GAO Hands FEMA Another Katrina Blow

FEMA officials must be wondering if Hurricane Katrina will ever blow over. Now, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports that FEMA lost another $30 million taxpayer dollars through “ineffective oversight” of contracts to maintain and deactivate those mobile homes and travel trailers use for emergency housing. The loss, reports the GAO, resulted from “improper or potentially fraudulent” payments made to contractors from June 2006 through January 2007. A few low-lights from the GAO report (.pdf) include:

• $15 million paid for maintenance inspections, despite having no record that the inspections actually took place.
• $600,000 paid for emergency repairs to housing units that don’t even exist in FEMA’s inventory.
• Evidence of multiple cases of bidding irregularities and improperly awarded bids.
• The payment of $4 million on a contract for work later estimated to be worth about $800,000.

All potential criminal matters identified by the GAO in their investigation have been reported to the Department of Justice for further investigation.

Also See:

• FEMA Bristles at CBS Formaldehyde Story
• HUD Relieves FEMA of Hurricane Housing Relief Efforts
• FEMA Lost Tens of Millions in Katrina Fraud, GAO Finds
• Katrina Incompetence Redux: FEMA Trailers (US Politics)

US Taxpayers are funding a leaky system that has a flawed mission statement.  The outsourcing and contractor fraud has paid crooks over and over.  There are no quick fixes.  FEMA once had a workable system that served victims of disaster quickly and effectively.  Bush and his rearrangement of government agencies has made it nearly impossible to keep tabs on taxpayer money.  Oversight is handled by even more crooks.  People who run vital agencies are Bush Buddies who have no clue how to run the agencies they are given.  Agency titles handed out to Bush Buddies are his thank you gifts for election support.  The US public has never been the priority for BushCo, regardless of frequent lip service.  The US Public has borne the brunt of this nepotism.  As with many government agencies that Bush has ruined, FEMA has lost its mission and continues to waste taxpayer money and put the public at risk.

Yes, we Americans are priceless; I guess that’s why they keep playing that commercial because we get it. As American jobs continue to be outsourced and American industries continues to lay off workers and shut down factories, you would think that the albatross being built on the U.S. Mexico boarder would provide some American industry jobs. Think again because that’s not the way this administration works. In the continual slap down of American workers and American industry the Department of Homeland Security has purchased steel from China to build the border fence.

You would think all the recalls from China would be reason enough not to purchase from China. What’s far more insulting is that DHS waived the “buy America” rule.

• House members allied with the domestic steel industry blasted the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Thursday for building a fence on the Mexican border with Chinese steel.

• “By allowing the use of Chinese pipe [a type of steel], DHS is allowing the U.S. taxpayer to subsidize Chinese production at the expense of the American workers,” Rep. Phil English (R-Pa.) said at a press conference. “This is completely unacceptable.”

• “This is outrageous, it’s offensive and it’s unacceptable,” charged Rep. Jason Altmire (D-Pa.).

• English displayed photos of a portion of the border fence from San Luis, Ariz., that shows pipes marked “China” holding the border fence in place. He said DHS’s Office of Congressional Affairs had indicated it had waived the so-called Buy American rules in order to use the Chinese pipe and tube. The rules normally require the use of U.S. steel in such projects.

• The Office of Public Affairs referred questions to Customs Border Protection, which did not respond by press time.

• GOP presidential hopeful Rep. Duncan Hunter (Calif.), who authored a bill signed into law last year mandating 850 miles of fence along the border, said DHS should have gone to U.S. producers to procure any necessary steel or pipe.

• “The Department of Homeland Security has, the last time I checked, $800 million cash on hand available to build the border fence. So they don’t have to go and get cut-rate deals to build the border fence,” Hunter said. U.S. pipe makers can “easily” supply the products necessary for the fence, Hunter insisted.

• The lawmakers said they did not know if there was a bidding process that led to the use of the Chinese goods. They also said they were unaware if any U.S. companies bid for contracts related to the fence but were turned down.

• Rep. Pete Visclosky (D-Ind.) said he was concerned about the safety of Chinese steel. However, when pressed, he and other lawmakers could not cite any specific safety problems that might result from the use of foreign pipe in a fence. Visclosky did note other safety issues that have recently come up with toys from China, while English said the use of Chinese inputs in U.S. infrastructure prompts broader concerns.

• Members of the congressional steel caucus have invited DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff to testify at an Oct. 31 hearing on possible safety issues regarding Chinese pipe.