Washington, D.C.  -  Alabama Congressman Mike Rogers opened congressional hearings today examining reports of waste, fraud and abuse of potentially millions of dollars in Federal recovery aid allocated to New York City after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

The hearings are a key part of Rogers’ ongoing, six-month bi-partisan examination of reports that surfaced in the New York Daily News last December. Homeland Security Chairman Peter King (NY) called for the investigation and asked Rogers and his oversight subcommittee to lead the hearings.

“It has been difficult for me to imagine how people could take advantage of this situation during such a tragic time in our country’s history,” Rogers said. “I am hopeful those who wasted or misused taxpayer dollars will be or have been dealt with accordingly.”

Rogers said today’s hearing covered problems faced by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in administering the majority of the aid, $8.8 billion, as well as those faced by other disaster response organizations.

The investigation revealed, for example, instances where aid was used to purchase items such as luxury televisions and other high-end electronics instead of air conditioners. Also revealed were allegations of mob influence in the early stages of debris removal at Ground Zero in Manhattan. Discussions also centered on FEMA and the similarities in problems that occurred after 9/11 and in response to the Hurricane Katrina disaster, despite suggestions given to the agency after 9/11. 

Rogers said tomorrow’s hearings will cover alleged problems in small business loans targeted for  companies affected by 9/11, but were instead handed out to businesses all over the country, including some in Alabama, without the business’ knowledge. The third and final hearing, also on Thursday, will cover the rebuilding process for New York.

“I hope these hearings will help identify lessons learned from 9/11 and help better prepare our nation for the next disaster,” Rogers said. Rogers is the Chairman of the Homeland Security subcommittee on Management, Integration and Oversight.

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