AP: Tracking Katrina Money Proving Difficult

[SillyGoose]

By HOPE YEN, Associated Press Writer


WASHINGTON - Trying to track who's getting what portion of the billions of dollars in federal Hurricane Katrina aid is enough to give any auditor a headache — and is a problem that critics say creates alarming gaps in public oversight.

The database of contracts is incomplete. Information released by federal agencies is spotty and sporadic. And disclosure of many no-bid contracts isn't required by law.

"On any given day, the government is spending millions of taxpayer dollars, but we simply have no visibility on these purchases," said Christopher Yukins, a contracting law professor at George Washington University. "They just buy from the same person year after year."

...

The concerns have prompted several bills, including versions by Sen. Frank Lautenberg (news, bio, voting record), D-N.J., and Rep. Henry Waxman (news, bio, voting record), D-Calif., that would require full disclosure of contract awards in one centralized database. The aim is to improve accountability by providing information such as contract terms, a contractor's past history of spending abuse or political ties.

(more at link, including list of problems)http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051011/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/katrina_contracts;_ylt=AhwT5kZUAj.PRYmhhwViZ_iOwvIE;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl

[elehhhhna]

1. Wait until they track the charitable contibutions.

Our local TV station is saying they're going to dig into that tonight.

[babylonsister]

2. How inept can they get? Can't keep track of

billions going to Iraq, can't keep track of billions going to victims of Katrina; what the hell are they good for?

[shanti]

3. this is SOP for the GOP

they have made damn sure that the money that is distributed is NOT tracked. frickin crooks.

[librechik]

7. then when things go bad they say "see the way government is?"

wait a few years and they blame it on the democrats because they've already painted US as the Big Gov Wasters.

[Mokito]

16. what the hell are they good for?

Not keeping track of billions of dollars...*win-wink*

[Daphne08]

4. It's only the American taxpayers' money, so...

Who cares? :sarcasm:

[Beetwasher]

5. How Long Until We Hear About Suitcases Filled W/ Cash?

What a sick, cruel joke.

[rodeodance]

6. and we have heard the same story for lots of $$ that went/going to Iraq.

[SpiralHawk]

8. LIHOP

How many billions has the BushCo Kabal "lost track" of over the last 5 years?

A few billion here, a few billion there. What the hell.

You know they are filling their FAT POCKETS with NOLA Booty -- just like the BushCo Republicans have lined their pockets with Iraq "war" booty and Afghanistan, too.

Talk about LOOTERS.

[LynnTheDem]

9. Hey we're liberating the Iraqis...oh, this's about tracking NO money...

...not about the US $ billions disappeared in Iraq?

Never mind.

Heh.

[deminks]

10. No surprise since Halliburton is involved.

Have they ever had to account for anything? Has the BFEE had to account for anything? How many billions just disaf*ckingpeared in Iraq? Where are the effing bean counters? I thought republicans were responsible about spending. Now that republicans are running it all, they can't account for shit.

[lutefisk]

11. How about a website that shows where the money goes?

I remember hearing someone- Carter or Clinton?- strongly suggest this. Spend whatever it takes and have the GAO or some other entity run "transparency.gov" or "relief-funds.gov" or something like that. Why the hell shouldn't the taxpayers who are funding all of this be able to simply log on to a website and see exactly where the money is going? At least it would make some of the crooks in this administration think twice, among many other benefits.

[expatriot]

12. Why aren't any of these articles questioning the idea that

all of our government functions are being contracted out?

[salin]

13. Certainly Sen Coleman is on top of this - to prevent any scandals of

alleged wrong doing among these contractors.

no? :eyes:

[ToolTex]

14. Hey, Chimp said Rove's in charge. If money is missing put Rove in jail.

n/t

[struggle4progress]

15. Americans Express Doubts Over Katrina Money

(Angus Reid Global Scan) – Many adults in the United States are concerned over the allocation of funds for the recovery of areas affected by a recent natural disaster, according to a poll by Ipsos-Public Affairs released by the Associated Press. 61 per cent of respondents have little or no confidence in the money being spent wisely. <snip>

Polling Data

How confident are you that the money appropriated for recovery from Katrina is being spent wisely?

Oct. 2005 Sept. 2005

Very confident 5% 8%
Somewhat confident 32% 42%
Not too confident 36% 31%
Not at all confident 25% 18%
Not sure 2% 1%

As you may know, the U.S. Congress is expected to appropriate up to $200 billion U.S. to help the affected areas recover from Hurricane Katrina. What best describes how you feel about federal spending on the recovery from Hurricane Katrina?

Oct. 2005 Sept. 2005

We are spending too much 27% 24%
We are spending the right amount 47% 52%
We should spend more 21% 15%
Not sure 5% 9%

Source: Ipsos-Public Affairs / Associated Press
Methodology: Telephone interviews to 1,000 American adults, conducted from Oct. 3 to Oct. 5, 2005. Margin of error is 3.1 per cent.

http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/index.cfm/fuseaction/viewItem/itemID/9336