Katrina, FEMA, and the Crooks Who Love Them

by Andrew Bast

Maybe if the Federal Emergency Management Agency had something better to do, this would all be easier to swallow, but Hurricane Katrina was exactly the kind of disaster the $5.5 billion agency should have been equipped to handle.

No one has forgotten the atrocities that ensued in the immediate aftermath: bodies in the streets, thousands locked in the smelly Superdome. Since, investigations have found "significant fraud and abuse" as the government has farmed out victims' assistance to private companies. According to one report, on a massive level, failure has plagued the last year. And there are plenty more reports, most of which retell the same sordid tale.

In February, the Government Accountability Office released, "FEMA's Control Weaknesses Exposed the Government to Significant Fraud and Abuse," and sifting through the 30 pages will leave you with a bellyache.

Because FEMA's oversight from top to bottom was borderline inept, fraud and abuse has run rampant. Knowing there were serious problems, the GAO made up their own fake names, bogus addresses, and conjured phony disaster stories and went ahead and filed for assistance. Even though it was all lies, the checks came in the mail.

It's no surprise that the agency reached out to private companies for all kinds of supplies and services, but for months after the storm FEMA didn't know if it was coming or going. Formally, "sound contracting practices," weren't followed. But distill the politicalese and it's pretty clear that the $5.5 billion agency won't be there when we need them most.

That is, unless you're a crook.

(Image from flickr.)