Jeb Bush Asked to Explain Cruise Ship Deal

[jpak]

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/bw-cong/2006/feb/28/022801795.html

WASHINGTON (AP) - A top House Democrat released e-mails Tuesday detailing Florida Gov. Jeb Bush's role in pushing a $236 million federal contract for Carnival Cruise Lines to house Hurricane Katrina victims.

In a letter, Rep. Henry Waxman of California called on Bush to explain his role in the award of the "lucrative contract," which was given to the Florida-based company without a full competitive bid process. The e-mails Waxman released were provided to Congress by Michael Brown, former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The Carnival Cruise Lines contract has turned out to be enormously expensive," Waxman wrote to Gov. Bush, the president's younger brother. "The e-mails from Mr. Brown provide the first confirmation of your involvement in the award of this contract and the first details of your contacts with Carnival and FEMA."

A spokesman for Bush's office, Russell Schweiss, called any charges of impropriety baseless.

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[babylonsister]

1. I too will be interested in the answer to this! Why was Jeb

involved at all?
:popcorn:

[NanceGreggs]

6. Why indeed?

Make room on the couch, Babylon Sister, and pass the popcorn.

:popcorn:

[babylonsister]

10. The more the merrier, but can you say

stonewall, as they are so proficient at it? Add it to the list...

[Catherine Vincent]

2. I wouldn't be surprised if the Bush family got kickbacks from the deal.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

17. I'd be surprised

if they didn't.

[sarcasmo]

18. Just like they will be getting kick backs from this port deal.

[TheDebbieDee]

3. OOOOOOOOOoooooooohhhhhhhh! SNAP!

Michael Brown just laid the smacketh down on good old Jeb! Is this the first of what I hope will be many shoes hitting the floor?

[Burried News]

4. Look up Arison family and relocation to Israel to avoid

inheritance taxes. The old man avoided hundreds of millions of dollars in tax liabilities. Then the daughter tried to stiff Israel when they tried to collect taxes from her. Claimed it was illegal for them to do so.

http://www.miaminewtimes.com/issues/2000-02-03/defede.html
Excerpt:
his past September Forbes magazine estimated his net worth to be $5.1 billion. The few million he tosses to local institutions is designed to feed his ego while simultaneously blinding people to the ugly truth about him and his family.

Micky Arison and his late father Ted created the family fortune by exploiting Third World laborers and by registering their vessels in foreign countries so they wouldn't be subject to U.S. taxes. According to some experts, this nifty bit of evasion, which Arison and his lobbyists spend a small fortune protecting in Congress, annually costs the American people roughly 360 million dollars that Carnival would otherwise be paying. One particularly cynical tax scheme the family attempted to pull off met with failure late last year. Ever the artful tax-dodger, Ted Arison renounced his U.S. citizenship in 1990 and moved to Israel. He knew that if he lived ten years outside the United States after abandoning the country that made him rich, his Miami relatives wouldn't have to pay hefty estate taxes after his death END

[lovuian]

5. Ya Jeb how did they get that contract and the people didn't

even want to get on the boats!!!

[prolesunited]

7. Well, lookee here

What's more, when somebody proposed a cruise-ship tax two years ago, Gov. Jeb Bush's threat of a veto stopped the idea cold. Gratefully, the industry's trade group -- the Cruise Industry Community Fund -- gave $500,000 to the Republican Party of Florida. The industry thus became the party's single biggest donor for the year.

On the federal level, a New York Times investigation found that the 17 largest cruise lines pay virtually no corporate income taxes, even though all are based in the United States. Protected by powerful lobbyists, they do business under a decades-old loophole in the federal tax code.
http://www.sptimes.com/2002/12/04/Columns/For_cruise_lines__jus.shtml

[babylonsister]

8. Oh, what a tangled web. Unreal that everything the * gang

touches has financial strings attached.

[RagingInMiami]

11. And let's not forget that Carnival has many ships based out of

the Port of Miami, which is part of the UEA deal.

[arcane1]

15. seems like EVERY decision they make has something like this behind it

:hi:

[intheflow]

22. This is an important bit of info.

Thanks for digging it up!

[jpak]

9. Ain't nothin' but a l'il Quid Pro Quo

nothin' to git all fussed about...

:evilgrin:

[mom cat]

19. 'cept they'r quiding with MY quo!

[SoCalDem]

12. $236 million would have relocated a lot of people in REAL houses

in other parts of Lousiana/Mississippi/Alabama

They could have bought and placed a BUNCH of new double-wides into higher-ground communities, and made a lot of lives whole again..

Instead they dumped money into the pockets of the already rich....as always

[wakeme2008]

13. While I have been on Carnival's side in this

I will be changing per these emails.

I thought the Govt when to Carnival, WRONG... Carnival got the idea and was pushing their ships.

[goforit]

14. Waxman always does his homework. Hope there is a crack in the ice.

[highnooner]

16. Yet another fine example of cronyism

in the BA.

[mom cat]

20. So Brownie is serving up chickenhawk casserole. I guess that he

didn't like having to be the fall guy. He better watch his back.

[buddysmellgood]

21. Who said impropriety? The congressman just wants to know Bush's role. Why

so defensive? What charge of impropriety is Schweiss expecting?

[norml]

23. Jeb Bush asked to explain post-Katrina cruise ship deal

Posted 2/28/2006 9:54 PM

Jeb Bush asked to explain post-Katrina cruise ship deal


The Carnival Cruise ship Sensation has been housing Katrina victims.
By Mario Tama, Getty Images

WASHINGTON (AP) — A top House Democrat released e-mails Tuesday detailing Florida Gov. Jeb Bush's role in pushing a $236 million federal contract for Carnival Cruise Lines to house Hurricane Katrina victims.

In a letter, Rep. Henry Waxman of California called on Bush to explain his role in the award of the "lucrative contract," which was given to the Florida-based company without a full competitive bid process. The e-mails Waxman released were provided to Congress by Michael Brown, former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The Carnival Cruise Lines contract has turned out to be enormously expensive," Waxman wrote to Gov. Bush, the president's younger brother. "The e-mails from Mr. Brown provide the first confirmation of your involvement in the award of this contract and the first details of your contacts with Carnival and FEMA."

A spokesman for Bush's office, Russell Schweiss, called any charges of impropriety baseless.

"The governor's involvement was merely facilitating contact with a corporate citizen of Florida that was seeking to provide immediate housing relief," Schweiss said. "Any assertion the governor had to do with any contracting negotiations or further action by FEMA is unfounded."


snip


http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-02-28-cruise-bush_x.htm

[caligirl]

24. There is a new law suit by the people on that cruise ship in St Bernard

Parish. I saw the interview with their lawyer on Anderson Cooper late last night. Seems FEMA has paid extra to the cruise line to leave even when FEMA knows they have no homes, phones, medical or food. Trying to force them off the boat and paying extra for it.

The cruise ship has no trips scheduled for another three months.