WASHINGTON, Oct. 14 - On the federal government's long shopping list for hurricane relief: $223,000 for flip-flops, $153,600 worth of underwear, three golf carts rented for $1,500 a month and flyswatters for $5.28. Oh, and four packs of playing cards bought by the United States Forest Service, for which records list no price but do offer an explanation: "to help morale during Hurricane Rita."
Most of the government's estimated $150 billion bill for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita is going for disaster aid checks to thousands of victims and gargantuan contracts for debris removal and housing.
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