Congress has appropriated more than $60 billion in efforts to clean up after Hurricane Katrina and to help Gulf Coast residents recover from one of the worst natural disasters to affect our nation.  But Congress has an equally important role to play, which includes ensuring that the money that has been appropriated is spent wisely and is targeted to the victims.

Approximately two million Americans face the difficult challenge of putting their lives back together after Hurricane Katrina.  Congress must make sure that greed, fraud and mismanagement are not allowed to squander taxpayers’ dollars.

I have sponsored the Hurricane Katrina Accountability and Contract Reform Act, HR 3838, which would establish an independent commission comprised of 10 members to review contracts to ensure that the federal government has complied with competitive bidding requirements; probe allegations of price gouging and profiteering; review activity of petroleum and natural gas markets following Hurricane Katrina; and repeal the new $250,000 limit allowed on credit card purchases by government employees.

I am disturbed that in the days immediately following Hurricane Katrina there was no competitive bidding for recovery and reconstruction contracts.  I also am troubled that these contracts have “cost-plus” provisions.  Cost-plus provisions reimburse a company for its costs plus an additional fee based on percentage of costs.  These types of contracts provide an incentive for businesses to run up costs as a way to increase profits.

I also want to lower the credit limit allowed on government-issued credit cards.  In the initial post-Katrina relief package, the Administration requested a provision raising the ceiling on credit card purchases on federally issued credit cards from $15,000 to $250,000.  Approximately 250,000 federal employees have government-issued credit cards.

We want to prevent what happened in Iraq reconstruction, where waste, fraud and abuse were pervasive.  In 2004, the Administration awarded Halliburton a secret $7 billion no-bid contract to restore Iraq’s oil infrastructure.  Currently, Pentagon auditors are questioning $1.4 billion in billing submitted by Halliburton.

Congress has an important oversight role in making sure that taxpayers’ dollars are spent appropriately and in ensuring that reconstruction efforts are targeted to those who need it – the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

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