FEMA Misspent Millions Intended For Katrina Victims

WASHINGTON — The Federal Emergency Management Agency ignored the law and misused millions of dollars to build two warehouses after hurricanes Katrina and Rita, according to government investigators.

Some of the money FEMA misused should have gone toward Katrina victims in Louisiana, according to a Homeland Security Inspector General report obtained by The Associated Press. The report is expected to be released Thursday.

"FEMA had no authority to use appropriated funds to construct the two buildings," the investigators said, adding that the agency violated a prohibition against agreeing to spend money without congressional authority.

In the summer of 2006, FEMA spent more than $7 million on two warehouses the agency said it needed to repair trailers and mobile homes used by disaster victims. One of the warehouses was paid for from federal disaster relief fund, which investigators say is not permitted. The other warehouse was paid for with proceeds from sales of travel trailers and mobile homes _ also not allowed.

The report says senior officials at FEMA rejected the proposals for these warehouses, but they were built anyway.

Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said this report confirms his ongoing concerns about FEMA's lax contracting policies.

"It shows, in this instance, FEMA's disregard for the law," said Thompson, who chairs the House Homeland Security committee. "This is another example of FEMA gone wild."

After the 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons, FEMA set up 12 sites to store emergency housing units. Once hurricane victims left the disaster housing, the units were moved to these storage sites to be cleaned, repaired and refurbished. FEMA wanted to put up maintenance buildings at two of the sites _ Selma, Ala., and Cumberland, Md., the report said.

FEMA officials told the inspector general that senior agency officials "disallowed" the proposals to build these sites, but "eventually the projects were approved and funded," the report said.

The Cumberland building was delivered without electricity, lighting or other utilities and couldn't even be used for repairs, the report said.

FEMA spokesman Clark Stevens said he could not comment on a report that hasn't been released.

But, he said, "FEMA does not tolerate wasteful spending and is committed to making sure that any past mistakes are not repeated."

Comments

[neocon666]

Hey, that money would have gone to the "wrong kind" anyway.

[wariscoming]

The "wrong kind" as you call them didn't have the gray matter to evacuate, when they knew for days and days it was coming, real smarrrt.

[Scribe57]

Nice attempt at rewriting history. In fact, we didn't know Katrina was coming till the day before, and still, most people got out. If you do even the slightest bit of research, you'll see that the track kept shifting west. We did not get the evacuation order till Saturday, and the storm hit Sunday night. I remember, cause unlike you, I was there. I and my family evacuated. Too bad we couldn't strap our condo to the top of the car. It might still exist today.

Seriously, get a clue.

[Icantbelieveher]

Yeah -- except that they were living in such poverty (Louisiana is at the top of the list in poverty), and didn't have electricity!

Real smarrrt -- why don't you research something before you say something ignorant?

[darylwalmsley]

you are as worthless as your comment

[Laura Minnick]

They had the grey matter, all right (and likely more than you do). But they didn't have anywhere to go, or the wherewithal to go anywhere. If you have no car and no money and nowhere to go, why leave? I suppose you were going to foot the bill for their transport and put them up somewhere?

[ojisout]

Why wasn't the money approved? FEMA probably needed those freakin trailers, was denied the money, and built them anyway because WHO DENIES 7 MILLION DOLLARS TO A CITY RECOVERING FROM RUIN?

[RationalityPlease]

You might answer your own questions if you actually read the article.

[MrsFonebone]

File this under "Well, Duh!"
And Obama hasn't really addressed this either, has he?

[CR46]

Why would he address something that happened yrs before his administration?? He has enough to do with the rest of Bush's mess.

[CarmanK]

He has addressed it by appointing competent management and leadership to FEMA and the Dept of Homeland Security. All the misuse and mismanagement of funds were under the Bushies. It was typical of their malfeasance. If contractors provided these inferior products, then they should be held accountable and the money retrieved through cash or services. Although, it seems that the defense departments seems to be the only agency that is anxious to reward incompetence by awardin new contracts to Halliburton in Iraq and elsewhere.

[lazercat2008]

In their defense Argentina had all these great deals on rooms and airfare.

[CR46]

I heard the rooms are so expensive that it costs you one career and one marriage.

[lazercat2008]

That's only if you get caught.

[tanbo]

I don't hear any criticism about the local government during Katrina.

[ChiGuy]

Ummm...Cou­ld that be because this article is about specific spending by FEMA???

Find articles about the corruption, and we'll criticize them.
Until then, quit your wh ining.

[nola87]

As a proud New Orleans native, I can tell you, the local government has started answering. Kathleen Blanco left her job as govenor, to be replaced with Jindal, Nagin somehow got a second term, and has been a MASSIVE embarassment to this city, from his sheer abandonment to go to an Usher concert in Manhattan six months after the storm, to the "Chocolate City" speech, the trips paid for by special interest groups, to Maui, and Jamaica, one of which he "can't recall," the SURGE in crime, the crime cameras, which are usually only at about 50% capacity, and his recent trip to China, which resulted in him being in confinement. We're not proud of the local government. And we can only hope we can get as good of a mayor as Moon Landrieu was. He would be ashamed of what his daughter has become, still calling herself a Democrat.

That was my rant.

[Scribe57]

Well said. Mary just makes me sad these days.

[PatA]

Did Cheney own any construction companies then?

[Laura Minnick]

Contractors under the KBR umbrella..­.

[LightShadow62]

Bush's FEMA misspent money intended to help the common citizen...­.Say it isn't so.......

[ChiGuy]

The Bush era legacy of corruption will continue to haunt this country and the world for years to come.

Bet on it.

[tanbo]

whaaaa.

[ChiGuy]

Over your head?
Not surprising.

[feltdizz]

this isn't news.. we know.. FEMA sucks

[roger37]

Not necessarily true. FEMA used to be comprised of emergency profession­als---unti­l George W Bush got ahold of it and started appointing political hacks instead of professionals. Google FEMA and James Lee Witt, the director under Clinton.

[meronnotu]

Great job Brownie

Aren't there still folks down there suffering.

[ohmetoo]

Yes but that isn't sexy enough to send a journalist down to bring us up to date on the details. No profit in it.

[americaismyhome]

Government waste . . . and we want them to be in charge of health care?

[Icantbelieveher]

You can't use a republican administration as an example of a democratic administration! We all know how Bush ran things -- and the republicans that voted with him 90% of the time helped drive our country to the edge. And we're still teetering there!

[Gidster]

It seems to work well for our Congresspeople, they are happy with their government run taxpayer funded health care!

Not even near this topic BTW!

The Bush administration was not to big on laws, or rules, or as I remember any sort of limitation whatsoever!

[ATrumanDemocrat]

How about we put the US Military in charge of health care? Or do you think that they are incompetent as well? The 8 years of Bush proved that if you have a core philosophy that government is never the solution, only the problem, and you try to govern, government will fail-as you fully intend it to.

[neocon666]

We voted "them" out last November; the Bush administration was monument to corruption. Don't try to compare the worst administration in history to the current one.

[WinterParkMom]

Question: Was it a republican appointee in charge?

Answer: Yes it was.


Nuff Said...

[escobar]

Of course the money is wasted.
Bush put a Clown in charge of FEMA. He made sure his cronies could rape the treasury and never be called to task. Incompetance was part of the plan from the start. They never wanted FEMA to work.
The GOP agenda is to have no government intervention on behalf of the general population at all.
They subvert any program the Dems. force into law that would allow the government to help people.
If McCain had become President they would be talking about eliminating FEMA becaus it's preformance for the tax dollar spent has been proven to be lousy.
They wanted to put SS into the hands of the bankers who have brought the country to meltdown..­.they've had to settle for taxpayer funded bonuses...­..they will attack anything designed for the public good. The average person is lucky they still have water to drink..

[Gidster]

And call that help "Socialism" to boot!

[katooom]

"FEMA Misspent Millions ..."

No kidding! It is probably more like billions.
Typical government operation. Waste, fraud, abuse.

[research]

Typical conservative governance.

[ATrumanDemocrat]

FEMA under Bill Clinton had a reputation for efficiency and professionalism. Bush put a clown in charge and made it a circus. People put Bush in charge and he made the country a zoo. Were you one of them? Does you local fire department represent waste, fraud, and abuse? How about your police dedpartment? Your emergency hospital? ALL government?

[ObamAtomic]

Chertoff! The buck must stop with him.