Katrina revealed Bush's Competence

Well, Dubya's Cronies made out well, but they always do. The rich will always be with us.

A few disgusting things I heard on the radio:
1. there are not enough places in public schools for the children in NOLA.
2. the only houses that have been built have been built by charities such as habitat for humanity.
3. the suicide rate in NOLA is way up.

Will no press person EVER ask that Supreme Fool why he only took off time from his precious cedar-clearin' bass-fishin' vacation to travel the country doing fundraisers FOR DAYS while people were dying and suffering?

The government awarded 70 percent of its contracts for Hurricane Katrina work without full competition, wasting hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars in the process.
A House study released last week Thursday by Democrats, a comprehensive overview of government audits on Katrina contracting, found that out of $10.6 billion in contracts awarded after the storm last year, more than $7.4 billion were handed out with limited or no competitive bidding.

In addition, 19 contracts worth $8.75 billion were found to have wasted taxpayer money at least in part, costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, according to the report. It cited numerous instances of double-billing by contractors and cases of trailers meant as emergency housing sitting empty in Arkansas.

In their report, Democrats acknowledged that some no-bid contracts were necessary to provide quick aid in the immediate aftermath of the August 29, 2005, storm. But they noted that while 51 percent of Katrina contracts awarded in September were limited or no-bid, that percentage increased to 93 percent in October.

Last December, FEMA was still awarding 57 percent of the total dollar value of contracts without full bidding.

"It is apparent that taxpayers and the residents of the Gulf Coast are paying a steep price for the failure to stop waste, fraud and abuse in federal contracting," said Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., the top Democrat on the House Government Reform Committee.

He said the new panel made up of six House Democrats, was needed because the Republican-controlled Congress has resisted probing such allegations against the Bush administration.

In the House report, Democrats faulted FEMA for recently awarding new $400 million temporary housing contracts for future disaster work to Shaw Environmental & Infrastructure, Bechtel National, CH2M Hill Inc. and Fluor Enterprises Inc.

Those four companies have previously been criticized by lawmakers for receiving no-bid Katrina contracts. Three of them — Bechtel, CH2M Hill and Fluor — were found by government auditors to have wasted money in the hurricane effort.

The Shaw Group Inc.'s lobbyist, Joe Allbaugh, is a former FEMA director and a longtime friend of President Bush, while Bechtel CEO Riley Bechtel served on Bush's Export Council from 2003-2004. CH2M Hill Inc. and Fluor Corp. have done extensive previous work for the government. The companies have denied that political or government connections played a factor.

FEMA has defended the latest contracts, which were awarded earlier this month after a full bidding process, as the best among 13 proposals submitted based on quality of plans, price and resource capacity.

On the Net:
A copy of the report can be found at:
http://www.democrats.reform.house.gov/story.asp?ID1097

Hurricane Katrina Response
Waste, Fraud, and Abuse in Hurricane Katrina Contracts
Thursday, August 24, 2006 --
Government Reform Minority Office - democrats.reform.house.gov

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the Bush Administration turned to private contractors to provide relief and recovery services worth billions of dollars. Now, one year later, it is apparent that taxpayers and the residents of the Gulf Coast are paying a steep price for the failure to stop waste, fraud, and abuse in federal contracting.

At the request of Reps. Waxman, Cardoza, Obey, Tanner, Norton, and Tierney, this report examines procurement spending in response to Hurricane Katrina. The report identifies 19 Katrina contracts, collectively worth $8.75 billion, that have experienced significant overcharges, wasteful spending, or mismanagement.

There are indications that federal officials may repeat many of the same mistakes in responding to future disasters. Earlier this month, the Federal Emergency Management Agency awarded new contracts worth over $1 billion to several of the same companies implicated in the wasteful Hurricane Katrina response.

Key findings in the report include the following:

Full and Open Competition is the Exception, Not the Rule. As of June 30, 2006, over $10.6 billion has been awarded to private contractors for Gulf Coast recovery and reconstruction. Nearly all of this amount ($10.1 billion) was awarded in 1,237 contracts valued at $500,000 or more. Only 30% of these contracts were awarded with full and open competition.
Contract Mismanagement Is Widespread. Hurricane Katrina contracts have been accompanied by pervasive mismanagement. Mistakes were made in virtually every step of the contracting process: from pre-contract planning through contract award and oversight. Compounding this problem, there were not enough trained contract officials to oversee contract spending in the Gulf Coast.
The Costs to the Taxpayer Are Enormous. This report identifies 19 Katrina contracts collectively worth $8.75 billion that have been plagued by waste, fraud, abuse, or mismanagement. In the case of each of these 19 contracts, reports from the Government Accountability Office, Pentagon auditors, agency inspectors general, or other government investigators have linked the contracts to major problems in administration or performance.

Waste, Fraud, and Abuse in Hurricane Katrina Contracts
http://www.democrats.reform.house.gov/
Documents/20060824110705-30132.pdf

The Nation has done a good job on the story, check it out.