Congress has already approved $62.3 billion for Hurricane Katrina-related assistance and is expected to provide as much as $200 billion of federal funding for reconstruction efforts. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been given primary responsibility for the initial spending of federal aid approved by Congress and may well be the lead contracting agency for months to come.

Of concern is the fact that FEMA has never handled a reconstruction effort on this scale and the Homeland Security inspector general has already received accusations of fraud and waste in the multibillion-dollar relief effort. Also, FEMA has adopted many of the same contracting practices blamed for the egregious spending abuses in Iraq.

This is exactly the reason I introduced a bipartisan bill (H.Res.449) with Rep. Jim Leach (R-Iowa) last week that would establish a select Congressional committee to study the bidding, contracting and auditing standards in the award of government contracts for reconstruction projects in the area impacted by Hurricane Katrina.

Earlier this year, I introduced a similar bipartisan bill (H.Res.116) to monitor defense contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The bill echoes then-Senator Harry Truman's oversight committee established to monitor defense contracts during World War II. It is estimated that their work saved the taxpayers as much as $15 billion and, potentially, thousands of lives as a result of identifying defective weapons and other war supplies. This new legislation is a domestic version of that bill targeted to disaster relief and reconstruction efforts.

This week, Massachusetts residents got a first-hand look at FEMA’s inability to handle the situation when millions of pounds of bagged iced destined for the Gulf Coast were diverted hundreds of miles to cold storage facilities in Gloucester and elsewhere across the country. According to an article in The Gloucester Daily Times, the federal government will pay more than $4 for each of the thousands of five-pound bags of ice for shipping and storage when the same five-pound bag of ice would cost about $1.50 at a neighborhood convenience store. This does not lend encouragement that relief will be efficiently delivered, nor is it a promise of good use of American taxpayer dollars without aggressive oversight.

In light of recent events in Gloucester, it is clear that now is the time to establish a select Congressional committee to monitor Katrina aid just as the Truman Committee oversaw World War II defense contracts. We need to make sure that all victims of Hurricane Katrina who have been displaced and have suffered tremendous personal and emotional losses receive the assistance they need as quickly and as efficiently as possible, especially as Hurricane Rita heads toward the Gulf Coast. It is Congress’ job to provide oversight, and I intend to see that the job is done properly.