Noreen Clancy

The Federal Emergency Management Agency could simplify or amend the required benefit-cost analysis process in applications for hazard mitigation assistance to be more inclusive of lower-resourced communities. Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center researchers explore how the process could be simplified to be more inclusive of lower-resourced communities.

Based on the premise that investing in hazard risk mitigation will reduce spending on recovery and response, the federal Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program recognizes that equity issues are important in helping communities? mitigation efforts. Researchers identified ways to address these issues while enhancing the accuracy of natural hazard assessment in future BRIC grant decisionmaking, as described in this report.

Researchers worked to improve the understanding of state and local financial risk management practices and the role that the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Public Assistance program plays in them. They also examined several approaches for state and local governments to increase insurance coverage and the trade-offs associated with those approaches. This report documents the authors' methods, findings, and recommendations.

Puerto Rico's housing sector was hit hard by Hurricanes Irma and Maria and needs a big fix. In this detailed and comprehensive analysis of the housing damage caused by the 2017 hurricanes, the authors make informed recovery recommendations for policymakers so they can repair and rebuild safe and affordable housing in Puerto Rico and create a modernized housing infrastructure that is more resilient to future natural hazards and code-compliant.

To ensure that federal agencies incorporate key principles of resilience into their formulation, evaluation, and prioritization of infrastructure investments related to Sandy rebuilding, the Presidential Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force developed its Infrastructure Resilience Guidelines. RAND researchers conducted an initial assessment of federal agencies implementation of the guidelines to identify the main opportunities and challenges."

Flood insurance payments can help households and businesses recover from an event and get the economy moving again. Premiums can also provide appropriate incentives to avoid or mitigate risk. This report examines dimensions of the changing flood insurance environment in New York City and explores the consequences for the city s residents and businesses."

In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, conflicting arguments have been made about fair value accounting (FVA) versus historical cost accounting (HCA) and the role that each played in the crisis. This report examines the relationship between both types of accounting practices and systemic risk in the financial sector, providing recommendations on how FVA and HCA can both be improved.

The Catastrophe Obligation Guarantee Act, introduced in Congress in 2009, would authorize the federal government to provide committed loan guarantees to qualified state catastrophe-insurance programs. Proponents argue that lower-cost catastrophe insurance could reduce federal disaster-assistance expenditures. This report estimates the law's potential effects in California.

This report addresses the conceptual basis, design, and implementation of the National Environmental Performance Track program. The voluntary program sought to encourage facilities to improve their environmental performance and provide a more collaborative relationship between facilities and regulators. While the program had mixed success, EPA should continue to seek out new approaches to complement and enhance traditional regulatory approaches.

The Treasury Executive Office for Asset Forfeiture (TEOAF) administers the Treasury Forfeiture Fund (TFF), which receives deposits of nontax forfeitures made by current and former Treasury agencies. Participating agencies use TFF funds to disrupt and dismantle criminal enterprises. This report examines the relationship between targeted funding support of major financial investigations and the forfeiture outcomes of such investigations.

In theory, financial professionals are relatively distinct: A broker-dealer conducts transactions in securities on behalf of itself and others; and an investment adviser provides advice to others regarding securities. Different laws regulate each type of professional, but boundaries have blurred. This report examines current business practices and investor understanding of each type.This report examines current practices and investor understanding of broker-dealers, and investment advisers - two distinct types of financial professionals whose boundaries have blurred in recent decades.

The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 provided new requirements for bankruptcy filers and gave the U.S. Trustee Program (USTP) new responsibility. Individual filers must now receive credit counseling during the 180 days before filing. USTP is charged with approving and reapproving counseling providers. This report examines steps USTP can take to develop measures of effectiveness of prebankruptcy credit counseling.

The U.S. Trustee Program (USTP), part of the U.S. Department of Justice, identifies and measures fraud, abuse, and error in personal bankruptcy filings. USTP asked the RAND Corporation to assist it in thinking about how to do this better. The authors conclude that a data-enabled case filing system, incorporating lessons from the IRS and GSA as well as the private sector, may be the direction for the future of the bankruptcy court system.

The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA) limited the types and quantities of exempt household goods on which debtors could avoid certain liens. Part of the motivation for these changes was a perception that debtors were using household goods as collateral to obtain loans that they never intended to repay. This study found no changes in debtor or creditor behavior due to the new definition of household goods.

Identifies and assesses obstacles to disposing of excess Army lands that contain unexploded ordnance, and identifies innovative options for the disposal of these lands; In the ongoing Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process, lands containing unexploded ordnance (UXO) left over from military training have proved particularly difficult and costly to transfer to new users. With a few exceptions, little progress has been made in transferring these lands. This monograph chronicles both the issues that facilitated the transfer of UXO-contaminated lands and those that slowed the transfer, and it offers options for expediting the transfer of these lands.