 quarterly report accounted for $20.9 billion in allocated
ERA2 funds.
34Treasury stated that seven of the 23 grantees that did not submit required data for the
first quarter of 2023 also did not submit data for the second quarter of 2023 (the most
recently available report on Treasury’s website at the time of our analysis). In our analysis,
we found six additional grantees were also missing from the report for the second quarter
of 2023. The individual allocations of the 23 missing grantees in the first quarter 2023
report and 13 missing grantees in the second quarter 2023 report ranged from about $2
million to about $332 million.
Page 12 GAO-24-107084 Emergency Rental Assistance
Figure 3: Selected Excerpts from Treasury’s Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA2) Report, Second Quarter 2023
Note: Table notes 1–7 and 9 appear in the original reports but not in this figure because they are not
relevant to the information in the selected excerpts.
However, the reports do not disclose which or how many grantees did not
submit required data, or how much of total ERA2 allocations those
grantees represented. As a result, a report user may not realize that
reports do not account for all ERA2 funds allocated and cannot determine
how much of the funds the reports are missing.
Limited disclosure of some local jurisdictions transferring funds.
The reports do not explain that 103 local jurisdictions declined to
administer ERA2 funds and the majority transferred these funds to their
state. 35 Treasury initially allocated ERA2 funds to 482 eligible state, local,
35Five of the 103 local jurisdictions transferred their ERA2 funds to other local jurisdictions
in their state. One local jurisdiction transferred part of its funds to another local jurisdiction
and the remainder to its state.
Page 13 GAO-24-107084 Emergency Rental Assistance
and territorial governments. 36 However, Treasury officials said 103 of
these local jurisdictions decided to not administer ERA2 funds and
transferred about $2 billion to participating grantees. For example, New
York City was eligible to receive about $397 million but declined its direct
allocation. Similarly, both the County and City of Los Angeles declined
their direct allocations in the amounts of about $212 million and $193
million, respectively. According to Treasury, all three of these local
governments transferred their funds to their state.
The quarterly reports we reviewed include a table note stating that ERA2
allocations to local governments that were transferred to their county or
state are included in the parent entity allocations (see fig. 3). However,
the reports do not disclose which or how many of these local
governments declined and transferred their funds to a parent entity. The
reports also do not disclose which grantees ultimately received the funds.
For example, the reports did not disclose the New York City’s transfer of
$397 million to New York State. As a result, a user seeking the status of
ERA2 funds for certain local governments might incorrectly assume these
funds were missing from the report or had not been expended.
During its technical review of our draft report, Treasury published a
document on its website listing the governments that declined ERA2
funds and the grantees that ultimately received those funds. 37 Treasury
officials told us that they had not previously published this list because
they believed their link to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
rental assistance lookup tool was the clearest way to communicate to
potential renters and landlords what rental assistance was available in
their jurisdictions. 38
36Department of the Treasury, Emergency Rental Assistance Program Allocations to
States and Eligible Units of Local Government. See
https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/ERA2_Allocations_Eligible_Entities_572021.pd
f (accessed Oct. 4, 2023). ERA2 did not allocate any funds to Tribes or tribally designated
housing entities.
37See ERA2 Grantees that Declined Allocations, Allocations and Payments | U.S.
Department of the Treasury (accessed Mar. 4, 2024). The public reports do not link to this
newly published document, so a user reviewing the reports would need to navigate to the
Allocations and Payments page of Treasury’s website to view it.
38See How Federal Rental Assistance Works | Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
(consumerfinance.gov) (accessed Mar. 4, 2024). This website does not include
information on governments that declined ERA2 funds.
Page 14 GAO-24-107084 Emergency Rental Assistance
No disclosure of underreporting of household demographic
information. The quarterly reports provide demographic information
(race, ethnicity, and gender) on households served by ERA2. 39 Treasury
officials told us the percentages of households served, by demographic
categories, are not based on the 2.6 million total households that
grantees reported serving as of the second quarter of 2023. 40 Rather,
officials said they are based on the number of households that reported
demographic information, which is less than 2.6 million. However, the
report does not disclose this. As a result, a user might incorrectly assume
that the demographic data were based on total households served rather
than only the portion that reported demographic data.
No disclosure of underreporting of payments to households. The
quarterly reports provide the number of payments made to participating
households for financial assistance. But these data do not include
payments from as many as 96 grantees that did not submit data or
submitted them in a manner incompatible with Treasury’s system. 41 The
reports we reviewed included a table note stating that the number of
payments is based on the data grantees submitted. However, the reports
do not disclose that household payment data are missing from the 96
grantees, nor the total number of missing payments. This could mislead a
report user about the true number of payments made to households
under ERA2.
According to Treasury, its policy for public posting of quarterly program
data is to only include information as it was reported by grantees.
Therefore, if a grantee does not submit the report, Treasury’s quarterly
39Treasury only reports demographic information for unique households whose rent, rental
arrears, utility and home energy payments, utility and home energy arrears, or other
expenses related to housing were fully or partially paid under ERA2. Grantees do not
report this information for households served by ERA2-funded affordable rental housing
properties or eviction prevention services.
40In technical comments on our draft report, Treasury officials said they believe their
methodology reduces the potential for confusion caused by calculating the percentages
based on the total number of households served, while providing a clear and digestible
breakdown of the services provided to households by demographic characteristic.
However, we maintain that without disclosure of the methodology, users of the data may
draw incorrect conclusions from the reports.
41According to Treasury, the agency uses household payment data to calculate and report
on the total number of payments to participating households. Earlier in this report, we
discuss corrections to the household payment data Treasury made in response to our
draft report. However, as of May 6, 2024, Treasury has not publicly reported the corrected
data for the third or fourth quarter of 2023.
Page 15 GAO-24-107084 Emergency Rental Assistance
report would not include any information about the grantee. Treasury
stated that the reports disclose this fact in a statement in the introductory
tab or table notes. However, these notes are general in nature and do not
specify which or how many grantees are missing or transferred funds or
that demographic data do not account for all households served.
According to Treasury officials, they believe the notes on the public
reports provide sufficient information for users to understand the reported
data. However, unless Treasury revises the ERA2 public reports to
disclose the key data limitations we identified, the data may be
misinterpreted. Third-party reporting of Treasury’s public data may also
lack transparency, including data published by the Pandemic Response
Accountability Committee. Further, Congress and the public will not have
a complete picture of what the data represent.
The ERA program plays an important role in helping low-income
Conclusions households affected by the COVID-19 pandemic pay rent, utilities, and
other housing-related expenses. Treasury has taken some steps to
address data collection issues we identified in 2022, but we found
significant data limitations for ERA2 funds. We therefore reiterate our
2022 recommendation that Treasury collect complete and accurate data
on ERA payments and grantees, which would better position Treasury to
oversee the ERA program and would improve the understanding of
program outcomes.
We also identified significant risks of improper payments in 2022, but
Treasury has yet to assess these risks, which continue to be relevant for
the ERA2 funds. We also reiterate our 2022 recommendation that
Treasury complete a detailed assessment of ERA’s susceptibility to
improper payments to households. Such an assessment would help
Treasury understand and address improper payment risks.
Finally, we have identified known data limitations that were not fully
disclosed in Treasury’s published quarterly reports. More transparency on
the limitations of the ERA2 data would facilitate interpretation of the data
and give Congress and the public a better understanding of what is
known about the program and its outcomes.
The Secretary of the Treasury should ensure that the Chief of the Office
Recommendation for of Capital Access revise ERA2 public reports to include language
Executive Action disclosing details on potential underreporting of ERA2 expenditures,
demographic information, and payments to households, and on local
jurisdictions’ transfer of funds. (Recommendation 1)
Page 16 GAO-24-107084 Emergency Rental Assistance
We provided a draft of this report to Treasury for review and comment. In
Agency Comments its comments, reproduced in appendix I, Treasury agreed with
recommendation 1. The agency stated that it had already taken steps to
address the recommendation by posting lists of governments that
declined ERA2 funds and governments that ultimately became ERA2
grantees. In addition, Treasury provided an update on the status of our
December 2022 recommendation on improper payments risks, which we
reiterated in this report. We made changes in the report to reflect this
information.
Treasury also provided technical comments, which we incorporated as
appropriate. We considered one comment to be more than technical in
nature. According to information Treasury provided 58 of the 96 grantees
we identified as nonreporting were not included in the file the agency
provided for our analysis partly, because some grantees’ submissions did
not pass data validation (for example, some files were missing payment
amounts and dates or did not contain any data). We clarified in the report
that our analysis was based on data Treasury provided during our review.
We also included information on updates on the status of these data
Treasury officials provided to us.
We are sending copies of this report to the appropriate congressional
committees, the Secretary of the Treasury, and other interested parties.
In addition, the report is available at no charge on the GAO website at
https://www.gao.gov.
If you or your staff have any questions about this report, please contact
me at (202) 512-8678 or naamanej@gao.gov. Contact points for our
Office of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the
last page of this report. GAO staff who made key contributions to this
report are listed in appendix II.
Jill M. Naamane
Director, Financial Markets and Community Investment
Page 17 GAO-24-107084 Emergency Rental Assistance
List of Committees
The Honorable Patty Murray
Chair
The Honorable Susan Collins
Vice Chair
Committee on Appropriations
United States Senate
The Honorable Sherrod Brown
Chairman
The Honorable Tim Scott
Ranking Member
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
United States Senate
The Honorable Ron Wyden
Chairman
The Honorable Mike Crapo
Ranking Member
Committee on Finance
United States Senate
The Honorable Bernard Sanders
Chair
The Honorable Bill Cassidy
Ranking Member
Committee on Health Education, Labor, and Pensions
United States Senate
The Honorable Gary C. Peters
Chairman
The Honorable Rand Paul, M.D.
Ranking Member
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
United States Senate
The Honorable Tom Cole
Chairman
The Honorable Rosa L. DeLauro
Ranking Member
Committee on Appropriations
House of Representatives
Page 18 GAO-24-107084 Emergency Rental Assistance
The Honorable Cathy McMorris Rodgers
Chair
The Honorable Frank Pallone, Jr.
Ranking Member
Committee on Energy and Commerce
House of Representatives
The Honorable Patrick McHenry
Chairman
The Honorable Maxine Waters
Ranking Member
Committee on Financial Services
House of Representatives
The Honorable Mark E. Green, M.D.
Chairman
The Honorable Bennie G. Thompson
Ranking Member
Committee on Homeland Security
House of Representatives
The Honorable James Comer
Chairman
The Honorable Jamie Raskin
Ranking Member
Committee on Oversight and Accountability
House of Representatives
The Honorable Jason Smith
Chairman
The Honorable Richard E. Neal
Ranking Member
Committee on Ways and Means
House of Representatives
Page 19 GAO-24-107084 Emergency Rental Assistance
Appendix I: Comments from the Department
Appendix I: Comments from the Department of
the Treasury
of the Treasury
Page 20 GAO-24-107084 Emergency Rental Assistance
Appendix I: Comments from the Department of
the Treasury
Page 21 GAO-24-107084 Emergency Rental Assistance
Appendix II: GAO Contact and Staff
Appendix II: GAO Contact and Staff
Acknowledgments
Acknowledgments
Jill M. Naamane, (202) 512-8678 or naamanej@gao.gov
GAO Contact
In addition to the contact named above, Cory Marzullo (Assistant
Staff Director), Josephine Perez (Analyst in Charge), Chelsea Carter, Daniel
Acknowledgments Horowitz, Garrett Hillyer, Alberto Lopez, Marc Molino, Dedrick (DJ)
Moulton II, Jean Recklau, Julia Robertson, and Farrah Stone made key
contributions to this report.
Page 22 GAO-24-107084 Emergency Rental Assistance
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