WASHINGTON – As the ranking Democrat on the Oversight and Investigation Subcommittee, Congressman Bart Stupak (D-Menominee) questioned a panel of Inspectors General of federal agencies on guarding against waste, fraud and abuse in post-Katrina relief and recovery.

“The American taxpayers have been asked to contribute more than $62 billion so far and it is expected that when all is said and done, we will be asked to contribute $200 billion toward relief efforts and rebuilding the Gulf Coast,” Stupak said. “As Congress moves forward in this effort, it is also our duty and obligation to ensure that those billions of dollars are spent wisely and not wasted on duplicative, wasteful or fraudulent expenditures. Likewise, we have an obligation to ensure that the no-bid contracts that are entered into are not gouging the American taxpayers.”

Stupak cited a recent New York Times article that listed several no bid contracts awarded for Katrina recovery efforts. The contracts included a debris removal contract awarded to AshBritt which would receive roughly $15 per cubic yard plus other costs for disposal. AshBritt is a former client of Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour who himself is a friend of the Bush Administration as a former Republican Party Chairman turned lobbyist. The article also indicated that the few Mississippi communities that were able to determine their own contractors were able to do so for much less cost.

Stupak also expressed concerns about the ability to protect whistle blowers who come forward about fraud, waste and abuse.

“The Army Corps of Engineers has demoted or fired several whistle blowers recently after they expressed concern about no-bid contracts,” Stupak said. “We cannot allow these people who are trying to save taxpayer dollars to be harassed, intimidated or punished by the higher-ups. People need to be encouraged to report such activities.”

Concerned about the lack of direction, leadership and planning by the Inspectors General of federal agencies in creating a central clearinghouse with one person in charge of spending accountability and contracting evaluations, Stupak suggested the Inspectors General create a detailed plan for reconstruction before additional funding or contracts are awarded.

“In any business, you need a detailed business plan that demonstrates you have a well thought out plan on how you will proceed before you can obtain a loan from a bank, “Stupak said. “We should expect nothing less from our government officials in their reconstruction efforts. The federal government must have a sound reconstruction plan, someone in charge and accountability of all this projected spending on reconstruction.”

Stupak also asked the panel about extending the statute of limitation by which they were able to pursue cases of fraud, waste and abuse. Many cases of fraud are not discovered for years after they have taken place making it difficult to achieve justice under current limitation. Extending the statute to 15 to 20 years would allow Inspectors General to recover taxpayer money.

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