Katrina funds blown on empty rooms & ice

BY CORKY SIEMASZKO
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

In the aftermath of Katrina, the feds spent $10 million to renovate and furnish 240 rooms in Alabama that housed just six hurricane survivors, congressional investigators found.
Authorities also spent $3 million on 4,000 beds that were never slept in and blew a fortune on ice that was not needed.

"Previous reports of waste in the aftermath of Katrina have been bad, but this one is worse," said Rep. Henry Waxman of California, the top Democrat on the House Government Reform Committee.

The Government Accountability Office's review of 13 major contracts revealed that poor planning by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and miscommunication resulted in widespread waste. The renovated rooms in Alabama, for example, were in military barracks at the Army's Fort McClellan.

"The government's response to hurricanes Katrina and Rita depended heavily on contractors to deliver ice, water and food supplies; patch rooftops; and provide housing to displaced residents," the report stated. "FEMA did not adequately anticipate needs."

Nor did FEMA look very hard to find the contractors.

Of more than 700 contracts worth $500,000 and up, more than half were doled out without seeking lowest bids. Many went to firms like Bechtel and Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg, Brown & Root, which have close ties to the Bush administration and the Republican Party.

The GAO report did not address the validity of no-bid contracts, which are being vetted now by the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies.

FEMA spokeswoman Nicole Andrews said the agency is revamping the way it awards emergency contracts as it prepares for this year's hurricane season. "However, in the event of a disaster when minutes count, we have the authority to do what it takes to move quickly," she said.

Originally published on March 17, 2006


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