FEMA leaders blamed for poor response

Politically connected companies have won the largest rebuilding contracts.
COMBINED DISPATCHES
WASHINGTON -- Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff acknowledged Wednesday that Hurricane Katrina "overwhelmed" the Federal Emergency Management Agency and exposed major flaws in the nation's preparations for terrorism and natural disasters, but contradicted accounts by former FEMA Director Michael Brown about his department's handling of the Aug. 29 storm.
Appearing for the first time before a House panel investigating the government's heavily criticized response, Chertoff vowed to "re-engineer" U.S. preparedness after the storm that killed more than 1,200 people and devastated New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. But he also blamed Brown and FEMA leaders, saying, "We certainly have to fill out the ranks of FEMA in terms of its senior level with experienced staff who can deal with all of the elements" of its mission.
Chertoff rebutted lawmakers' questions about why he worked from home Aug. 27, two days before the Category 4 storm hit, why he made a previously scheduled trip to Atlanta on Aug. 30, and why President Bush stayed at his Texas ranch until Aug. 31. "I don't think there was a sense of a lack of urgency," Chertoff said.
Frustration
Instead, the secretary expressed growing frustration at days of conflicting reports from the scene, as well as the government's failure to speed relief to thousands of victims at the Superdome in New Orleans or to rescue residents by air or boat.
"I knew I became more involved in operational matters than I would normally expect to be or want to be, given the fact that I had a battlefield commander on the ground," Chertoff said, referring to Brown. "I am not a hurricane expert. I've got to rely on people to execute the details of the plan."
Marty Bahamonde, the only FEMA staff member in New Orleans when Katrina struck, is expected to provide testimony today contradicting previous statements by Brown and others. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, chairwoman of a Senate Katrina investigation, said Bahamonde will present a detailed accounting of the "increasingly dire messages and phone calls" sent to Bush officials.
"More than any other person we've interviewed, he can give us an account of what really happened and who really knew about it and ... why there wasn't more of a response," Collins said.
Government contracts
Meanwhile, the response to help the region has come from big companies like Ashbritt Inc., which was well-positioned to take advantage of the torrent of government dollars that followed Katrina.
The Pompano Beach, Fla., firm had spent years cultivating its relationship with the federal government, contributing tens of thousands of dollars to the Republican Party and, more recently, hiring a powerful firm to lobby the Army Corps of Engineers on "disaster mitigation."
After Katrina hit, Ashbritt was given the largest award to date -- a deal worth up to $1.1 billion from the Corps for debris removal.
It is a story of government ties that is repeated time and again for the winners of the 10 largest Katrina contracts, according to an Associated Press review. At least four of those contracts are being reviewed for possible waste and abuse.
All 10 companies are outside the affected Gulf Coast region, most are politically active and most got the work after a limited bidding process.
"How can the government say it is serious about reconstructing the Gulf Coast and edge out small and minority-owned businesses?" said Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., the ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Homeland Security. "The only way to make sure the relief funds reach hurricane victims and damaged areas is to be aggressive about oversight."
FEMA has pledged to rebid four contracts worth $100 million each to politically connected firms -- Shaw Group Inc., Bechtel Corp., CH2M Hill Inc. and Fluor Corp. -- that were awarded with little or no competition. Priority will be given to small and minority-owned businesses.