[PatrickHenry]

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/sto...2219558632.htm

Government agencies paid inflated prices for goods and services in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in a system riddled with waste, three government inspectors general testified at a congressional hearing Monday. It was the first time the three government auditors - inspectors general with the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense and Army - publicly disclosed figures on government waste in the Katrina recovery effort. The inflated prices were a result of poor planning as well as a lack of proper oversight, the three said. In the case of debris-removal contracts, awarded to four firms, the Auditor General of the Army found that the four subcontracted their work to multiple tiers of subcontractors, resulting in markups between 17 percent to 47 percent. Similar price hikes were found in other services, including the placing of blue covers on damaged houses and the installation of temporary housing trailers. <snip> Louisiana Rep. Bobby Jindal said the Federal Emergency Management Agency paid $175 per square of blue tarp to place on blighted roofs. But multiple contracting levels later, Louisiana contractors reported they were being paid as little as $2 a square. Each square consists of 100 square feet. U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., who chaired the hearing, cited the cost FEMA paid to install each mobile home: ``In Oklahoma, we could build a nice little home for $70,000.''

Well, well. Fraud and waste in the FEMA/Katrina affair. Surprise, surprise... :eek: