Waste, fraud and abuse in the government’s response to Hurricane
Katrina could add up to the hundreds of millions of dollars,
according to a joint statement issued by the chair and ranking
member of the Senate Homeland Security And Governmental Affairs
Committee.
Following the committee’s 19th Katrina-hearing, Sen. Joseph
Lieberman, D-Conn., complained that, “once a storm of Katrina’s
magnitude hits, it is too late to devise the proper controls to
prevent fraud, waste, and abuse. These controls must be in place
ahead of time,” he said.
Department of Homeland Security inspector general, Richard L.
Skinner, testified that FEMA had wastefully purchased 25,000
manufactured homes at a cost of nearly $900 million, and that
by regulation they cannot be deployed in locations were they are
needed most. He added that 10,000 of the homes are deteriorating
as they sit in a muddy field in Arkansas, and that only 1,000
have been used for Katrina victims.
An earlier hearing exposed confusion, turf battles, and
interagency rivalries that occurred during the storm and, in
some cases, prevented the efficient response to the aftermath
of the Katrina.
The committee released emails from key DHS staffers showing that
nearly a week after Katrina hit, there was still confusion and
debate over whether DHS or the Federal Bureau of Investigation
would serve as the lead agency in managing the public safety and
law enforcement response.
Gregory Kutz, managing director for forensic audits and special
investigations for the Government Accountability Office, recounted
a recent GAO report concluding that weak or non-existent controls
exposed the government to significant fraud and abuse.
