Hurricane Katrina Response

Thursday, August 24, 2006
Waste, Fraud, and Abuse in Hurricane Katrina Contracts
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the Bush Administration turned to private contractors to provide relief and recovery services worth billions of dollars. At the request of Reps. Waxman, Cardoza, Obey, Tanner, Norton, and Tierney, this report identifies 19 Katrina contracts, collectively worth $8.75 billion, that have experienced significant overcharges, wasteful spending, or mismanagement.

Thursday, August 10, 2006
FEMA Trailers Exhibit Unsafe Levels of Formaldehyde Gas
Reps. Waxman and Melancon request information from FEMA regarding hazardous levels of formaldehyde gas, a respiratory irritant and carcinogen, detected in FEMA-issued trailers used for housing Hurricane Katrina evacuees. Tests reveal that 94 percent of trailers tested had indoor levels of formaldehyde above EPA safety guidelines.

Thursday, May 04, 2006
Katrina Contracts Rife with Waste, Fraud, and Abuse
In a memo for today’s hearing, Rep. Waxman summarizes new audits obtained by the Committee that reveal widespread waste, fraud, and mismanagement in key contracts for rebuilding the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina.

Monday, March 20, 2006
Rep. Waxman Renews Call for Congressional Action on Katrina Contracting
In a letter to Chairman Davis, Rep. Waxman asks again for oversight hearings to investigate the Administration’s failure to manage and oversee the Katrina reconstruction contracts. He also requests that the Chairman schedule hearings and markup of the Hurricane Katrina Accountability and Contracting Reform Act (H.R. 3838), which Rep. Waxman, Leader Pelosi, and other Democrats introduced six months ago.

Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Rep. Waxman Asks DHS for Updated Audit of Carnival Cruise Line Contract
In a letter to Homeland Security Inspector General Skinner, Rep. Waxman asks that the Department re-examine the contracts for hurricane housing on cruise ships now that the six-month contract period has concluded and all passenger and cost information known. The letter includes a preliminary staff analysis indicating that the actual costs to house individuals on the ships were much higher than initially estimated.

Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Rep. Waxman Asks About Jeb Bush's Role in the Award of the Carnival Cruise Lines Contract
Rep. Waxman asks Florida Governor Jeb Bush about his role in securing a $236 million contract for Carnival Cruise Lines in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. New emails show that the governor facilitated Carnival’s contact with FEMA as it negotiated this boondoggle contract.

Friday, December 09, 2005
For Years, Administration Ignored Warnings That National Disaster Medical System Was Dysfunctional
A report requested by Rep. Henry A. Waxman, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, and Rep. Charlie Melancon finds that since 2002, the effectiveness of the National Disaster Medical System – a key component of the nation’s emergency response capacity -- has been eroded by mismanagement, bureaucratic reshuffling, and inadequate funding. As a result, when Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, the system was unprepared, resulting in major failures in the medical response.

Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Essential Response Plan Not Completed Before Katrina
Rep. Waxman and Rep. Melancon ask Secretary Chertoff to explain why the “Catastrophic Incident Supplement” to the National Response Plan, which was supposed to contain detailed plans for responding to disasters, was not finalized before Hurricane Katrina.

Thursday, October 20, 2005
New Information Raises More Questions about Cruise Ship Contracts
Internal financial data from Carnival Cruise Lines provides evidence that Carnival is being paid inflated amounts by the federal government for the use of three cruise ships for hurricane housing.

Monday, October 17, 2005
DHS Inspector General Finds FEMA’s Flood Map Program Is Underfunded and Inadequate
A new report from the Department of Homeland Security IG finds significant deficiencies in FEMA’s program to upgrade flood maps, including insufficient funding, poor management, and contractor failures.

Friday, October 07, 2005
HHS Press Release on Katrina Response Exaggerated and Misleading
Rep. Waxman writes to HHS Secretary Leavitt seeking clarification of a confusing and misleading HHS press release. The release suggests that HHS's provision of health and social services to Katrina survivors is good, but even the data included in the release itself suggest disappointing and inadequate Federal assistance.

Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Administration Reverses Government Credit Card Limit Increase
After coming under heavy criticism, the Administration reversed the dangerous increase from $15,000 to $250,000 in the per-purchase limit on government-issued credit cards. Rep. Waxman makes a statement on the change.

Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Months Before Katrina, DHS IG Warned Brown FEMA Responses Were Inadequate
In June 2005, the Department of Homeland Security's Inspector General warned FEMA that its systems for managing the personnel and equipment dispatched to disaster sites were inadequate. Instead of remedying the problems the report identified, FEMA director Michael Brown disputed nearly all its findings.

Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Rep. Waxman and Leader Pelosi Introduce Anti-Cronyism Bill (H.R. 3925)
Rep. Henry A. Waxman and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi introduce the Anti-Cronyism and Public Safety Act, H.R. 3925, which would prohibit the President from appointing unqualified individuals to critical public safety positions in the government.

Friday, September 23, 2005
Homeland Security Department Asked for Details of Katrina Cruise Ship
Rep. Waxman asks DHS Secretary Chertoff to provide information about contracts awarded to Carnival Cruise Lines which could be worth up to $236 million.

Thursday, September 22, 2005
EPA Is Using Katrina to Undermine the Clean Air Act
EPA has drafted legislation that would allow the agency to waive any provision of the Clean Air Act, nationwide – including limits on toxic emissions and the health-based air quality standards – without any notice or public comment whenever the Administrator chooses to declare an emergency.

Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Rep. Waxman and Democratic Leader Pelosi Introduce Legislation to Oversee Gulf Coast Contracting
Democratic Leader Pelosi and Rep. Waxman announce their Hurricane Katrina Accountability and Clean Contracting Bill, H.R. 3838, which would ensure accountability in reconstruction of the Gulf Coast and establish an independent anti-fraud commission to prevente waste, fraud, and abuse in relief and recovery contracts.

Thursday, September 15, 2005
Rep. Waxman Decries Partisan Approach to Hurricane Katrina Oversight
| On the floor of the House, Rep. Waxman assails legislation creating a Republican-dominated commission to examine the response to the hurricane disaster, arguing instead for an independent commission.

Thursday, September 15, 2005
Committee Holds Hearing on Katrina-Related Issues
| The Committee holds a hearing called by Chairman Davis to compare and contrast emergency plans in Washington DC, Miami, and Los Angeles. Rep. Waxman had earlier requested a hearing to examine the failed federal response to Hurricane Katrina.

Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Democratic Leaders Ask GAO to Oversee Gulf Coast Reconstruction
Rep. Waxman, Democratic Leader Pelosi, and other senior Democrats request that GAO Comptroller General David M. Walker immediately establish a team of experienced auditors and investigators to monitor in real time the contracts and spending for the recovery, relief , and reconstruction of the Gulf Coast.

Friday, September 09, 2005
FEMA Predicted a “Catastrophic Hurricane” Could Strike New Orleans and Cause a “Mega-Disaster”
A letter to Secretary Chertoff from Ranking Member Waxman and Chairman Davis describes documents from the Department of Homeland Security that show that FEMA was aware in 2004 that a “catastrophic hurricane” could hit New Orleans and “trap hundreds of thousands of people in flooded areas and leave up to one million people homeless." FEMA officials wrote: “the gravity of the situation calls for an extraordinary level of advance planning."

Thursday, September 08, 2005
Provision in Katrina Emergency Bill Leaves Government Open to Waste, Fraud, and Abuse
Rep Waxman writes to Appropriations Committee Chair Lewis about a provision in the Katrina Emergency Supplemental Appropriations that would extend from $15,000 to $250,000 the purchasing limit for an individual transaction for federal employees with government-issued credit cards.

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