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Katrina Contracting
Related Resources (government documents and letters)
POGO Files
POGO letter to HUD IG regarding concerns about HUD's The Road Home program
September 30, 2009
POGO letter to members of Congress regarding concerns about HUD's The Road Home program
September 30, 2009
Parsons Corp. Goes Back to School in the Big Easy
May 23, 2008
POGO urges Congress to review Hamilton Sundstrand's 9-year no-bid commercial item spare parts contract
November 27, 2006
POGO urges Congress to review Hamilton Sundstrand’s 9-year no-bid commercial item spare parts contract
November 27, 2006
POGO pushes for detailed guidance on contracting
September 5, 2006
Federal Contracting: Lessons Learned from Hurricane Katrina In August 2005, a tropical storm gathered strength and inched its way toward the United States. After reaching a nearly unprecedented level of strength, the now-Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast on August 29, destroying houses, businesses, and critical infrastructure. In some cases, relief efforts started before Katrina hit landfall. The federal government has so far appropriated approximately $120 billion to respond to the relief, recovery, and reconstruction needs of the hurricane victims. POGO has identified several systemic failures in, and evaporating oversight controls of, the federal contracting process and recommends that government contracting laws and regulations need to be strengthened because of: 1. Poor Planning; 2. Inadequate Competition; 3. Lack of Accountability; and 4. Minimal Transparency.
August 28, 2006
Investigations into Katrina Waste and Fraud Detailed
January 12, 2006
POGO & Others Urge Public Access to Katrina Contracting Information 50 news media, civil liberties, and open government organizations sign letter.
December 15, 2005
White House Backs Down on $250K Government Purchase Card Limit
October 3, 2005
POGO's Government Contracting Concerns and Recommendations
September 16, 2005
"Disaster Profiteering Act (H.R. 3766)" Makes Its Debut Seeks to Waive Taxpayer Protections & Competition on Government Contracts
September 16, 2005
POGO Letter to Senator Collins (R-ME), Chair, Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs, detailing government contracting concerns and recommendations in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina POGO Letter to Senator Collings (R-ME), Chair, Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs, detailing government contracting concerns and recommendations in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
September 16, 2005
Katrina Relief Bill: Contractors at the Pig Trough
September 8, 2005
Former Head of FEMA Lobbies for Disaster Relief for Halliburton
September 7, 2005
Related Resources
Summary of Some Highlights of the Road Home Program and the Associated Hazard Mitigation Grant
Melanie Ehrlich, Citizens’ Road Home Action Team (CHAT)
August 18, 2010
Actions Taken to Implement the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006
, Government Accountability Office (GAO-09-59R)
November 21, 2008
Emergency Response to Hurricane Katrina: Use of the Government Purchase Card
Office of Inspector General, Department of Health and Human Services
May 1, 2007
Purchase Cards: Control Weaknesses Leave DHS Highly Vulnerable to Fraudulent, Improper, and Abusive Activity
Government Accountability Office, GAO-06-1117
September 28, 2006
President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency -- 90-Day Progress Report to Congress
, President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency
December 30, 2005
Reallocation of Hurricane Katrina Emergency Appropriations: Defense and Other Issues
CRS Report for Congress #RL33197,
December 15, 2005
Letter from Pleasant Mann, President of AFGE Local 4060, to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton
Pleasant Mann, President of AFGE Local 4060,
June 21, 2004
Memorandum for GSA Acquisition Workforce Associates on Emergency Procurement Authority
David Drabkin,
May 28, 2003
Memorandum For ALMAJCOM/DRU/FOA (Contracting)
DARRYL A. SCOTT, Brig Gen, USAF, Department of the Air Force
October 5, 2001
POGO in the News
Congress Learns Lessons From Katrina, Iraq -- But Not All, By Daphne Eviatar, Washington Independent, February 3, 2009
Race, Poverty, and the Neoliberal Agenda in the United States: Lessons from Katrina and Rita, By Kenneth E. Bauzon, MR Zine, February 13, 2008
CareFlite charges on evacuees questioned, by Danny Robbins, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, November 4, 2007
Katrina Begat Sorrows But Also Lots of Greedy Frauds, by Lisa Hoffman, Scripps Howard News Service, August 28, 2006
Homeland Security Spent Your Money On What?, by John Cochran, ABC News, July 20, 2006
Government Workers Abused Smart Pay, By Scott Tong, Marketplace Public Radio, July 19, 2006
Contractors Rake it in as They Clean it Up: Critics say FEMA overpays, fails to supervise disaster recovery firms, by Martin Wolk, MSNBC, May 31, 2006
TRANSCRIPT: Katrina Waste and Fraud, with Joe Johns, CNN: Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees, March 22, 2006
Storm-Wracked Parish Considers Hired Guns: Contractors in Louisiana Would Make Arrests, Carry Weapons, By Renae Merle, The Washington Post, March 14, 2006
FEMA Faulted for Big Hotel Bills, By Kevin McCoy, USA Today, March 8, 2006
Report sheds light on hurricane fraud investigations , By Daniel Pulliam, GovExec.com, January 12, 2006
GAO Probes Katrina Credit Card Bills , By Hope Yen, Washington Post & Associated Press, December 27, 2005
Looting Homeland Security, Eric Klinenberg and Thomas Frank, Rolling Stone Magazine, December 19, 2005
Governor's Relative Is Big Contract Winner, by Eric Lipton, New York Times, December 7, 2005
Northrop Grumman Seeks $2 Billion to Repair Hurricane Damage, by Leslie Wayne, New York Times, November 17, 2005
Company Under Fire Won Katrina Contracts, By Kevin McCoy, USA Today, November 8, 2005
FEMA's money trail 'transparent as mud': Process of awarding contracts is unclear , by Sean Reilly, New Orleans Times-Picayune, October 31, 2005
Critics call bill to loosen contracting rules 'scary': Proposal applies to emergencies, , by Chris Gosier, Federal Times, October 19, 2005
Gulf Coast businesses left out of Katrina-relief spending, By Thomas Hargrove, Scripps Howard News Service, October 19, 2005
Stuck in a Storm of Controversy, by Nicholas Varchaver, Fortune Magazine, October 17, 2005
No Bid Contracts & Shaw Group: Stuck in a Storm of Controversy, By Nicholas Varchaver, Fortune, October 17, 2005
In Federal Buying Spree for Hurricane Relief, Agencies Often Paid Retail , by Scott Shane and Eric Lipton, New York Times, October 15, 2005
FEMA still spending on limited competition contracts, By Lara Jakes Jordan, Associated Press, October 14, 2005
Tracking Katrina Money Proving Difficult: Trying to Track Billions of Dollars in Federal Hurricane Katrina Aid Is Difficult, Critics Say, , Associated Press, October 11, 2005
A Flood of Money: In the Gulf, a gold rush for government funds, By Angie C. Marek , U.S. News and World Report, October 10, 2005
Careerists make best managers--Study: They get better results than political appointees, , Federal Times, October 10, 2005
FEMA Leader Under Clinton Profits From Experience, by Leslie Wayne and Glen Justice, New York Times, October 10, 2005
In Shift, FEMA Will Seek Bids for Gulf Work , By Raymond Hernandez and Eric Lipton, New York Times, October 7, 2005
Katrina work goes to officials who led Iraq effort, by Adam Entous, Reuters, October 6, 2005
Indiana getting large chunk of hurricane relief money , by Tom Walker, WTHR Indianapolis, October 4, 2005
Gulf Firms Losing Cleanup Contracts: Most Money Going Outside Storm's Path, By Griff Witte, Renae Merle and Derek Willis, The Washington Post, October 4, 2005
Maersk Drafted Amendment Opposed by Coast Guard, By Caitlin Harrington, Congressional Quarterly Homeland Security, October 3, 2005
How Many More Mike Browns Are Out There?, By Karen Tumulty, Mark Thompson and Mike Allen, Time Magazine, October 3, 2005
How Many More Mike Browns Are Out There?, Sunday, Sep. 25, 2005 By Karen Tumulty, Mark Thompson, Mike Allen , Time Magazine, September 25, 2005
Scandals, waste plague rebuilding; Scandals and uncoordinated oversight mean millions will be lost in rebuilding the Gulf Coast after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, by Seth Borenstein, The Miami Herald, September 25, 2005
FEMA struggling as it hires contractors for Katrina work, , Dallas Morning News, September 24, 2005
After the Storm, FEMA Accussed of Wastefulness, by Katherine Yung, Dallas Morning News, September 23, 2005
Experts: Waste and fraud inevitable in rebuilding, By Seth Borenstein, Knight Ridder, September 23, 2005
Hurry up and then wait: FEMA's bumpy bid solicitation for Gulf Coast replacement homes called to task, By John Riley, Newsday, September 22, 2005
Federal, local officials fight over who's boss of Katrina relief effort: Observers say lack of oversight will breed waste, By Julie Mason and Bennett Roth, The Houston Chronicle, September 20, 2005
Some Firms Hired in Katrina's Wake Have Checkered Pasts, By Yochi J. Dreazen, Wall Street Journal, September 20, 2005
Katrina: Crises & Recovery, Controlling Spending, , CNBC, September 20, 2005
Peninsula firm wins cleanup contract: Environmental Chemical of Burlingame could collect $1 billion during next 2 years, by Edward Epstein, The Houston Chronicle, September 20, 2005
Here Is Your New Federal Credit Card. Here Is Your New Purchase Limit, by Bill Marsh, The New York Times, September 18, 2005
Short-Staffed FEMA Farms Out Procurement, by Griffe Witte, The Washington Post, September 17, 2005
Company hired to recover La. bodies has ties to lawsuit, by Neil Santaniello, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, September 16, 2005
Bill Grants Broader Emergency Procurement Authorities, By Amelia Gruber, Govexec.com, September 16, 2005
Contracts for recovery work raise controversy, by Kevin McCoy, USA Today, September 15, 2005
Government's Katrina credit cards draw scrutiny, By Hope Yen, Associated Press, September 15, 2005
New Orleans Death Toll May be Lower Than Estimates; FEMA Director Resigns, Paulison Chosen as Replacement, with Lisa Sylvester, CNN Correspondent, CNN: Lou Dobbs Tonight, September 12, 2005
Contractors Win Relief Work, Lou Dobbs, CNN Transcript, September 12, 2005
In Storm's Ruins, a Rush to Rebuild and Reopen for Business, By John M. Broder, The New York Times, September 10, 2005
In Storm's Ruins, a Rush to Rebuild and Reopen for Business, By John M. Broder & Eric Lipton, The New York Times, September 10, 2005
Firms with Bush-Cheney ties clinching Katrina deals, Reuters, USA Today, September 10, 2005
Firms with White House ties get Katrina contracts,, , Reuters - Associated Press, September 10, 2005
Ex-FEMA Director's Halliburton Work Protested, by David Jackson, Dallas Morning News, September 8, 2005
