A multibillion-dollar funeral assistance program for COVID-19 victims reimbursed families for some ineligible expenses that included flowers, catering and transportation, according to a report released by federal investigators Monday.
The Department of Homeland Security inspector general’s office issued a “management alert” to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which runs the program. It called on FEMA’s administrator to modify the agency’s operating procedures to comply with longstanding policy.
“FEMA is putting millions of taxpayer dollars at an elevated risk of waste and abuse by reimbursing funeral expenses identified as ineligible by its own policies,” the inspector general’s report said.
