Posted by R. Neal
Tracking Katrina Money Proving Difficult:
Tracking Katrina Money Proving Difficult:
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.Among the problems cited:
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.
Critics from both sides of the aisle say it may be a violation of the Freedom of Information Act. Even the Heritage Foundation is concerned:The government Web site devoted to disclosing all agency contracts in compliance with federal law currently lacks Katrina information from the Army Corps of Engineers and FEMA — the two agencies awarding the most contracts — because of time delays and other glitches. The Web site for contract offers has little Katrina information because disclosure requirements were initially waived for the disaster. Because only new contracts must be disclosed, agencies need not reveal information when awarding no-bid work to politically connected companies such as Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg, Brown & Root that have pre-existing government contracts. Vice President Dick Cheney headed Halliburton from 1995 to 2000.
President Bush "should announce now that he wants the FOIA applied in advance to all documents for Katrina recovery programs," said Mark Tapscott, a director at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.Accountability? We don't need no stinkin' accountability!
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