Louisiana Disputes a Bill from FEMA for Hurricane Aid

[Target_For_Exterm]

"Who should pay for the federal government’s mistakes in handing out disaster aid to the wrong people? Not Louisiana, say state officials, who have gone to court to try to prevent the Federal Emergency Management Agency from collecting about $60 million from the state.

The federal government has asked a judge to dismiss the lawsuit, contending that Louisiana cannot refuse to pay charges it disagrees with — even when the charges are the result of fraudulent claims — and that the state has no right to audit FEMA’s spending. A hearing on the lawsuit is scheduled for Monday in Federal District Court in Baton Rouge.

Not long after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit last year, government and private watchdogs complained about the slowness of FEMA’s response and the agency’s poor control over its spending. On Wednesday, the federal Government Accountability Office reported that FEMA had made about $1 billion in improper or fraudulent payments but had recouped a tiny fraction of the money.

While the federal government covers the costs of some disaster-relief programs, like housing assistance, it requires states to contribute to others, including the one at the center of Louisiana’s dispute. That program, called “other needs assistance,” pays for a variety of victims’ expenses, like transportation, dental bills and funeral costs."

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/07/us/07fema.html

I don't blame them for being picky about picking up the tab for FEMA's major screwups.