Private contractors hired by the government in response to Hurricane Katrina exaggerated the amount of work done, double-billed and overstated mileage claims, according to a study by Democratic members of the House Government Reform Committee.
More than $87 billion in federal funding has been appropriated in response to recent hurricanes, with much of the money paid to contractors to deliver ice, water and food, provide housing, and remove the 63 billion cubic yards of debris left over an area the size of Great Britain. With the 2006 hurricane season just weeks away and with emergency operations vulnerable to abuse and waste, government officials are trying to avoid repeating the mistakes that cost lives and billions of dollars last year.
“Private contractors exploited the system to make a bundle, taxpayers were gouged and the folks devastated by Katrina in Louisiana and Mississippi didn’t get the help they deserved,” said Rep. Henry Waxman of California, the committee’s ranking Democrat.
In the immediate aftermath, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded four contracts totaling $2 billion to clean up the mess. An audit by the corps found instances across the Gulf region where trucks would show up at dump sites without unloading the debris, then return with the same load to get paid twice.
Auditors also found mileage was overstated in more than half the trips they examined. The corps also was blamed for allowing inflated charges in more than $300 million in contracts for temporary roof repairs.
Among the findings of a Government Accountability Office report also released Thursday:
» The Federal Emergency Management Agency ordered more than twice the amount of ice needed by the corps because of a misunderstanding between the agencies.
» FEMA spent $3 million for 4,000 base camp beds that were never used.
» FEMA awarded $10 million to renovate 240 rooms in military barracks in Alabama that ended up only housing six evacuees.
Committee Chairman Tom Davis, R-Va., gave the government planning for a disaster a failing grade.
“You always need a Plan B, and in this case there was no Plan B,” Davis said.
THE PRICE OF DISASTER
» Ultimate disaster recovery expenses form Hurricane Katrina might top $200 billion.
» Army Corps of Engineers issued $300 million to contractors for temporary blue roof tarps.
