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Getting rich off Katrina

Ask most anyone on the street what would be needed in the immediate aftermath of a natural disaster and you'll get answers such as debris-removal services, food, ice, tents and trailers.

Too bad Federal Emergency Management Agency officials didn't think that far ahead. The federal agency in charge of disaster response did not have all of the contractors lined up to provide the goods and services Hurricane Katrina's victims would need. Playing catch-up, the agency has steered lucrative contracts to some politically connected firms.

Following a disaster like Katrina, suspending some of the government's competitive bidding rules is not unreasonable. But too much money is flowing too quickly in the recovery effort. Some 80 percent of the more than $1.5-billion in contracts FEMA has awarded have been made without competitive bids or with limited competition.

One contract catching the attention of congressional investigators is a $568-million trash removal deal with AshBritt of Pompano Beach. The company is charging above what other firms do for such cleanup. According to the New York Times, in the first half of 2005, AshBritt paid $40,000 to the Washington lobbying firm co-founded by the Mississippi governor and former chairman of the Republican Party, Haley Barbour.

Then there are the Bechtel Corp. and Kellogg, Brown & Root, a subsidiary of Halliburton, two firms with deep and longstanding ties to the administration. They both have quickly grabbed a nice piece of the Katrina money, having been awarded multimillion-dollar contracts. The allegations swirling around KBR for overbilling in Iraq, including charging $100 for each bag of laundry, made no difference.

One way FEMA can avoid paying premium prices through no-bid or limited-bid contracts is to prepare for disasters before they strike with more agreements known as "indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity." These contracts allow for open competitive bidding, while delaying delivery of goods and services until the need arises.

During a congressional hearing last week, various agency inspectors general said they will carefully scrutinize the disaster-related contracts, particularly those no-bid contracts that seem to have gone to businesses with connections. The recovery is going to be long and expensive, and every effort should be made to ensure the public money goes toward helping hurricane victims rebuild their lives and not toward making the well-connected rich.

Adora Obi Nweze is president of the Florida NAACP. Her name was misspelled and her gender was misstated in an editorial Sunday.

[Last modified October 5, 2005, 01:14:17]