Posted on 09/01/2007 5:56:39 AM PDT by NapkinUser
Lawmaker Says Enough is Enough After Two Years and $114 Billion
(WASHINGTON, DC) U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Littleton) today criticized runaway government spending on post-Katrina recovery efforts as excessive, and called for a halt to any additional appropriations amid rumors that additional Katrina requests for money are forthcoming.
The amount of money that has been wasted on these so-called recovery efforts has been mind-boggling, said Tancredo, Enough is enough.
According to the White House, the federal government has provided about $114 billion in funding and resources for hurricane recovery in the gulf coast over the last two years or around $1 billion per week a staggering figure. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has found that potentially more than $1 billion in taxpayer money has been squandered through waste, fraud and abuse.
At some point, state and local officials and individuals have got to step up to the plate and take some initiative, said Tancredo, The mentality that people can wait around indefinitely for the federal taxpayer to solve all their worldly problems has got to come to an end.
Tancredo noted that after the devastating San Francisco and Chicago fires of the last century, individuals and local officials rolled up their sleeves and rebuilt all without truckloads of money from the federal government.
This whole fiasco has been a perfect storm of corruption and incompetence at all levels said Tancredo, Its time the taxpayer gravy train left the New Orleans station.
News outlets have reported significant abuses of federal aid money by recipients, including the use of relief money to pay for Louis Vuitton handbags, adult entertainment, bail bond services, jewelry, weapons, and even to pay traffic violation fines. Earlier this year, GAO estimated improper and potentially fraudulent payments related to the Individuals and Households Program to be $1 billion through February 2006.
Tancredo, who warned in the immediate aftermath of the disaster that Louisiana officials could not be trusted with federal funds given that states long history of corruption, pointed out that several state emergency management officials were already awaiting trial on charges related to improperly using public funds when Hurricane Katrina made landfall.
State and local officials have been shirking their responsibilities and taking advantage of taxpayers since before day one, said Tancredo, Throwing more money at this debacle will do nothing but perpetuate more of the same.
I am struggling to decide on an appropriate time period for relief. If the period is too short, there is too much suffering and death because people cannot get back on their feet and self-sufficient after an event beyond their control. On the other hand, if the support period is too long, it contributes to a culture of sloth and dependency. I would be interested in thoughts on how one could determine the optimum support strategy.
That is a thoughtful post. I don’t have an answer as to how long relief should last. But I do know that you can’t say, for example, six months and that’s it. Disasters are different. Some are worse and need more time. This one, by anyones standards, was a doozy.
Oh no, I’ve been busted!! I’m from Louisiana, oh the horror, oh the humanity!! You got me good!!
In a statement, Blanco said Louisiana's share was about $60 billion
Amazing, just amazing. They know how much went to them when the amount is mis-stated but they cannot account for millions in missing/absconded funds. The clintons taught their party well on the skill of selective memory.
Nagin's comment about a chocolate city annoyed me. Let him rebuild it with chocolate dollars.
Maybe that's because those are the people living thru this tragedy and they understand better than anyone else the scope of the devastation.
Okay, go check my flag, but I'm telling you now, you're going to be disappointed.
Won't happen! That's the Liberal Plantation down there. Just fill that rat hole with gasoline and torch it...
This one, by anyones standards, was a doozy.
Yes, I know. We sent a couple of teams down to help rebuild housing. Some of my son's friends went down on spring break as well. The amount of work to strip mold-ridden, flood-soaked stuff off walls was Herculean. One of the young women in the spring-break team stepped on a hidden rusty nail that went through her boot, her foot, to the bone. The wound got badly infected. The entire crew came down with a respiratory ailment that they called "The Katrina Grunge." I also know that there have been construction material shortages. I do realize that these are not simple questions. I could understand a significantly longer timeline for reconstruction in NO than, for example, housing support in Houston. Sadly, federal support agencies are ill-equipped to make such situation-dependent judgment calls.
Or maybe they just want more money.
Bingo!!
Your area received 15.5 Billion dollars in FEMA aide in 1994. These dollars are now worth 20.86 Billion after the effects of 13 years of inflation.
FEMA discriminates. you have to be poor miinority folk to receive help from FEMA. My house insurance THANK GOD was a bit more helpful than FEMA. They told me I could go for a SBA loan for everything else.
Those who had flood insurance and homeowners insurance have been totally screwed by the insurance companies down in New Orleans, and the rest of the gulf coast. You are correct. FEMA is a bastard to work with.
Well said!
I guess we could turn off the spigot and let them whine when the gas prices sky rocket. The damage wouldn’t be so bad to our coast had other states done their fair share of allowing drilling offshore.
According to FEMA's website, the state with the most disaster declarations since 1953 is your home state of Texas with 80. California is next with 72, followed by Florida with 59 and New York with 56. Since it is YOUR home state that appears to be the most frequent cry-baby when it comes to begging Uncle Sam for money, perhaps you can remove that well fitted shoe from your mouth and speak with intelligence next time you post.
You would do yourself a big favor and improve your intelligence level quantum fold if you read through some of those links on my home page. By the way, thanks for stopping by. I like napkins. I pick my nose with em.
What is the point in rebuilding NO? It’s smack in the middle of the Gulf Coast and is already below sea level. According to Algore sea level is going to rise one foot every decade from now on. Even without another hurricane NO is doomed.
They got an extension all the way to March 2009. Yep, 2009. I am in Houston and there are two temporary Section 8 apartment complexes right on my way to work. The evacuees have no intention of getting jobs.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.