I am pleased to welcome our witnesses.  I know you are all extremely busy as you continue to oversee recovery operations for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.  In deference to the many tasks you are juggling and the months – if not years – of work ahead of you, we’ve been patient about conducting hearings on the funding requirements for Hurricane Katrina.  However, just as you are doing your jobs, we must do ours and, as appropriators, our immediate task is to ensure that sufficient funds are available and that the money goes towards legitimate relief and rebuilding efforts. 

 

Before we begin, I would like to take a moment to acknowledge the incredible work of the Department as we recover from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.  While there are many criticisms being thrown your way – and those are topics for a different day – I would like to say thank you for your tireless efforts.  For instance, in the week immediately following Katrina, the Coast Guard saved more than 33,000 lives – more than the Coast Guard saved over the past five years.  Over 4,000 Coast Guard, 12,000 FEMA and 2,500 federal law enforcement personnel have been sent to support Hurricane Katrina and Rita relief operations.  And their work continues. 

 

Over the past month, this Congress has provided over $62 billion with little justification from the Department and the Administration.  We did so because everyone agreed the need was urgent – we could not let our response to one of the largest disasters this nation has ever faced be interrupted because of lack of funding.  While we acknowledge that more financial assistance will be needed, the sense of urgency has subsided.  FEMA has over $40 billion on hand to respond to any eligible request for assistance for the next several weeks. 

 

Let me be clear – this hearing is not about what went wrong.  Hurricane Katrina was a wakeup call for our nation and there are clearly lessons to be learned.  However, our immediate task is to oversee the $62 billion in taxpayer funding that has been appropriated for efforts along the Gulf Coast.

 

History tells us that we can expect fraud and mistakes – typically to the tune of about 3 percent of the funds provided for disasters.  While we don’t like it, 3 percent of $200 million is a relatively easy number to swallow; 3 percent of $60 billion will choke us.  It’s unacceptable.

 

You are here today because we want to know how you are using the $60 billion we’ve appropriated to date.  We want to know what safeguards are in place to ensure that there is a minimum amount of fraud and abuse so that we don’t see stories about federal funds being used to buy Gucci shoes.  We want to know how the money is being used to get people back in to their homes; help them find new jobs; reunite them with their children; ensure that their medical needs are being met; and begin the process of rebuilding their lives.  We also want to know how much money has been given to other federal agencies –both within and outside of DHS.  

 

Before you proceed with your testimony, let me recognize my good friend from Minnesota, Mr. Sabo, for any opening comments he may wish to make.