Contracts
March 28, 2007
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The system has been updated to include Defense Department and FEMA contracts. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of March 27 stands at $15.64 billion.
March 2, 2007
Large businesses awarded million-dollar government contracts for Hurricane Katrina cleanup are bending or exploiting rules aimed at helping small companies share the work, congressional investigators said Thursday. The report by the Government Accountability Office focused on small Gulf Coast businesses that lost opportunities as limited-bid contracts were awarded to politically connected companies after the storm hit on Aug. 29, 2005. Large contractors routinely did not file reports explaining their efforts to find subcontractors, as required under federal rules, according to investigators. At other times, large companies provided figures that complied with the rules but were misleading as to how much work they were sharing, reports The Associated Press.
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The system has been updated to include Defense Department and FEMA contracts. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of March 1 stands at $15.5 billion.
March 1, 2007
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The system has been updated to include Defense Department and FEMA contracts. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Feb. 28 stands at $15.49 billion.
February 23, 2007
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The system has been updated to include Defense Department and FEMA contracts. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Feb. 22 stands at $15.46 billion.
January 24, 2007
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The system has been updated to include Defense Department and FEMA contracts. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Jan. 23 stands at $14.82 billion.
A Federal Business Opportunities Web site posting shows that the Department of Agriculture has awarded a $24,500 contract for stream debris removal to Doug Bledsoe Landscaping of Elloree, S.C.
Department of Agriculture contract
January 23, 2007
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The system has been updated to include Defense Department and FEMA contracts. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Jan. 19 stands at $14.79 billion.
January 22, 2007
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The system has been updated to include Defense Department and FEMA contracts. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Jan. 19 stands at $14.79 billion.
January 12, 2007
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The system has been updated to include Defense Department and FEMA contracts. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Jan. 11 stands at nearly $14.73 billion.
December 20, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The system has been updated to include Defense Department and FEMA contracts. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Dec. 19 stands at $14.14 billion.
December 13, 2006
The leader of a nonpartisan Mississippi watchdog group is urging state ethics commissioners to decide whether three legislators are breaking the law by profiting from a contract that allows them to finalize grants for Hurricane Katrina victims. The Mississippi Press reports that Dick Johnson, president of the Mississippi affiliate of Common Cause, also says ethics commissioners should tell the public about the results of their investigation.
December 7, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The system has been updated to include Defense Department and FEMA contracts. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Dec. 6 stands at $14.07 billion.
December 4, 2006
A government watchdog agency is looking into two hurricane-related contracts awarded to Clearbrook LLC, a water services company based in Mobile, Ala., and expects to issue its findings and recommendations next month, a Federal Emergency Management Agency spokesman said. The investigation is being conducted by the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, FEMA's parent agency, according to spokesman James McIntyre. Late last year, the inspector general reported finding evidence of more than $3 million in overbillings on a Clearbrook contract worth up to $80.6 million to provide food and lodging to emergency responders, reports The Press-Register.
November 17, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The system has been updated to include Defense Department and FEMA contracts. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Nov. 16 stands at $10.88 billion.
October 31, 2006
New Orleans is paying dearly for a Metairie company to inspect electrical work at renovated homes across the city as City Hall's permit department remains a skeleton crew 14 months after Hurricane Katrina, city officials said Monday. Still, nothing ensures that every electrical contractor is obeying the codes while working to rebuild neighborhoods in a city where construction jobs remain a cash cow for anyone with a license, City Council members were told at a Housing Committee meeting, according to The Times-Picayune.
October 16, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The system has been updated to include Defense Department and FEMA contracts. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Oct. 13 stands at $9.38 billion.
October 12, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The system has been updated to include Defense Department and FEMA contracts. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Oct. 11 stands at $8.7 billion.
October 5, 2006
Three Mississippi lawmakers lawmakers profiting from a lucrative state contract that allows them to use their professional legal services to finalize grants for Hurricane Katrina victims have been named in a complaint filed with the Mississippi Ethics Commission. The (Pascagoula) Mississippi Press reports that Sen. Tommy Robertson, R-Moss Point, Rep.Jim Beckett, R-Bruce, and Rep. Jim Simpson, R-Long Beach, are named in the complaint filed by Edward Hightower of Jackson. The complaint also names Ethics Commission vice chairman Ben Stone, whose blessing Robertson said he received before bidding on the contract.
October 3, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Sept. 29 stands at $2.75 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
October 2, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Sept. 29 stands at $2.75 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
September 29, 2006
Federal Business Opportunities Web site postings show that the Department of the Air Force has awarded Hunt Building Co. Ltd. of El Paso, Texas, a contract worth more than $287 million to construct military housing units to replace those damaged by Hurricane Katrina, and the Department of the Army has awarded an $8.48 million contract to Barlovento LLC of Dothan, Ala., to replace a civil engineering complex.
Department of the Air Force Contract
Department of the Army Contract
September 27, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Sept. 25 stands at $2.13 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
September 26, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Sept. 25 stands at $2.13 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
September 19, 2006
A state judge in Baton Rouge has determined that Bourget's, the politically connected custom motorcycle shop that has sold almost $120 million of trailers to FEMA, does not have to pay a fine for selling travel trailers without a license, according to attorneys who have read the judge's unsigned ruling. The Times-Picayune reports that the decision also appears to let Bourget's off the hook for potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars in Louisiana sales tax, the attorneys said.
September 14, 2006
Sure, it was a national emergency, but the Transportation Department's inspector general finds $935 an hour for a Sewer Hog a tad piggish. In a new post-Katrina audit, the inspector general's office told the Federal Highway Administration that the state of Mississippi had overspent by $772 an hour on the Sewer Hog, a high-speed swiller used to clear flooded storm drains, reports The Washington Post. Desperate to reopen U.S. 90 along the Gulf Coast, Mississippi transportation officials turned to Texas-based Garner Environmental Services Inc., exclusive operators of the Sewer Hog. State highway officials — and the feds — paid $1.7 million for services that the report said ought to have cost $294,000.
September 11, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Sept. 11 stands at $2.06 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
September 6, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Sept. 1 stands at $2.05 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
August 14, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Aug. 11 stands at $1.98 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
August 4, 2006
A Federal Business Opportunities Web site posting shows that the Department of Agriculture has awarded a $23,700 contract for stream debris removal to J & K Construction LLC of Beaumont, Texas.
Department of Agriculture contract
July 21, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of July 21 stands at $1.94 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations has posted the latest disaster relief reports on Hurricane Katrina (as of July 21) submitted by FEMA on its Web site.
July 20, 2006
The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations has posted the latest disaster relief reports on Hurricane Katrina (as of July 20) submitted by FEMA on its Web site.
July 11, 2006
Federal Business Opportunities Web site postings show that the Department of the Army has awarded several contracts for rehabilitation of damaged hurricane or shore protection projects in several parishes to Hernandez Consulting LLC of New Orleans (four contracts worth a combined $36,850); IBK Government Group LLC of Morrison, Colo. (three contracts, $24,750); Urban Settlement Services of Pittsburgh, Pa. (one contract, $14,500); and First Louisiana Title Corp. of River Ridge, La. (one contract, $5,000).
Hernandez Consulting Contract 1 (Plaquemines Parish)
Hernandez Consulting Contract 2 (Orleans Parish)
Hernandez Consulting Contract 3 (St. Bernard Parish)
Hernandez Consulting Contract 4 (Jefferson Parish)
IBK Government Group Contract 1 (Plaquemines Parish)
IBK Government Group Contract 2 (St. Bernard Parish)
IBK Government Group Contract 3 (Orleans Parish)
Urban Settlement Services Contract (Plaquemines Parish)
First Louisiana Title Corp. Contract (Jefferson Parish)
June 9, 2006
The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations has posted the latest disaster relief reports on Hurricane Katrina (as of June 8) submitted by FEMA on its Web site.
June 8, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of June 6 stands at $1.88 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included).
May 31, 2006
For companies in the post-disaster business, 2005 was a very good year, according to MSNBC. And if preseason predictions are correct, it could be the first in a series of profitable years for a rapidly growing industry that encompasses engineering firms, debris haulers and logistical specialists who rush in whenever disaster strikes. In addition to being the largest natural disaster in U.S. history, Hurricane Katrina was a boon for companies that specialize in recovering from such devastation. It opened the spigot to billions of dollars in federal contracts to haul debris, make emergency repairs to damaged homes and buildings, and provide temporary housing and other structures. The growth of the sector is best illustrated by an emerging group of companies even more intensely focused on specialized aspects of post-disaster work. These firms, including Beck Disaster Recovery and AshBritt, typically spring into action after disasters strike by tapping networks of affiliated contractors to quickly dispatch personnel, heavy equipment and other specialized gear to the scene.
May 30, 2006
Mississippi is withholding nearly $17 million in federal reimbursement money from its most populous coastal county while authorities probe a "multitude of discrepancies" in bills that contractors submitted for Hurricane Katrina debris removal, according to officials and documents reviewed by The Associated Press. The state stopped making payments last month to Harrison County — which contains Biloxi and Gulfport — after the Federal Emergency Management Agency began auditing the work being done to clear away storm-damaged trees. An internal FEMA report faulted county officials for paying the contractors more than $10 million without checking the work's quality or accuracy. After FEMA officials inspected more than a dozen of the roads where work was performed, its debris specialists notified the county on three occasions that the contractors were "not performing their jobs properly resulting in ineligible limbs and trees being cut and billed."
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of May 26 stands at $1.87 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
May 26, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of May 24 stands at $1.86 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations has posted the latest disaster relief reports on Hurricane Katrina (as of May 26) submitted by FEMA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on its Web site.
May 25, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of May 24 stands at $1.86 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations has posted the latest disaster relief reports on Hurricane Katrina (as of May 25) submitted by FEMA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on its Web site.
May 24, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of May 23 stands at $1.86 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
May 23, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of May 19 stands at $1.86 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
Federal Business Opportunities Web site postings show that the Department of Agriculture has awarded a $33,468 contract for stream debris removal to Blitz Contracting LLC of Saraland, Ala.
Department of Agriculture Contract
May 22, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of May 19 stands at $1.86 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
May 19, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of May 18 stands at $1.86 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
May 18, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of May 17 stands at $1.86 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
May 17, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of May 16 stands at $1.85 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
May 16, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of May 15 stands at $1.85 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
May 15, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of May 12 stands at $1.85 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
May 12, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of May 11 stands at $1.84 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
May 11, 2006
Federal investigators from several departments, along with state and local officials on the Gulf Coast, will spend years combing through thousands of tips for possible contracting fraud in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, witnesses told a House panel Wednesday. Already, more than 260 people — including some government employees — have been charged with a range of crimes because of investigations by the Homeland Security and Justice departments, the FBI and the Secret Service, among others, reports GovExec.com. However, additional personnel, including investigators and prosecutors, will be needed. The task force is headquartered in Baton Rouge, La., and because all departments and agencies — from federal to local levels — share databases, once allegations lead to charges, each investigator is notified to see if additional inquiries are being conducted elsewhere, Alice Fisher, chair of Justice's Hurricane Katrina Fraud Task Force said. Because some contracts will continue for years, the task force's effort will continue indeterminably, as will the need for continued support and personnel.
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of May 10 stands at $1.84 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
May 10, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of May 9 stands at $1.85 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
May 9, 2006
Through a partnership with a smaller, minority-owned company, a multinational firm with ties to the Federal Emergency Management Agency has landed four rebid deals that could be worth $400 million, federal records show. The Times-Picayune reports that the contracts were awarded to PRI/DJI, a joint venture between Del-Jen Industries and the Asian-American-owned PRI Inc., therefore qualifying under the terms of a federal program for disadvantaged businesses. However, Del-Jen is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fluor Corp., which held a mammoth FEMA disaster relief work contract that was up for rebidding when Katrina hit. FEMA then broke that contract up and awarded four $500 million deals for temporary housing work, but later agreed under pressure to rebid them. PRI/DJI’s success has angered competitors who say it’s outrageous that one partnership — especially one linked to the disaster relief giant — would win four of the 36 contracts awarded when no other company appears to have landed two. FEMA insists the process has been aboveboard.
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of May 8 stands at $1.84 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
Federal Business Opportunities Web site postings show that the Department of the Army has awarded a $2,094,750 contract for dredging to Seawolf Bean Stuyvesant LLC of New Orleans, La.
Department of the Army Contract
May 8, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of May 5 stands at $1.84 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
May 5, 2006
While removing enough debris to cover Britain, contractors working on hurricane recovery have overbilled the government in a $63 billion operation that will get more expensive, according to a House report Thursday. Mileage claims were overstated to get extra fees, debris was mixed improperly to inflate prices and companies sent bills twice for removing the same loads, Democrats on the House Government Reform Committee found. Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., who compiled the report for the hearing on Hurricane Katrina contracting, also complained about layers of subcontractors that drove up costs, The Associated Press reports. A major contractor would take a large cut and pay smaller amounts to the subcontractors, down to the company with the truck hauling debris to the dump.
A batch of lucrative Gulf Coast federal travel trailer contracts has been put on hold, and other contracts could be in jeopardy, after three companies that lost a rebidding process lodged formal protests with the Government Accountability Office, according to federal attorneys handling the complaints. The protests, which the GAO must resolve within 100 calendar days, were filed in April. Since then controversy over FEMA's post-Katrina contracting processes has mounted. In recent weeks questions have surfaced about whether some of the companies that won in the rebidding comply with FEMA's explicit guidelines, The Times-Picayune reports.
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of May 4 stands at $1.84 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
May 4, 2006
Questions are being raised about new contracts that the Federal Emergency Management Agency is awarding for hurricane work along the Gulf Coast, reports National Public Radio. The agency says it wants the money — up to $3.6 billion — to go to small and disadvantaged companies in the region. But some local firms have complained that too many winners are from out of state, and they question whether all of them are qualified. Federal investigators are reviewing some of the awards. The 36 contracts are huge — up to $100 million each — to take care of thousands of trailers and mobile homes now housing hurricane victims on the Gulf Coast. FEMA decided to make the awards after it was criticized for giving no-bid contracts to four large national firms in the hectic days right after the storm.
See, hear National Public Radio report
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of May 3 stands at $1.83 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
Federal Business Opportunities Web site postings show that the Department of the Army has awarded a $5.44 million contract for dredging to Mike Hooks Inc. of Westlake, La.
Department of the Army Contract
May 3, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of May 2 stands at $1.83 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
Federal Business Opportunities Web site postings show that the Department of the Army has awarded a $4,187,500 dredging contract to Pine Bluff Sand and Gravel Co. of Pine Bluff, Ark.
The Department of the Army Contract
May 2, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of May 1 stands at $1.82 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
May 1, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of April 28 stands at $1.81 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
A posting on the Department of Defense Web site notes that the Department of Homeland Security has awarded a $4,587,300 million contract to Houston-based Hunter Allied of Texas for Hurricane Katrina housing repairs.
Department of Homeland Security Contract
April 28, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of April 27 stands at $1.81 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
A posting on the Department of Defense Web site notes that the U.S. Navy has awarded a $6,927,952 million contract to Walton Construction Co. of Harahan, La., for hurricane-related work at Navy installations.
April 27, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of April 26 stands at $1.81 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
Federal Business Opportunities Web site postings show that the Department of Agriculture has awarded a $38,000 contract for debris removal to Taylor-Woerner Inc. of Elberta, Ala. and the Department of the Army has awarded a $2,562,976 for dredging to Weeks Marine Inc. of Covington, La. In addition, NASA has awarded a $39,195 contract for a Hurricane Katrina event at Stennis Space Center to Pattons Caters Inc. of Slidell, La., and a $30,000 contract for a Hurricane Katrina event at Michoud Space Center to Aramark Services of Philadelphia, Pa.
Department of Agriculture Contract
Department of the Army Contract
April 26, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of April 25 stands at $1.81 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
Federal Business Opportunities Web site postings show that the Department of Agriculture has awarded a $9,000 contract for debris removal to ServiceMax Inc. of Bellaire, Texas.
Department of Agriculture Contract
April 25, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of April 24 stands at $1.80 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
Federal Business Opportunities Web site postings show that the Department of the Army has awarded: a $3,833,000 contract for dredging to Mike Hooks Inc. of Westlake, La.; a $3,108,000 contract for dredging to Bean Stuyvesant LLC of New Orleans, La.; and a $20,000,000 contract for quality assurance inspection services to Integrated Management Services PA of Jackson, Miss.
Department of the Army Contract 1
Department of the Army Contract 2
Department of the Army Contract 3
April 24, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of April 21 stands at $1.80 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
Federal Business Opportunities Web site postings show that the Department of Agriculture has awarded a $33,600 contract for stream debris removal to Russell Enterprises of Smithfield, N.C.
Department of Agriculture contract
April 21, 2006
The government overpaid by 20 percent on a $39.5 million, no-bid Hurricane Katrina contract for portable classrooms because the Army Corps of Engineers passed up chances to negotiate a lower price, a federal audit says. The draft Government Accountability Office report on the contract with Akima Site Operations LLC, a subsidiary of an Alaskan Native-owned firm, said the government wasted at least $7.8 million. It's the latest in a series of audits detailing waste of hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars in the hurricane recovery effort, reports The Associated Press.
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of April 20 stands at $1.79 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
April 20, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of April 19 stands at $1.79 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
April 19, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of April 18 stands at $1.79 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
April 18, 2006
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Friday that an internal review critical of the agency's response to Hurricane Katrina is "very constructive" and targets weaknesses now being corrected ahead of the June 1 start of hurricane season, reports The Associated Press. Chertoff said workers with the Federal Emergency Management Agency are getting better training and plans are being made to store supplies, such as ice, nearer to where they’re needed and to have trailers and housing assistance in the right place through competitively bid contracts.
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of April 17 stands at $1.79 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
Federal Business Opportunities Web site postings show that the Department of Agriculture has awarded a $36,000 contract for debris removal to Taylor-Woerner Inc. of Elberta, Ala.
Department of Agriculture Contract
April 17, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of April 14 stands at $1.79 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
April 14, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of April 13 stands at $1.79 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
April 13, 2006
Former FEMA chief Michael Brown says he'll still offer advice to hurricane-battered St. Bernard Parish, but he won't serve as a paid consultant because it would just stir up controversy, according to The Associated Press. Brown, whose name became synonymous with government ineptitude in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, had planned to meet with officials in the parish Thursday about a consulting contract to help the parish cut through red tape as it navigates the federal bureaucracy. He canceled that trip Wednesday after some lawmakers and residents protested.
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of April 12 stands at $1.79 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
Federal Business Opportunities Web site postings show that the Department of the Army has awarded an $8.66 million contract for dredging to Weeks Marine Inc. of Covington, La., and the Department of Agriculture has awarded a $91,469 contract for stream debris removal to Jerry Luce Contracting of Nampa, Idaho.
Department of the Army Contract
Department of Agriculture Contract
April 12, 2006
The Army Corps of Engineers "could have, but failed to, negotiate a lower price" on a $39.5 million Hurricane Katrina contract for portable classrooms in Mississippi, according to a draft government report. USA TODAY reports that the tentative finding by the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, raises new questions about the no-bid award to Akima Site Operations, a subsidiary of an Alaskan native-owned firm. The draft report also confirms a USA TODAY report in September that a Mississippi business that Akima consulted while pricing the classrooms contended it would have supplied the units for roughly half the price.
In a much-anticipated rebidding of contracts to service travel trailers in Louisiana, the Federal Emergency Management Agency appears poised to dole out more than half the work to out-of-state companies, despite federal assurances that the process would favor local firms, FEMA documents show. One company listed by the agency as "an apparently successful offeror" is a joint venture from San Diego that includes a subsidiary of Fluor Corp., a recipient of one of the multimillion-dollar trailer deals FEMA and the Bush administration vowed to rebid. The Times-Picayune reports that records show one of the Louisiana companies expected to land a contract does not appear to meet the definition of a local business that FEMA established when it requested proposals in November.
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of April 11 stands at $1.79 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
April 11, 2006
Multibillion-dollar hurricane recovery efforts on the Gulf Coast are plagued by bloated costs and waste, with too many contractors getting a piece of the action, lawmakers said at a hearing on Monday. Reuters reports that Louisiana legislators frustrated by the slow pace of recovery have accused the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Army Corps of Engineers of spearheading a flawed rebuilding process with little transparency and contractor oversight.
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of April 11 stands at $1.79 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
Federal Business Opportunities Web site postings show that the Department of Agriculture has awarded a $69,825 contract for stream debris removal to Russell Enterprises of Smithfield, N.C., and the Department of the Army has awarded a $4.02 million contract for dredging to Manson Construction Co. of Seattle, Wash.
Department of Agriculture Contract
Department of the Army Contract
April 10, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of April 7 stands at $1.78 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
April 7, 2006
Michael Brown, former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is negotiating a consulting contract with St. Bernard Parish, the area in New Orleans hardest-hit by Hurricane Katrina, Bloomberg News reports. Katrina spawned floodwaters that inundated the low-lying community between New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico for two weeks after its Aug. 29 landfall. The storm claimed 129 lives and destroyed 26,000 homes there. Parish leaders expressed confidence in Brown's ability to help them compete more effectively with large communities for federal funding and speed a recovery they say has been mired in bureaucratic red tape.
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of April 5 stands at $1.78 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
Federal Business Opportunities Web site postings show that the Department of Agriculture has awarded contracts totaling $49,920 for stream debris removal to Jerry Luce Contracting of Nampa, Idaho.
Department of Agriculture Contract 1
Department of Agriculture Contract 2
April 6, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of April 5 stands at $1.78 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
April 5, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of April 3 stands at $1.77 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
Federal Business Opportunities Web site postings show that the Environmental Protection Agency has awarded a $172,812 contract for security guard services to Seawolf Marine Patrol Inc. of Highlands, Texas, and that the Department of the Army has awarded a $2.84 million contract for dredging to Weeks Marine Inc. of Covington, La.
Environmental Protection Agency Contract
Department of the Army Contract
April 4, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of April 3 stands at $1.77 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
April 3, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of March 31 stands at $1.77 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
The latest Hurricane Katrina disaster relief reports (as of March 30) submitted by FEMA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have been posted on the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations Web site.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Disaster Relief Report
March 31, 2006
Portions of four major emergency housing contracts awarded after Hurricane Katrina are being rebid to smaller, local companies in the Gulf Coast region, the chief of the nation's disaster agency says. That will ensure that at least $1.5 billion in federal contracts are awarded competitively, R. David Paulison, acting director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said in an interview with The Associated Press.
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of March 30 stands at $1.77 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
March 30, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of March 29 stands at $1.76 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
March 29, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of March 29 stands at $1.76 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
Federal Business Opportunities Web site postings show that the Department of Homeland Security has awarded a $2.67 million contract for miscellaneous repairs to ACTS of New Ellenton, S.C.
Department of Homeland Security Contract
March 28, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of March 27 stands at $1.76 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
Federal Business Opportunities Web site postings show that the Department of Agriculture has awarded a total of $36,000 in contracts for stream debris removal to Taylor-Woerner Inc. of Elberta, Ala.
Department of Agriculture Contract 1
Department of Agriculture Contract 2
March 27, 2006
FEMA has broken its promise to reopen four multimillion-dollar no-bid contracts for Hurricane Katrina work, including three that federal auditors say wasted significant amounts of money. The Associated Press reports that officials said they awarded the four contracts last October to speed recovery efforts that might have been slowed by competitive bidding. Some critics suggested they were rewards for politically connected firms.
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of March 24 stands at $1.75 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations has posted the latest disaster relief reports on Hurricane Katrina (as of March 23) submitted by FEMA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on its Web site.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Disaster Relief Report 1
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Disaster Relief Report 2
March 24, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of March 23 stands at $1.7 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
March 23, 2006
Faced with mounting questions about its pending contract with the city of New Orleans to remove thousands of flood-wrecked cars there, a prominent national engineering firm backed out of the proposed deal Wednesday. The Times-Picayune reports that the company, CH2M Hill, which is based in Denver but has had a New Orleans office for 10 years, said the controversy over the deal was one factor in its decision. But the main reason, company officials said, was a growing sense that the problem could be solved for less than the $23 million city administrators said they would spend on the CH2M Hill contract.
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of March 22 stands at $1.7 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
March 22, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of March 21 stands at $1.68 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
March 21, 2006
A House committee said Monday it would review several post-Katrina hurricane contracts for waste and abuse, citing recent concerns about limited oversight and the haste in which they were awarded, The Associated Press reports. The Government Reform Committee will hold at least one hearing in April, said Robert White, a spokesman for the panel’s chairman, Tom Davis, R-Va. Witnesses and the specific contracts that will be scrutinized have yet to be determined, White said.
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of March 20 stands at $1.67 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
March 20, 2006
How many contractors does it take to haul a pile of tree branches? If it's government work, at least four: a contractor, his subcontractor, the subcontractor's subcontractor, and finally, the local man with a truck and chainsaw, reports The Washington Post. For the thousands of contractors in the Katrina recovery business, this is the way the system works — a system that federal officials say is the same after every major disaster, but that local government officials, watchdog groups and the contractors themselves say is one reason that costs for the hurricane cleanup continue to swell.
Much of the taxpayer-funded post-Hurricane Katrina recovery and reconstruction work was initially marred by the government's poor communication and planning, and a lack of competition, a series of recently released reviews has found. At the same time, a separate report by the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general found that one of the most criticized contracting deals — the lease of four cruise ships for temporary housing — was "reasonable" under the circumstances, but not necessarily cost-efficient, reports The Mobile Register. One of them, the Carnival Cruise Lines’ Holiday that was based in Mobile, docked in Mobile as a shelter from mid-September through late October before moving to Pascagoula.
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of March 17 stands at $1.66 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
March 17, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of March 16 stands at $1.66 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
March 16, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of March 15 stands at $1.66 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
March 15, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of March 14 stands at $1.65 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
March 14, 2006
For DynCorp International LLC and other private security companies, the post-Katrina Gulf Coast, like Iraq, is a land of opportunity, reports The Washington Post. Hired shortly to protect several New Orleans hospitals, its first domestic security job, the Texas firm has earned about $14 million from work in the Gulf Coast since Katrina, though not all has involved security. Blackwater USA, which protected the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq and lost four employees in a 2004 ambush in Fallujah, earned about $42 million through the end of December on a contract with Federal Protective Service, a unit of the Department of Homeland Security, to provide security to FEMA sites. Most of the 330 contract guards now working in Louisiana are employed by the company.
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of March 13 stands at $1.65 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
Federal Business Opportunities Web site postings show that the Department of Agriculture has awarded a $62,560 contract for stream debris removal to S.C. Logging Co. Inc. of Watkinsville, Ga.
Department of Agriculture Contract
The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations has posted the latest disaster relief reports on Hurricane Katrina (as of March 9) submitted by FEMA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on its Web site.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Disaster Relief Report
March 13, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of March 10 stands at $1.65 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
Federal Business Opportunities Web site postings show that the Department of Homeland Security has awarded a $2.56 million contract for hurricane repairs to Ercon Corporation of Scott, La.
Department of Homeland Security Contract
March 10, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of March 9 stands at $1.65 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
March 9, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of March 8 stands at $1.65 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
March 8, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of March 3 stands at $1.64 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
March 7, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of March 3 stands at $1.64 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
March 6, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of March 3 stands at $1.64 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
Federal Business Opportunities Web site postings show that the Department of the Army has awarded a $1.18 million contract for hurricane repairs to Southern Services & Equipment Inc. of St. Bernard, La.
Department of the Army Contract
March 3, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of March 2 stands at $1.62 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations has posted the latest disaster relief reports on Hurricane Katrina (as of March 2) submitted by FEMA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on its Web site.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Disaster Relief Report
March 2, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Feb. 24 stands at $1.61 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
March 1, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Feb. 24 stands at $1.61 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
Federal Business Opportunities Web site postings show that the Department of Agriculture has awarded a $56,468 contract for stream debris removal to Russell Enterprises LLC of Smithfield, N.C.
Department of Agriculture Contract
February 28, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Feb. 24 stands at $1.61 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
February 27, 2006
While plenty of money is being pumped into the debris-removal effort in the Gulf Coast — about $1.5 billion so far, according to the federal government, which is supervising the effort and paying for most of it — contractors say most of that cash ends up not in the pockets of the crews on the street, but in the accounts of the three prime contractors handling the debris mission in Louisiana and an army of middlemen who serve no particular function. The Times-Picayune reports that the contracting layers have such a draining effect on relief funds that top federal officials are searching for a way to eliminate them.
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Feb. 24 stands at $1.61 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
February 24, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Feb. 24 stands at $1.61 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
February 23, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Feb. 17 stands at $1.545 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
February 22, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Feb. 17 stands at $1.545 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
Federal Business Opportunities Web site postings show that the Department of Agriculture has awarded a $56,500 contract for stream debris removal to S.C. Logging Co. Inc. of Watkinsville, Ga., and that the Army has awarded a $3.53 million contract for hurricane repair work to Boh Bros. Construction Co. LLC of New Orleans.
Department of Agriculture Contract
Department of the Army Contract
February 21, 2006
Though U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials say they did not overpay for the tens of thousands of emergency “blue roofs” across the Gulf Coast, a review of their documents shows that a company required to compete for its contract did the work for half of what others charged. The Times-Picayune reports that in October, eight weeks after Hurricane Katrina made landfall, the corps hired Ystueta Inc., a small Alabama company, to do the same temporary roof work as larger, better-connected companies. Ystueta's price, which came after the corps sought competitive bids from minority-owned companies, was substantially less — about 58 percent lower than that of The Shaw Group, the highest-paid prime contractor assigned to the job in Louisiana, records show.
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Feb. 17 stands at $1.545 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
February 17, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Feb. 16 stands at $1.526 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
February 16, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Feb. 15 stands at $1.526 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
The Federal Business Opportunities Web site postings show that the Department of the Army has awarded a $1.96 million contract for hurricane repairs to Southern Services & Equipment Inc. of St. Bernard, La.
Department of the Army Contract
February 15, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Feb. 14 stands at $1.52 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
February 14, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Feb. 13 stands at $1.51 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
Federal Business Opportunities Web site postings show that the Department of Agriculture has awarded a $47,500 contract for stream debris removal to John Millsap Contracting of Paris, Texas.
Department of Agriculture Contract
February 13, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Feb. 10 stands at $1.5 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
The Federal Business Opportunities Web site postings show that the Department of the Army has awarded an $8.6 million contract for dredging to Weeks Marine Inc. of Covington, La.
Department of the Army Contract
February 10, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Feb. 10 stands at $1.5 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
February 9, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Feb. 7 stands at nearly $1.45 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
February 8, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Feb. 7 stands at nearly $1.45 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
February 7, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Feb. 6 stands at $1.44 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
February 6, 2006
A West Virginia company with little or no experience in disaster relief collected more than $5 million from FEMA for work it never completed on a temporary tent city in St. Bernard Parish, in a deal that this week became the subject of a criminal investigation, according to federal officials and records. The Times-Picayune reports that both the spending and the selection of the company, Lighthouse Disaster Relief, are under scrutiny by investigators with the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general, FEMA and department officials said.
New Orleans' city treasury may be nearly empty and Entergy New Orleans is facing bankruptcy, but the law firms and other consultants who provide advice and legal services to the City Council in connection with its regulation of the company will not have to tighten their belts in 2006. The Times-Picayune reports that with no discussion, the council has unanimously approved eight 2006 contract renewals, and in some cases increases, for a team of consultants with longtime ties to the council. The new contracts total about $5.7 million and are by far the largest professional service deals the council awards.
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Feb. 3 stands at $1.44 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
February 3, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Feb. 3 stands at $1.44 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
February 2, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Feb. 1 stands at $1.43 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
The Federal Business Opportunities Web site postings show that the Department of the Army has awarded a $4.62 million contract for floodgate repairs to M.R. Pittman Group, LLC, of Harahan, La.
Department of the Army Contract
February 1, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Jan. 27 stands at $1.42 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
January 31, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Jan. 27 stands at $1.42 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
January 30, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Jan. 27 stands at $1.42 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
The Federal Business Opportunities Web site postings show that the Department of Agriculture has awarded the following contracts for stream debris removal: $60,900 to Recovery Reconstruction Services LLC, of Dudley, North Carolina, and $157,250 to Continental Rails & Excavating, Inc., of Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
Department of Agriculture Contract 1
Department of Agriculture Contract 2
January 27, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Jan. 26 stands at $1.42 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
The Federal Business Opportunities Web site postings show that the Department of the Army has awarded a $5.89 million contract for levee enlargement and repairs to Affolter Contracting, LTD, of Texas City, Texas, and the Department of Homeland Security has awarded a $1.5 million contract for vessel removal to Titan Maritime, LLC, of Dania, Florida.
Department of the Army Contract
Department of Homeland Security Contract
January 26, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Jan. 25 stands at $1.42 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
January 25, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Jan. 24 stands at $1.41 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
January 24, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Jan. 23 stands at $1.41 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
January 20, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Jan. 20 stands at $1.42 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
The Federal Business Opportunities Web site postings show that the Department of the Army has awarded a General Services Administration has awarded a $3.9 million contract for levee repairs and construction to Ceres Caribe Inc., of Lajas, Puerto Rico.
Department of the Army Contract
January 19, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Jan. 18 stands at $1.41 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
The Federal Business Opportunities Web site postings show that the Department of the Army has awarded a $4.15 million contract for levee repairs and construction to Ceres Caribe Inc., of Lajas, Puerto Rico.
Department of the Army Contract
January 18, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Jan. 17 stands at $1.4 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
January 17, 2006
Days after Hurricane Katrina, the Federal Emergency Management Agency launched the biggest housing initiative in its 26-year history. As part of this effort, the agency ordered 125,000 trailers, more than six times the number purchased during the entire 2004 hurricane season. Federal Times reports that nearly five months later, only 58,000 families are living in those travel trailers and mobile homes, and more than 20,000 trailers are sitting vacant in fields, on old airport runways and in parking lots across the Gulf Coast. The majority of these are simply waiting for a place to go.
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Jan. 13 stands at $1.4 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
The Federal Business Opportunities Web site postings show that the General Services Administration has awarded FEMA trailer contracts to the following Mississippi companies: a total of $4.43 million to Ethridge RV Center, of Meridian, and $938,362 to Paw-Paw’s Camper City, of Picayune.
January 13, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Jan. 12 stands at $1.38 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
January 12, 2006
Federal inspectors want to suspend or limit payment on some post-Hurricane Katrina contracts to save millions of dollars they regard as potentially wasteful spending, a government review recommends. The review obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press also said work was authorized without spending limits for four housing and construction companies awarded no-bid contracts immediately after Katrina.
Federal prosecutors rang up another conviction Wednesday in their probe of a scheme to skim hundreds of thousands of dollars from a huge energy-efficiency contract awarded during former New Orleans Mayor Marc Morial's tenure at City Hall. The Times-Picayune reports that under an agreement with prosecutors, Michael Garnett, a subcontractor who did work under the $81 million Johnson Controls Inc. deal, pleaded guilty to misprision of a felony for knowing about crimes related to the scheme but failing to inform authorities, U.S. Attorney Jim Letten said. Garnett is the fifth subcontractor to enter a guilty plea related to the Johnson Controls contract, Letten said.
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Jan. 11 stands at $1.37 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
January 11, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Jan. 10 stands at $1.37 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
January 10, 2006
The blue-tarp roof, a symbol of hurricane damage in south Louisiana and Mississippi as recognizable as curbside debris, may wind up as a post-Katrina emblem of government waste reminiscent of the Pentagon's fabled $435 hammers and $640 toilet seats. Newhouse News Service reports that depending on the extent of damage and the size of the roof, the federal government is paying anywhere from a few hundred dollars to $5,000 to install a typical tarp. The cost is driven up by layers of subcontractors, an expensive flowchart that sometimes produces the sub-sub-sub-sub-subcontractor, known in post-Katrina parlance as a "fifth-tier sub."
See Newhouse News Service article
When Hurricanes Katrina and Rita ravaged the Gulf Coast, they turned dozens of communities into massive trash heaps. When the winds died down and the flood waters receded, the storms left behind a line of debris some 500 miles long. The National Journal reports that by year's end, contractors hired by the Army Corps of Engineers and other government agencies had hauled away some 40 million cubic yards of junk in Louisiana and Mississippi. Even so, millions of cubic yards of debris remained, much of it in houses that will have to be gutted or demolished.
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Jan. 9 stands at $1.37 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
January 9, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Jan. 6 stands at $1.37 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
January 6, 2006
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Jan. 4 stands at $1.37 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
January 5, 2006
Hundreds of children returned Tuesday for the first time since Hurricane Katrina to schools in New Orleans that had survived on dry ground. Some came gleefully. Some came mournfully, and, to be sure, tens of thousands who were still displaced could not come at all, The New York Times reports. But for those who ventured back, the educational landscape was much different from the one they had left: New Orleans is now a smaller system dominated by new charter schools in the same buildings that housed traditional public schools before the storm, as well as by leaner private schools eager for what they hope will be new pools of aid.
January 4, 2006
The Gulf Coast hurricanes have combined to create a looming procurement chore for the year ahead, FederalTimes.com reports. Part of this task will be to re-examine the many no-bid contracts initially awarded in the hurricanes' aftermath and seek new bids on many of them
January 3, 2006
The Homeland Security Department is poised to alter the annual competition for its federal grants, seeking to direct money to cities that face multiple threats—and not just from terrorism. The Associated Press reports that the change, outlined in departmental documents sent to state and local officials, addresses both the destruction and lack of preparedness seen during Hurricane Katrina.
It was Aug. 30 and the winds from Hurricane Katrina had barely died down, but Orleans Levee Board legal consultant George Carmouche already was cashing in on the storm by greatly expanding his previously limited role at the flood protection agency. The Times-Picayune reports that during the next two months, Carmouche, his family and his law firm associates collected fees for everything from office space to boat salvage work to media consulting—a myriad of nonlegal services that currently total about $90,000 and counting, according to Levee Board records.
See The Times-Picayune article
December 23, 2005
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Dec. 22 stands at $1.33 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.) CH2M Hill Constructors Inc. of Englewood, Colo., has joined the list of companies that have received the biggest single contracts of $15 million or more, receiving an $18.5 million contract for Katrina-related construction.
The Federal Business Opportunities Web site postings show that the General Services Administration has awarded a $5.45 million FEMA trailer contract to Truck-Man R.V. Center of Jackson, Miss.
December 22, 2005
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Dec. 21 stands at $1.32 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.) The following companies have joined the list of those that have received the biggest single contracts worth $15 million or more: Environmental Quality Management of Cincinnati, Ohio, received a $21.6 million contract for facilities operations support; and Roy F. Weston of West Chester, Pa., received a $15.1 million contract for technical assistance.
The General Services Administration has awarded FEMA trailer contracts of varying amounts to the following Mississippi companies: $2.84 million to Malley’s Store All LLC of Pass Christian; two worth a total $3.2 million to Sherman RV Center of Sherman; $536,280 to Country Creek RV Supercenter of Hattiesburg; and $1.11 million to American RV of Olive Branch.
December 21, 2005
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Dec. 20 stands at $1.27 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
The Federal Business Opportunities Web site postings show that the General Services Administration has awarded FEMA trailer contracts in varying amounts to the following Mississippi companies: $1.77 million to Bus Supply Company Inc. of McComb; $6.33 million to Michael’s RV Center of Columbia; $408,384 to Vance Auto & Camper Sales of Grenada; $3.65 million to King’s RV Repair and Sales of Purvis; $986,000 to Sherman RV Center of Sherman; $269,384 to Senatobia RV & Trailer Sales of Senatobia; $1.67 million to Turning Wheel RV Center of Jackson; $3.49 million to Country Creek RV Supercenter of Hattiesburg.
December 20, 2005
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Dec. 19 stands at $1.26 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
The Federal Business Opportunities Web site postings show that the General Services Administration has awarded FEMA trailer contracts of varying amounts to the following Mississippi companies: $712,731 to Senatobia RV & Trailer Sales of Senatobia; $749,621 to Sherman RV Center in Sherman; and $1.26 million to American RV Center of Olive Branch.
December 19, 2005
Hurricane Katrina taught the Department of Homeland Security important lessons about procurement, according to Elaine Duke, the department’s acting chief procurement officer. FCW.com reports that the devastating August storm showed the need for contingency planning within each federal department and across them, Duke said at a gathering of the Association for Federal Information Resources Management, a nonprofit industry group, in Washington, D.C.
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Dec. 16 stands at $1.25 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
A posting on the Federal Business Opportunities Web site shows that the Department of Homeland Security has awarded a $591,720 contract for roof replacement to Astrid Contract Technical Services of New Ellenton, S.C.
Department of Homeland Security Contract
The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations has posted the latest disaster relief reports on Hurricane Katrina (as of Dec. 15) submitted by FEMA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on its Web site.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Disaster Relief Report
December 15, 2005
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Dec. 14 stands at $1.24 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
December 14, 2005
Forty-six laborers and truckers said they were promised high pay by a Georgia subcontractor to clean up hurricane debris in Louisiana but have been stiffed. Federal contracting and law enforcement officials are investigating their case, Knight Ridder Newspapers report. The truckers and laborers were hired by a group of subcontractors working for two giant firms that were awarded $500 million federal contracts by the federal government to get rid of the debris. With billions of dollars flowing to the Katrina-damaged Gulf Coast region, complaints are becoming more frequent that those doing the mundane job of cleaning up aren't being paid.
More than three months after thousands of people lost their homes in Hurricane Katrina, local and federal officials are trading blame over the slow delivery of trailer housing. "We got a serious situation in St. Bernard Parish (La.)," its president, Henry "Junior" Rodriguez, told CNN on Tuesday. "We got people living in tents and automobiles. We got people living in barns. We got people living in their houses -- in tents," he said on American Morning. Adding to Rodriguez's frustration is the fact that 1,400 trailers are sitting unused in St. Bernard Parish. The parish ordered them from a private contractor days after the hurricane hit on August 29, but FEMA has not agreed to pay for them.
After weeks of complaints about the progress of cleaning up debris left by Hurricane Katrina on Aug. 29, the Jackson County (Miss.) Board of Supervisors has voted to cancel its contract with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Associated Press reports that Board President Manley Barton said board members thought the corps would be further along in clearing debris, particularly on private property.
While far from ground zero, California businesses headquartered in the likes of Placerville, Tuolumne County and Fresno have all been selling goods and services to overwhelmed federal officials. According to The Sacramento Bee, some $63 million in Hurricane Katrina-related contracts already have flowed to California companies and fire agencies, and more are coming.
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Dec. 13 stands at $1.18 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations has posted the latest disaster relief reports on Hurricane Katrina contracts (as of Dec. 8) submitted by FEMA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on its Web site.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Disaster Relief Report
December 13, 2005
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Dec. 12 stands at $1.16 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
A Federal Business Opportunities Web site posting shows that the General Services Administration has awarded a $1.4 million contract to RV Doctor Inc. of Meridian, Miss., for FEMA travel trailers.
December 12, 2005
Nearly three months after Hurricane Katrina, the nation's biggest cleanup continues with a determination fueled by billions of federal dollars. Orchestrating this huge street-by-street campaign through one hard-hit, 60-square-mile sector of New Orleans — and supervising 650 trucks hauling an average of 54,000 cubic yards of debris daily — is Phillips & Jordan Inc., a general and specialty contracting company based in Knoxville, Tenn., with division offices in Zephyrhills, Fla. The St. Petersburg Times reports that the company is a hidden giant in the huge cleanup industry and has quietly racked up riches over the past few decades by tapping into two particularly lucrative and timely lines of business: development and disasters.
See St. Petersburg Times article
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Dec. 9 stands at $1.159 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
December 9, 2005
The federal government's second-ranking disaster official in Louisiana yesterday criticized the Federal Emergency Management Agency's program to house Hurricane Katrina evacuees in trailers, calling the effort wasteful and counter to the long-term interest of more than 100,000 displaced families, according to The Washington Post. Instead of spending as much as $140,000 for each trailer and site for a family to use for 18 months, the government should hand out in a lump sum the $26,200 that Congress has approved for storm victims, FEMA’s Scott Wells, the federal coordinating officer for Louisiana, told senators.
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Dec. 8 stands at $1.14 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
The Federal Business Opportunities Web site postings show that the General Services Administration has awarded the following contracts for FEMA travel trailers to these Mississippi companies: $174,362 to S&S Apache Camping Center of Jackson; $3.96 million to Reliable RV Center of Biloxi; $1.01 million and $576,375 to Doug’s Discount Campers Inc. of Perkinston; $3.37 million to Ethridge RV Center Inc. of Meridian; $3.95 million to Southern Camper Sales of Biloxi; $997,250 to Sherman RV Center of Sherman; and $3.87 million to American RV Center of Olive Branch.
December 8, 2005
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Dec. 7 stands at $1.11 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included).
A Federal Business Opportunities Web site posting shows that the General Services Administration has awarded a $1.9 million contract for FEMA travel trailers to RV Doctor Inc. of Meridian, Miss.
December 7, 2005
Rosemary Barbour happens to be married to a nephew of Mississippi's governor, Haley Barbour. The New York Times reports that she also happens to be one of the biggest Mississippi-based winners of federal contracts for Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts. The $6.4 million in contracts received by her company, Alcatec LLC, have raised questions about possible favoritism.
A complaint has been filed against a Louisiana company incorporated after Hurricane Katrina that landed a federal contract to sell more than $7.6 million worth of travel trailers while lacking a state license to do so. The Times-Picayune reports that the complaint against Disaster Recovery and Housing-LA LLC, was lodged this month with the Louisiana Recreational and Used Motor Vehicle Commission. The absence of a Louisiana license to sell new trailers did not prevent Disaster Recovery from landing a contract Oct. 17 to sell 394 trailers to the Federal Emergency Management Agency in a deal valued at $7.683 million, a FEMA contract list shows.
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Dec. 6 stands at $1.09 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
The Federal Business Opportunities Web site postings show that the General Services Administration has awarded the following contracts to Mississippi companies for FEMA travel trailers: one worth $194,760 to Camper Land R.V. Sales of Meridian; one worth $1.36 million to Southaven R.V. Center II Inc. of Olive Branch; two worth a total of $2.76 million to Senatobia RV & Trailer Sales of Senatobia; and one worth $2.68 million to Country Creek RV SuperCenter of Hattiesburg.
December 6, 2005
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Dec. 5 stands at $1.069 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
Federal Business Opportunities Web site postings show that the General Services Administration has awarded a $1.15 million contract for vehicles and trailers to Bagos, Inc. LLC of Biloxi, Miss., and a $5.47 million contract for FEMA travel trailers to King’s RV Repair and Sales of Purvis, Miss.
December 5, 2005
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Dec. 2 stands at $1.03 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
The General Services Administration has awarded the contracts worth the following amounts to these Mississippi companies for FEMA travel trailers: $1.38 million to Gold Coast RV Center of Gulfport; $1.32 million to Poplarville Camper Sales of West Poplarville; $7.29 million to Michael’s RV Center of Columbia; and $1.4 million to RV Doctor, Inc. of Meridian.
The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations has posted the latest disaster relief reports on Hurricane Katrina contracts (as of Dec. 1) submitted by FEMA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on its Web site.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers disaster relief report
December 2, 2005
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Dec. 1 stands at $1.018 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.) North Central Texas Services became the ninth company to be awarded a contract for at least $15 million. Its contract for passenger air charter service totals $20 million.
A posting on the Department of Defense Web site notes that the U.S. Navy has awarded a $6.5 million contract to Kellogg, Brown & Root Services of Arlington, Va., for hurricane-related work at Navy installations.
December 1, 2005
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Nov. 30 stands at $1.01 billion (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
November 28, 2005
Of the 413 post-hurricane contracts that the Federal Emergency Management Agency had awarded to Louisiana companies as of Nov. 18, only 125 were worth more than $100,000 and only 50 of those were worth $500,000 or more, according to a Gannett News Service analysis. Of the $3.7 billion FEMA has spent on contracts related to Katrina and Rita, about $201 million — or 5.4 percent — went to Louisiana companies, according to the analysis. The other storm-hit states, Mississippi and Alabama, haven't fared better.
See Gannett News Service article
November 22, 2005
University of Mississippi researchers are gearing up for a study to determine the importance of social ties in helping people rebound from Hurricane Katrina, The (Biloxi) Sun Herald reports. The study is designed to find out if members of social networks — such as a church group — fare better in the recovery process. It will also try to find out if membership in groups post-Katrina helps. The National Science Foundation's $96,000 award funding the project is among 30 grants that have been given to do studies related to Hurricane Katrina.
Study to look at social ties, rebounding from Katrina
November 17, 2005
A politician from suburban New Orleans was accused of demanding $100,000 in kickbacks from a subcontractor who won a contract from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to handle Hurricane Katrina debris, the Associated Press reports. Joseph Impastato, 33, a member of the council that oversees St. Tammany Parish, was arrested on Tuesday when he accepted two cashiers checks totaling $85,000 from a subcontractor with Omni Pinnacle, who cooperated with authorities.
http://www.katc.com/Global/story.asp?S=4129865
The federal government has suspended payments on an $80 million contract to an Alabama company that built base camps for emergency workers responding to Hurricane Katrina after auditors reported finding billing and documentation problems, according to a spokeswoman for FEMA, The Washington Post reports. The case is the first in which action was taken on apparent faults in the many contracts federal officials signed, often with little or no competition, in the rush to send aid to the Gulf Coast region.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/16/AR2005111602264.html
November 15, 2005
The uncle and father of a Louisiana lawmaker have won three no-bid contracts worth $108 million to provide temporary housing for Hurricane Katrina evacuees even though their motorcycle shop didn't have a license to sell new trailers until after the first deal was signed, the Associated Press reports. No-bid contracts awarded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for temporary housing in trailers and on cruise ships have come under question by state and federal lawmakers and businesses complaining of favoritism.
Lawmaker's father, uncle got $108 million FEMA trailer contract
FEMA overestimated the cost of Hurricane Katrina-related contracts by 15 percent —$600 million — and its count of contracts by about half because of double counting, the Washington Post reports. The corrections, disclosed in a Department of Homeland Security's inspector general report, are among several findings of suspect or money-wasting FEMA recovery operations.
FEMA Overestimated Cost of Contracts After Katrina
November 14, 2005
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has failed to reopen four of its biggest no-bid contracts as it pledged in early October, the Associated Press reports.
FEMA has yet to reopen no-bid contracts
Organizations such as OpenTheGovernment.org petition the government to post Hurricane Katrina relief work contracts online, FCW.com reports.
Petitioners want Katrina contracts online
Of the major contractors to receive lucrative post-Katrina contracts, only the Shaw Group Inc. has disclosed information on how many local subcontractors it has hired, the Advocate reports.
Shaw group discloses local contractor hiring practices
Two bills that would require officials to report any business gained from Katrina related contracts have been approved by a committee of the Louisiana statehouse, the Times-Picayune reports.
Bills regulate officials' cleanup work
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Nov. 11 stands at $852.9 million, although most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.
Postings on the Federal Business Opportunities Web site show new contracts awarded by the Federal Government. The General Services Administration awarded contracts to Camper Corral, Inc., Poplarville Campers Sales, LLC, and Travel America RV Center, Inc. worth more than $2.8 million.
The US Army Corps of Engineers awarded construction contracts worth almost $54 million. Among the biggest winners: a nearly $24 million contract to Cajun Constructors of Baton Rouge.
Contract award by US Army Corps #1
Contract award by US Army Corps #2
Contract award by US Army Corps #3
Contract award by US Army Corps #4
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Contract award by US Army Corps #7
November 10, 2005
Members of a Louisiana Senate committee complained over the small percentage of post-Katrina federal contracts going to Louisiana companies, but praised the Shaw Group for awarding 91 percent of its federal contract dollars to Louisiana subcontractors, the Shreveport Times reports. Only 4 percent of the other $3.5 billion in FEMA funds has filtered to local businesses, the state economic development secretary said.
Few La. firms get FEMA contracts
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Nov. 9 stands at $834.9 million (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
A posting on the Federal Business Opportunities Web site shows that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has awarded a contract worth more than $1.8 million to Purnell Construction to make emergency levee repairs in Plaquemines Parish, La.
November 9, 2005
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Nov. 8 stands at $829.8 million (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
Postings on the Federal Business Opportunities Web site show new contract awards of nearly $1.5 million and $1 million, respectively, to Grillot Construction LLC by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for construction in Plaquemines Parish, La., and to Michael's RV Center by the General Services Administration for providing FEMA travel trailers.
FEMA Travel Trailers (Katrina Disaster Support)
November 8, 2005
USA Today examines the federal government's relationship with Titan Co., a defense contractor that has been awarded more than $550,000 in Katrina-related contracts by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Critics point to a list of scandals involving Titan: two federal lawsuits that allege it acted negligently in hiring and supervising an employee suspected of abusing Abu Ghraib prisoners; a settlement of charges that it was involved in an international bribery scheme; and a federal inspector general report that concluded that it was overpaid by $229 million for a military contract because it subcontracted "substantially all of the work." A FEMA spokeswoman said Titan's Hurricane Katrina awards "didn't raise any red flags" because the firm has not been barred from receiving government work.
Company under fire won Katrina contracts
Titan's Profile in Center's "Windfalls of War"
Titan's Profile in Center's "Outsourcing the Pentagon"
USA Today also reports that a Government Accountability Office official's testimony before a House panel last week supports the contention that the price of portable classrooms in a $39.5 million no-bid contract awarded to Akima Site Operations by the Army Corps of Engineers in Mississippi was inflated.
Official questions cost of Katrina contract
Akima's Profile on Taxpayers for Common Sense Web site
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Nov. 7 stands at $828.3 million (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
A posting on the Federal Business Opportunities Web site shows a new contract worth more than $1.4 million was awarded to Grillot Construction LLC by the U.S. Army Engineers to build structures and facilities in Plaquemines Parish, La.
November 7, 2005
Blanco plan on disclosing contracts takes heat
The U.S. Government Accountability Office released its report to the House Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation for and Response to Hurricane Katrina.
GAO: Contracting for Response and Recovery Efforts
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Nov. 4 stands at $799.2 million (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
Postings on the Federal Business Opportunities Web site show five new contract awards by the General Services Administration worth more than a combined $5 million to provide FEMA travel trailers.
General Services Administration Contract Award Synopsis #1
General Services Administration Contract Award Synopsis #2
General Services Administration Contract Award Synopsis #3
General Services Administration Contract Award Synopsis #4
General Services Administration Contract Award Synopsis #5
November 4, 2005
Officials from the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the Army Corps of Engineers in charge of hurricane recovery expenditures told a House committee investigating the government's slow response after Katrina that they are still not sure why some efforts have stalled and local firms are not getting a larger share of the work, and that they must do more research to learn how reconstruction and relief money is being spent, the Washington Post reports.
Katrina Recovery Officials Unsure What's Been Spent
Fluor Corp., a recipient of large no-bid contracts for Hurricane Katrina cleanup, will pay $12.5 million to settle allegations that the company knowingly overbilled the Department of Energy and Defense from 1995 to 1998, the Corporate Crime Reporter reports.
Fluor to Pay $12.5 Million to Settle False Claims Act Lawsuit
Center's profile of Fluor Corp. from "Windfalls of War"
Center's profile of Fluor Corp. from "Outsourcing the Pentagon"
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Nov. 3 stands at $773.5 million (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has posted its eighth weekly Hurricane Katrina spending report to the House Appropriations Committee.
Weekly Report on Hurricane Katrina Emergency Supplemental Appropriations
FEMA's latest report to Congress has been posted online.
Letter to Committee on Appropriations
Disaster Relief Fund Statistics
A posting on the Federal Business Opportunities Web site shows a new contract award by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to Continental Construction Company, Inc. worth more than $5 million for post-Katrina repairs and modifications in Orleans Parish, La.
IHNC West Side IHNC to France Road Vicinity of France Road Ramp Station
November 3, 2005
During hearings Wednesday before the House panel investigating the federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina, officials from companies such as Carnival Cruise Lines defended their much-assailed government contracts, the Associated Press and Reuters report. Meanwhile, The New York Times reports that some lawmakers are sharply criticizing the Bush administration for failing to submit related documents that include e-mails and other correspondence between various agencies and the White House. Also, former Federal Emergency Management Agency chief Michael Brown drew fire over now-released agency internal e-mail messages that some on the committee said showed him to have appeared overwhelmed in his leadership position and overly preoccupied with his image on television when the storm struck.
Winners of Katrina contracts defend deals
Carnival defends $236 million Katrina contract
Panel Still Waiting for Hurricane Katrina Papers
Gov. Kathleen Blanco plans to push for a new law to require officials to report any business profits they gain from the Katrina recovery effort in the Louisiana legislature's special session, Baton Rouge's Advocate reports.
Blanco wants officials to report recovery contracts
Defense Industrial Daily announces that three contracts related to post-Katrina reconstruction worth a combined $47.4 million were issued by the New Orleans U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. They went to Manson Gulf LLC in Houma, La., Continental Construction Inc. in Memphis, Tenn., and James Construction Group LLC in Baton Rouge, La.
$47.4M for more Katrina-Related Contracts
A report by the federal contracts and business analysis group INPUT said that an estimated $42 billion of federal reconstruction funds was likely to flow to subcontractors for Katrina-related reconstruction work, United Press International reports. Nearly $21 billion of that will be set aside for small, disadvantaged and minority-owned businesses, according to the group's report.
Minority firms head for Katrina bonanza
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Nov. 2 stands at $761.5 million (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.) According to the database, Regional Transit Authority has joined the list of companies that have received the biggest single contracts (ranging from $15 million to $50 million). The others include AmeriCold Logistics LLC, Clearbrook LLC, Asset Group Inc., Van Hoy Long LLC and Motorola.
Postings on the Federal Business Opportunities Web site show three new contract awards by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Boh Brothers Construction Co. LLC. was awarded two contracts, respectively worth roughly $15.2 million and $6.2 million, to make levee repairs in Orleans Parish, La., while James Construction Group LLC was awarded one worth nearly $30.7 million for New Orleans East Back Levee to CSX railroad emergency restoration in the same parish.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Contract Award Synopsis #1
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Contract Award Synopsis #2
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Contract Award Synopsis #3
U.S. Department of Agriculture gave new contracts for stream debris removal worth more than a combined $630,000 to Direct Parcel Express, Jerry Luce Contracting, Manns Construction and Bowman's L & L Inc.
U.S. Department of Agriculture Contract Award Synopsis #1
U.S. Department of Agriculture Contract Award Synopsis #2
U.S. Department of Agriculture Contract Award Synopsis #3
U.S. Department of Agriculture Contract Award Synopsis #4
U.S. Department of Agriculture Contract Award Synopsis #5
November 2, 2005
Reps. Bennie G. Thompson, D-Miss., and Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., called on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers inspector general to investigate several Operation Blue Roof contracts awarded to provide temporary roofs for homes damaged by Hurricane Katrina, BizNewOrleans.com reports. News reports have suggested the government is paying $2,980 to $3,500 for plastic tarps that should cost about $300; as many as 300,000 homes in Louisiana may need roof repairs. "If contractors are excessively overpaid for the standard commercial value of their work, we've got a problem," said Thompson. "The federal government is wasting taxpayer dollars and it needs to start doing a better job of managing federal contracts."
Congressmen want investigation of 'Operation Blue Roof'
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Nov. 1 stands at $709.9 million (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included.)
November 1, 2005
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts as of Oct. 31 stands at $691.5 million (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included). According to the database, Van Hoy Long LLC has joined the list of companies that have received the biggest single contracts (ranging from $15 million to $50 million). The others include AmeriCold Logistics LLC, Clearbrook LLC, Asset Group Inc. and Motorola.
A posting on the Department of Defense Web site shows that Continental Construction Inc. of Memphis, Tenn., was awarded a firm-fixed-price contract in excess of $5 million by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Oct. 25 to make repairs and modifications to the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal West Side to France Road in Orleans Parish, La. The work is expected to be completed by April 15, 2006.
Department of Defense Contract Award
Another Department of Defense site posting shows that James Construction Group LLC of Baton Rouge was awarded a $30.6 million firm-fixed-price contract on Oct. 25 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for emergency restoration of New Orleans' back levee to CSX Railroad. The expected date of completion is April 1, 2006.
Department of Defense Contract Award
The Department of Homeland Security's Office of the Inspector General released the first President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency Biweekly Interagency Homeland Security Roundtable Report on Hurricane Katrina, which includes statistics on things such as arrests, convictions, indictments and contracts.
Memorandum from the Inspector General
October 31, 2005
The New Orleans Times-Picayune looks at some of the emergency contracts given out by local officials after Hurricane Katrina that have raised ethical concerns. In one such instance, Mayor Phil Capitano of Kenner, La., gave a contract worth more than $690,000 to Innovative Sales of Baton Rouge to provide trailers. The company's owner had donated $2,500 to Capitano's campaign fund last year.
In Katrina's wake, questionable ethics
Florida's Jacksonville Business Journal reports that four area companies were awarded FEMA relief contracts worth $7.5 million. Suncoast Recreational Vehicle Towable Super Center and Dick Gore's RV World Inc., are providing trailers to house displaced residents, Cell-Tel Government Systems Inc. is building communications infrastructure for FEMA workers and the U.S. Navy's 2nd Fleet at Belle Chasse Naval Air Base, and Ring Power Corp. is providing rental generators to the U.S. Coast Guard.
Local companies land FEMA contracts for Katrina work
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards today. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts stands at $655.5 million (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included).
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has posted its seventh weekly Hurricane Katrina spending report to the House Appropriations Committee.
Weekly Report on Hurricane Katrina Emergency Supplemental Appropriations
A posting on the Federal Business Opportunities Web site shows that James Construction Group LLC of Baton Rouge, La. received a contract worth nearly $2.8 million from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for restoration work on a pump station in Orleans Parish. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Contract Award Synopsis
October 28, 2005
Orleans Levee Board President James P. Huey resigned this week amid controversy over Katrina recovery contracts awarded to members of his wife's family and his collection of almost $100,000 in back pay before the storm hit, reports the Los Angeles Times. Huey was also involved in awarding contracts for the design and construction of two levees that failed during the hurricane.
Levee Chief Resigns Amid Nepotism Claims
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards today. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts stands at $642 million (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included).
October 27, 2005
Jim Huey, the head of the Orleans Levee Board, has quit amid questions about no-bid Katrina-related contracts awarded to his relatives and his collecting nearly $100,000 in back pay before the storm, reports the New Orleans Times-Picayune. Huey defended his conduct and the propriety of the contracts after sending his resignation to Gov. Kathleen Blanco.
Orleans Levee Board President Quits
FEMA will give the United Methodist Committee on Relief a $66 million grant to provide services for families displaced by Katrina, according to the New York Times. The grant will be funded by donations from foreign nations. The religious group will lead an alliance of up to a dozen other charities in creating a network of 3,000 relief workers across the United States.
U.S. to Use Religious Charity to Run Storm Relief Project
Bourget's of the South, a custom motorcycle business owned by the father and uncle of Louisiana lawmaker Rep. Gary Smith, was given a $2.4 million FEMA contract to provide travel trailers days after Hurricane Katrina, reports the Baton Rouge Advocate. Competing RV suppliers in the area claim the contract was improperly awarded and have filed complaints with the state.
Suppliers criticize FEMA trailer deal with motorcycle dealer
Yahoo! News looks at Florida-based AshBritt's $500 million U.S. Army Corps of Engineers debris removal contract. The company has a successful track record dating back to Hurricane Andrew in 1992, but also has several inside-the-Beltway connections.
Anatomy of a Katrina Cleanup Contract
A posting on the Department of Defense Web site shows that Manson Gulf L.L.C. of Houma, La., was awarded an $11.7 million firm-fixed-price contract by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for Chaimette Area Plan Emergency Restoration on Oct. 10. Work will be performed in Houma, La., and is expected to be completed by April 1, 2006.
Department of Defense Contract Awards
October 26, 2005
Among today's topics drawing Washington Post columnist Al Kamen's attention and wit is FEMA's continuing Web site foibles.
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards today. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts stands at $625 million (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included).
October 25, 2005
As of Oct. 10, only about 2 percent of the roughly $3 billion awarded by FEMA for Hurricane Katrina recovery work has gone to Mississippi businesses, reports the Clarion-Ledger. One of the state's largest construction firms, Hill Brothers Construction, lost out on a $500 million debris-removal contract to Florida-based AshBritt Inc. despite being among the first to respond to the disaster. State and federal officials promise that Mississippi businesses will get a larger share of the work as the recovery effort goes on.
Out-of-state contracts criticized in Miss.
Florida-based debris-removal company AshBritt Inc. hired Mike Parker, a former assistant secretary of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, as its lobbyist shortly before winning a $500 million Katrina cleanup contract from the Corps, reports The Hill. Corps officials deny a link between the hiring of Parker and the awarding of the contract.
Firm hired ex-Corps head before winning deal
A report by Democrats on the House Small Business Committee found that the federal government failed last year to meet congressional contracting targets for small and minority-owned business and raised concerns that they will be shut out of Gulf Coast recovery work, according to Inc. Magazine. The Small Business Administration, which oversees the contracts, has since sought public input on how to improve contracting procedures, including how to better monitor companies' small business status.
Fed Contracts Short of Small Business Targets
Congressman Bennie G. Thompson, D-Miss., the ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee, has asked the Department of Homeland Security inspector general to investigate whether an international office-supply company is illegally presenting itself as a small business in order to win federal contracts, according to an online news release posted on Yahoo! Finance. The company, Corporate Express, received a Katrina-related printing services contract worth roughly $800,000 from FEMA.
WLBT-TV in Jackson, Miss., reports that FEMA could have used about 1,200 homes manufactured by in-state companies to help post-Katrina survivors, but opted to use out-of-state companies instead.
Manufactured Housing Industry Upset Over FEMA Contracts
Whitestone Group Inc., of Pickerington, Ohio, was selected by the General Services Administration to provide security services for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in areas affected by Hurricane Katrina, according to Business First of Columbus.
Whitestone Group tapped for Katrina security
The Denver Post reports that MWH Global, of Broomfield, Colo., which has received contracts worth millions of dollars from both the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the City of New Orleans to remove debris, has contracted with several local companies to haul away New Orleans area sludge and debris. A company spokesperson has said that finding local workers was now the company's greatest challenge: "It was really a stretch to find the local (contractors) because a number of them haven't come back to town," he said.
MWH oversees hauling of Katrina debris
Postings on the Federal Business Opportunities Web site show three new contract awards by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for Hurricane Katrina-related construction and civil engineering work:
- Bucktown Contractors Inc. of Metairie, La., was awarded a $567,000 contract for construction work on hurricane protection structures and facilities in the areas from New Orleans to Venice.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Contract Award Synopsis # 1
- LL&G Construction, Inc., of Houma, La., was awarded a contract worth more than $847,000 for heavy and civil engineering construction work around Lake Pontchartrain and the Orleans Parish vicinity.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Contract Award Synopsis # 2
-M. R. Pittman Group LLC., of Harahan, La., was awarded a contract worth more than $4.5 million for hurricane protection repairs and modifications in New Orleans.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Contract Award Synopsis # 3
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards today. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts jumped in the last day to almost $609 million (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included).
October 24, 2005
Equipment operators, truck drivers and other subcontractors are finding themselves several tiers removed from the federal funds for the Hurricane Katrina cleanup and fighting for a share of residuals of the $2 billion in contracts awarded to the four main contractors, the Associated Press reports. Some complain of lower wages than they made during hurricane cleanup in Florida last year and say that they are barely breaking even.
At bottom of contract food chain, haulers scramble for a share
According to a Scripps Howard News Service review of the $2.5 billion Hurricane Katrina contracts awarded so far, the bulk are going to companies located outside the hurricane-affected Gulf Coast region. About three-quarters of the contracts were awarded with little or no competitive bidding.
Gulf Coast businesses left out of Katrina-relief contracts
Murillo Modular Group Ltd. of Lewisville, Tex. received a $7.6 million firm-fixed-price contract to provide portable classroom buildings in Baton Rouge, La., according to Defense Industry Daily. The work is expected to be complete by Nov. 21. This sole source contract was initiated on Oct. 14 by the Recovery Field Office in Baton Rouge.
$7.6M for Portable Classrooms in Baton Rouge, LA
A posting on the Federal Business Opportunities Web site shows that Granite Construction Company of Watsonville, Calif., was awarded a nearly $14.4 million contract by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for construction work on a hurricane protection levee in St. Bernard Parish, La.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Contract Award Synopsis
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards today. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts stands at $370 million (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included).
October 21, 2005
Hurricane Katrina has been a boon for Indiana, with companies based in the state landing about a fourth of the $2.3 billion in federal construction contracts awarded so far, reports the Indianapolis Star. Most of that has gone to the Gulf Stream Coach Inc., which won a $521 million contract to provide temporary housing for hurricane victims. Critics have noted that Gulf Stream founder James F. Shea and his family have contributed more than $20,000 to Republican candidates, including President Bush.
State firms land $586M in Katrina FEMA contracts
Hurricane Katrina has proven beneficial to other companies as well. USA Today looks at how relief work has helped the bottom lines of several companies, including Florida-based Landstar System. However, the U.S. Department of Transportation issued a report this week noting that Landstar's contract with the Federal Aviation Administration to provide emergency transportation services has lacked sufficient oversight.
Storm-recovery work boosts bottom line
USA Today also reports that the Government Accountability Office is examining a no-bid $39.5 million contract to provide portable classrooms awarded to Akima Site Operations, an Alaskan firm that includes native-owned companies as its corporate parents. Critics claim the units could have been obtained at roughly half the price.
Contract for portable classrooms scrutinized
Rep. Henry Waxman has called on federal officials to explain their $236 million deal with Carnival Cruise Lines to provide three cruise ships for post-Hurricane Katrina housing, newspapers report. Waxman on Thursday asked Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff to provide documents showing how the contract cost was calculated. Lawmakers from both parties criticized the deal as wasteful, but Waxman's critique is the first to offer specific data about the finances underlying the deal.
Lawmaker makes waves over cruise-ship housing
Congressman faults Carnival's lucrative contract for hurricane housing
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers submitted to Congress its sixth weekly report on Hurricane Katrina-related reconstruction expenditures.
Army Corps of Engineers report to the House Appropriations Committee
October 20, 2005
The Associated Press lists the 10 largest contracts awarded by the government for cleanup and recovery after Hurricane Katrina. The top five each have values of $500 million or more. All 10 were awarded to companies based outside of the affected region.
A look at the 10 largest contracts for Katrina cleanup
The Associated Press follows up on its list of the 10 largest Katrina contracts, finding political connections to be a common theme among the winners.
Katrina's big contracts go to political loop
Government watchdog groups believe that the Federal Emergency Management Agency is not doing an adequate job of explaining how it's handing out billions of dollars in Hurricane Katrina recovery contracts, reports the Mobile Register. For example, if members of the general public or the media want a copy of a contract, FEMA requires that they submit requests through the Freedom of Information Act—a process that at a minimum can take several weeks. FEMA also will not release any assessments of how a contractor is performing under a particular contract.
FEMA is spending billions, providing little information
Orleans Levee Board President Jim Huey's effort to steer two no-bid, post-Hurricane Katrina contracts to relatives has drawn the scrutiny of state officials, reports the New Orleans Times-Picayune. One contract calls for leasing office space from board legal consultant George Carmouche, who is a cousin of Huey's wife. The other gives a company owned by Carmouche's son the task of coordinating the salvage of boats damaged or destroyed by the hurricane at the board's two marinas. Huey claims that the two contracts were awarded under emergency conditions immediately following the storm.
Thanks to a loophole in federal regulations, reports the Washington Post, the list of small businesses receiving Katrina-related contracts includes one of the country's largest debris-removal companies and a billion-dollar firm with a former vice president on its board of directors. The Small Business Administration is facing pressure to change its regulations, which consider a business small if it was small when it won its first government contract.
This week, FEMA announced that when awarding hurricane relief contracts it will look first to small, disadvantaged and local businesses in the Gulf Coast region, reports the Federal Times. The announcement came amid criticism that FEMA is shutting out small businesses in awarding Katrina-related contracts. It also comes just a few days after the Homeland Security Department announced new competitions for four contracts that had been awarded on a noncompetitive basis to Bechtel Corp., Fluor Corp., CH2M Hill and the Shaw Group.
Small businesses rise to top of FEMA contract priority list
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards today. The total spent on post-Katrina contracts stands at $354 million (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included).
October 19, 2005
The federal government has announced that it will pay the entire cost of Hurricane Katrina debris removal being handled by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Alabama's Mobile County, even if the waste is not picked up by Oct. 28, the Mobile Register reported Tuesday. Earlier, federal officials had promised full funding for only in the first 60 days following the Aug. 29 storm, which would have cost local governments hundreds of thousands of dollars to finish the cleanup. The Army Corps of Engineers is using Phillips & Jordan Inc., a Tennessee-based company that handled debris removal after Hurricane Ivan last year, to do the work.
Trash pickup gets full funding
The mob of private companies converging on Congress as it deals with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina has been a boon for Washington-area lobbyists, reports the Newhouse News Service. Capital One Corp., part of a coalition of banks and investment firms pushing for tax credits to spur construction projects, hired the Cypress Group. The firm employs Patrick Cave, former aide to House Committee on Financial Services member Rep. Richard Baker of Louisiana. To get a piece of the debris removal work being managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Southern Recycling has hired former Louisiana Rep. Bob Livingston, who oversaw the corps while he was chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.
Lobbyists Jockey to Win Post-Katrina Money
October 18, 2005
The influx of Hispanic workers from Texas in the Hurricane Katrina-ravaged region has some officials worried about long-term demographic changes and the more immediate effect of local residents being squeezed out of reconstruction job opportunities, according the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
A Transportation Department memo released yesterday found that a Federal Aviation Administration contract to hire buses, trucks and planes for hurricane relief efforts lacks control and oversight, reports the Associated Press. Under the four-year, October 2002 contract with Landstar Express America Inc., the FAA has spent almost $290 million to provide emergency transportation services. The Transportation Department Inspector General found instances in which the FAA did not properly record or track expenditures.
Report: Katrina Spending Lacked Controls
October 17, 2005
Last Friday, the Associated Press reported that $347 million was being spent with little or no competition, despite a FEMA pledge to reopen such agreements.
FEMA still spending on limited competition contracts
The New York Times dissected some $19 million in purchase-card spending for hurricane relief in its Saturday editions. Some highlights include $271,838 in total spent on medical supplies (carved up into three segments to fall below a spending cap), $382,162 spent at Office Depot stores and $223,000 for flip-flops for evacuees.
Federal Agencies Often Paid Retail for Hurricane Aid
The Shaw Group has been contracted by FEMA to run shelters in San Antonio, according to the local Express-News. The newspaper takes a look at the company's hurricane relief awards.
No-bid shelter contracts to be reopened
Most evacuees had moved out of emergency shelters by Saturday, according to the Associated Press, which reports that some 600,000 people have been placed in hotels at a cost that could reach $425 million by next Saturday.
Most Katrina shelters cleared but housing problems remain
The Miami Herald reports that $7,500 or more in daily fees are helping to keep the Alabama Cruise Terminal in Mobile afloat. It is the home port and current location for Carnival Cruise Lines' the one of three Carnival ships housing evacuees under a $236 million contract with FEMA. The Holiday is slated to move to Mississippi, the home state for most of its estimated 1,400 passengers.
Mobile to bill FEMA for lost revenue on evacuee ship
McGraw-Hill Construction takes a look at four $100 million FEMA contracts for evacuee housing awarded to Fluor, Bechtel, Shaw Group and CH2M Hill, and reports that agency officials say FEMA "always intended to renegotiate."
FEMA Explains Early Contracts After Director's Senate Grilling
Coast Transit Authority of Gulfport, Miss. has received a $1.4 million award from the Federal Transit Administration to help restore bus routes in three Mississippi counties, according to the Associated Press.
Federal funds to help provide coast bus service
A Louisiana Daily Advertiser guest editorial criticizes the lack of contract awards to local businesses.
Guest Editorial: Contacts mean contracts for storm cleanup
October 14, 2005
An article by the Center for Responsive Politics analyzes the political ties of some of the companies that have won the bulkiest Hurricane Katrina-related contracts. Among them:
- More than 86 percent of the federal contributions by employees of Florida-based AshBritt Environmental since 1999 have been to Republican candidates. Federal investigators are looking into a $568 million Katrina contract for debris removal awarded to the company by the Army Corps of Engineers.
- Two other companies that got big Katrina contracts, Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown & Root and Shaw Environmental, are represented by lobbyist Joe Allbaugh, a former Bush administration FEMA director who also served as George W. Bush's gubernatorial chief of staff in Texas.
- About 60 percent of Carnival Cruise Lines employees' political contributions since 1999 have landed in Republican pockets. The company got a $236 million contract to house Katrina evacuees aboard three of its ships.
AshBritt Environmental's debris removal contract, now under scrutiny by federal investigators, comes as little surprise if one examines the company's record for getting government business. An investigation by the The Sun-Sentinel newspaper finds that Randal Perkins, a Republican Party contributor who runs the company, aggressively lobbied the office of Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in 2004 seeking state business during the hurricane season. Records show that then-state Transportation Secretary Jose Abreu complained with the governor about AshBritt's lobbying blitz.
Aggressive lobbying by Pompano alarmed adviser to Gov. Bush
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Web site has been updated with additional data on Katrina contracts and the corps’ weekly report to Congress on Katrina expenditures.
Army Corps of Engineers Katrina contracts
Army Corps of Engineers report to the House Appropriations Committee
Army Corps of Engineers report to the House Appropriations Committee
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards yesterday. The total spent on Post-Katrina contracts stands at $345 million (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included). According to the database, the four companies that have received the biggest single contracts (ranging from $15 million to $50 million) are: AmeriCold Logistics LLC, Clearbrook LLC, Asset Group Inc. and Motorola.
Louisiana Sen. Mary L. Landrieu offers highlights of the $250 billion Hurricane Katrina Disaster Relief and Economic Recovery Act, which she co-sponsored. Expenditures include: $10 million for affected alligator farms in Louisiana, $34 million to study the damage to the state's forestry and $150 million for a historic preservation grant program.
Katrina Disaster Relief and Economic Recovery Act
October 13, 2005
Need a Katrina contract from FEMA? Hire James Lee Witt, the agency's former head during the Clinton administration. The former federal official-turned-disaster consultant/lobbyist helped Atlanta-based AmeriCold Logistics win contracts worth up to $85 million for work related to Katrina and other 2005 storms, USA Today reports. Witt has also been hired as a consultant by clients that include the state of Louisiana.
Ex-FEMA chief's client won contract
USA Today examines some of the federal regulations that the government waived in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to speed up the recovery effort. But critics and watchdog groups fear that the very measures that some federal officials think of as a means to increase efficiency are a dangerous rollback of federal protections. The moves in question include the Labor Department lifting affirmative action requirements for companies hired on reconstruction work, the Transportation Department allowing no-bid contracts until Dec. 1 on restoration projects, and President Bush waiving a law in parts of the four states most affected by Katrina that requires workers on federal construction projects to receive the prevailing or average minimum wage.
Some federal rules waived after Katrina
The New York Times reports on the troubled FEMA program for housing Hurricane Katrina evacuees. As of Tuesday, nearly 600,000 people were living in hotel rooms across the country at a daily cost of $11 million paid for by the federal government. Meanwhile, FEMA has only delivered 7,308 travel trailers of the 300,000 it told Congress it would acquire for about $2 billion.
$11 Million a Day Spent on Hotels for Storm Relief
Three Fairfax, Va., nonprofits have received a combined $276,400 in contracts to coordinate assistance for the estimated 1,500 Katrina evacuees living in Fairfax County, The Washington Post reports. The groups are working on finding jobs and housing for hurricane victims as well as schooling for their children.
3 Groups Get Contract to Aid Storm Victims
The Times-Picayune reports that the Army Corps of Engineers plans to rebuild New Orleans' breached levees with much stronger, fortified walls. The work will cost an estimated $400 million; the contracts were put out for bidding this week.
New levee walls to be built deeper, stronger than before
The Army Corps of Engineers has posted the list of Katrina-related contracts as of Oct. 6.
Army Corps of Engineers contracts
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards yesterday. The total spent on Post-Katrina contracts stands at $333 million (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included). According to the database, the four companies that have received the biggest single contracts (ranging from $15 million to $50 million) are: AmeriCold Logistics LLC, Clearbrook LLC, Asset Group Inc. and Motorola.
A memo offers the Department of Transportation inspector general's plan to prevent fraud and waste during Katrina's reconstruction work.
DoT Inspector General memorandum
October 12, 2005
Several of FEMA's housing initiatives—including an $8.3 million-a-day prolonged hotel stay program, the costly and polemic deal to use luxury cruise ships and a one-time disbursement plan that soon could leave evacuees short of rent money and facing eviction—have come under fire, The Washington Post reports. Meanwhile, the number of evacuees who will need extended housing assistance has gone up to about 500,000 people from the original estimate of 300,000.
Housing Aid Called Too Much, Too Little
Inspectors general from several agencies and officials from the Government Accountability Office told a House subcommittee that they will conduct several audits to prevent fraud and waste in spending on Katrina-related contracts, the Associated Press reports. The announcements came as a number of bills aimed at assuring accountability in the Gulf Coast reconstruction process also are pending in Congress.
Government auditors pledge to investigate Katrina contracts
A day after federal officials vowed that they will give preference to local businesses in the contracting process, USA Today reports that a Department of Homeland Security business liaison tasked with helping local businesses resigned in frustration last week because he couldn't secure catering contracts for Louisiana vendors. DHS officials said the ex-official's proposal "skirted around" ruled of the process.
Louisianans get few post-Katrina contracts
As President Bush toured the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast again yesterday, Rep. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana told CNN that he planned to meet with Bush to discuss cutting through FEMA red tape. The Republican said that local businesses do not expect favoritism in the contracting process, just a fair chance to compete and to show that they can be cost-effective.
Lawmaker to Bush: Help cut Katrina red tape
Senate Budget Committee Chairman Judd Gregg and Sen. Edward Kennedy introduced a bill calling for the creation of a new agency that would lead in the estimated $200 billion Gulf Coast reconstruction effort, The Wall Street Journal reports. The idea of having centralized oversight of expenditures is popular among both Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill, but the White House has not backed the initiative yet.
Bill Would Create 'Czar' For Katrina Reconstruction (subscription)
The Department of Defense yesterday posted details of two contracts awarded to Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown & Root Services. The $43 million in competitive contracts include reconstruction, reproofing and debris removal work at Naval Air Station (NAS) Pascagoula, NAS Gulfport, Stennis Space Center and other Navy installations in the Southeast. The Pentagon also awarded a $20 million, no-bid contract to Louisiana-based Science and Engineering Associates to provide technical service support to critical Navy programs.
The Center for Public Integrity profiled Kellogg Brown & Root and its longstanding government ties in the 2004 project "Windfalls of War."
Kellogg Brown & Root background
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards today. The total spent on Post-Katrina contracts stands at $326 million (most FEMA and Defense Department contracts are not included). According to the database, the four companies that have received the biggest single contracts (ranging from $15 million to $50 million) are: AmeriCold Logistics LLC, Clearbrook LLC, Asset Group Inc. and Motorola.
In response to accusations of cronyism in the awarding of contracts, the federal government announced yesterday the creation of the Department of Commerce Hurricane Contracting Information Center to help U.S. businesses, especially minority- and women-owned companies, be better informed about contracting opportunities. The center includes a Web site where businesses can register with government agencies providing reconstruction and relief work.
Department of Commerce Hurricane Contracting Information Center
October 11, 2005
Having shouldered strong criticism for awarding no-bid contracts to large, well-connected companies, FEMA officials guaranteed yesterday that firms run by women, minorities and the disabled will be given part of the Katrina reconstruction work, The Washington Post reports. FEMA also said that local companies will be given preference in the new competitive contracting process.
FEMA to reserve contracts for disadvantaged companies
While FEMA promises to be more inclusive in its contracting process, stories by WLBT of Jackson, Miss., and U.S. News & World Reports show that local minority-owned businesses are not yet seeing results on the ground.
FEMA's failure to have a plan to pick up bodies of those who died after Hurricane Katrina hit and the "bureaucratic quagmire" bemoaned by the company it finally hired illustrate a pattern of breakdowns in the agency's relationship with the private sector.
Lack of Contracts Hampered FEMA
Disaster consulting firm Witt Associates is advising the governor of Louisiana on recovery efforts, helping employees of a Mississippi company whose casino was destroyed by the hurricane, and aiding New York client Allstate Corp. in pushing for the creation of a catastrophe fund that will ease the burden on disaster insurers. According to The New York Times, what has kept the consulting shop busy post-Katrina is its owner, James Lee Witt, who was director of FEMA during the Clinton administration. Witt, said to be one of the savviest, and best-connected, professionals in the country on disaster relief matters, says that he is not profiting from the devastation in the Gulf Coast.
FEMA director under Clinton profits from experience
"Follow the money" is the most obvious step in government and corporate accountability. Yet with Katrina contracts the rule may prove difficult to apply. The government databases tracking post-Katrina contracts are incomplete and sporadic, the Associated Press reports. And the law does not require the government to disclose no-bid contracts.
Tracking Katrina money is not easy
To FEMA, the $236 million contract with Carnival Cruise Line to house Katrina victims aboard ships is an example of dealing with disasters in creative ways. To critics and watchdog groups, the deal is a paradigm of waste of federal funds. Today, the Houston Chronicle reports that the shipboard stay for a family costs more than the average house value in New Orleans.
Tab for using cruise vessels as Katrina housing criticized
As the United States faces its biggest recovery effort ever, public officials, private contractors, Congress and the media should play a role in assuring that federal funds are well-spent, an opinion piece in Washington Technology suggests.
Buy Lines: Katrina projects give procurement teams a chance to shine
FEMA's latest report (Oct. 6) to Congress on Katrina-related expenditures has been posted online.
FEMA report to the House Appropriations Committee
October 7, 2005
In today's editions, newspapers analyze the implications of the announcement by the Federal Emergency Management Agency's director that the agency will rebid Katrina-related contracts with a combined worth of $400 million that had been awarded with limited or no competition. Highlights include:
- The contracts up for rebids were awarded to four companies specializing in construction, consulting and engineering: the Shaw Group of Baton Rouge, La., Fluor Corporation of Aliso Viejo, Calif., Bechtel National of San Francisco and CH2M Hill of Denver. They have long-benefited from government contracts, and some employ lobbyists or executives with close ties to the White House and the Republican Party. The New York Times reports that the Shaw Group's lobbyist, Joe M. Allbaugh, is a former FEMA director and a friend of President Bush.
- The actual impact of the decision to rebid contracts could prove limited. FEMA doesn't plan to have competition for other Katrina deals, and the Army Corps of Engineers has not expressed intention to revise its own no-bid contracts.
- The Los Angeles Times says that FEMA Acting Director David Paulison could not answer how many contracts have been awarded with limited or no competition.
Katrina Contracts Will Be Reopened
In Shift, FEMA Will Seek Bids for Gulf Work
FEMA Reopening Its No-Bid Contracts
In Shift, FEMA Will Seek Bids for Gulf Work
FEMA Reopening Its No-Bid Contracts
Gulf Stream Coach, an Indiana company that in recent years made contributions primarily to Republican candidates, was awarded two contracts worth $521 million to provide trailers to displaced Katrina victims, Bloomberg.com reports. The contracts were won under limited competition, meaning that only up to five firms are allowed to compete for them.
Gulf Stream, Donor to Republicans, Wins Hurricane Housing Order
At a Senate committee hearing Thursday, FEMA's acting director testified on the agency's housing assistance efforts and long-term rebuilding. Acknowledging that many "are rightfully concerned about the costs," David Paulison sought to clarify the agency's contracting procedures.
David Paulison's testimony before the Senate Homeland Security Committee
In remarks offered before the FEMA chief's testimony, Sen. Joseph Lieberman said that the agency's no-bid contracts have "created opportunities for fraud, waste and abuse."
Sen. Joseph Lieberman's statement
Department of Homeland Security Inspector General Richard L. Skinner appeared Thursday before two House committees to explain the oversight plan for Katrina expenditures.
Testimony of DHS Inspector General
While public officials and legislators bump heads over Katrina's recovery efforts, an AP-Ipsos poll found that 60 percent of Americans surveyed said they doubt that money will be spent wisely.
AP-Ipsos poll: Public losing confidence in storm relief spending
A Chicago Tribune editorial discusses several congressional initiatives aimed at strengthening oversight of Katrina-related expenditures.
For an honest rebuilding effort
Top government officials who managed U.S. reconstruction projects in Iraq have been hired by some of the giant construction companies that got deals in Iraq and now are profiting from Katrina, Reuters says. Some have obtained positions with Shaw Group Inc., Bechtel National Inc., and Halliburton Co. subsidiary Kellogg Brown and Root. The Center for Public Integrity did an exhaustive investigation of Iraq and Afghanistan reconstruction contracts in its 2004 project Windfalls of War.
Katrina work goes to officials who led Iraq effort
While Republican legislators are pushing for an across-the-board spending cut in Gulf Coast recovery efforts, Louisiana state officials are requesting $1 billion in federal funds to repair roads in the Baton Rouge area. The proposal is aimed at easing traffic problems caused by Hurricane Katrina damage.
Republicans in Congress Seek Budget Cuts for Storm Relief
Congress' top budget analyst said Thursday that the total cost for rebuilding the Katrina-hit areas could be close $150 billion instead of the estimated $200 billion or more that was pitched originally, the Associated Press reports.
Newspaper articles discuss the Red Cross program that houses displaced Katrina victims in hotels around the country. The initiative has cost $112 million so far and has boosted hotel profits. However, some evacuees are finding it hard to find vacancies and some hotel chains are finding that sheltering evacuees makes it difficult to honor prior reservations.
Hurricane Evacuees Boost Hotels' Profits
Hotel chain asks Katrina evacuees to leave
October 6, 2005
In the midst of increasing concerns about cronyism and abusive spending, FEMA chief R. David Paulison said today that the disaster relief agency will rebid several Katrina-related contracts that were awarded with little or no competition, according to news service reports. More than 80 percent of the $1.5 billion in contracts that have been awarded by the agency so far fall into this category.
FEMA to Hold Re-Bid on Katrina Contracts
Hurricane contracts to be rebid - U.S. official
FEMA has stopped taking new applicants for a program that has housed about 6,000 Louisiana workers in nearly 2,400 travel trailers at refineries and other industrial sites across the storm-ravaged state, The Wall Street Journal reports. Angry Louisiana officials argue that the effort, aimed at restarting work key businesses, is one of the few that has effectively gotten evacuees into temporary shelter and back into the local work force.
Agency cancels a housing plan for evacuees (subscription)
Another WSJ article reports that FEMA has filled only a small portion of the thousands of requests for temporary housing in the Gulf Coast. The disaster relief agency has ordered 125,000 trailers and mobile homes, but said that only about 6,200 were ready to be occupied. Gulf Coast area officials complain that they have received only a few hundred so far.
FEMA's Next Crisis (subscription)
In Mississippi, MSNBC reports, the federal government is being criticized by some for overspending on no-bid contracts for portable classrooms and provisional roofs.
Critics question no-bid Katrina contracts
An opinion piece in the South-Florida Sun Sentinel discusses the potential dangers of relaxing spending restrictions and regulations in the aftermath of large-scale disasters.
When winds die, it starts raining money
With the bulk of reconstruction contracts so far given to out-of-state firms, Louisiana's larger general contractors are concerned that they will be shut out of the key rebuilding jobs in the state, an article in The Shreveport Times says. Meanwhile, smaller contractors are concerned about the influx of their peers from other states because of expedited licensing.
Reconstruction needs to involve Louisiana contractors
New Orleans' Times-Picayune says that debris removal in the city, contracted to be done by Tennessee-based Phillips & Jordan by the Corps of Engineers, may take years.
Cleanup crews clamor for share of big haul Drop
October 5, 2005
The Los Angeles Times reports that a controversial six-month, $192 million government contract with Carnival Cruise Lines for post-Katrina emergency housing includes more company-friendly benefits than originally disclosed. Lawmakers from both parties have called for an investigation of the deal. Carnival has agreed to refund the government for any profits beyond those agreed to in the contract.
Under the Waterline of Cruise Ship Deal
Only 1.5 percent of the $1.6 billion awarded by FEMA so far for reconstruction and relief contracts has gone to minority-owned businesses, The Associated Press reports. To speed up the contracting process, Congress and the Bush Administration waived some rules normally attached to government contracting, including affirmative action regulations.
Minority firms getting few Katrina pacts
According to the Department of Homeland Security, the four largest single contracts FEMA awarded for post-Katrina work total more than $1 billion and were given out on a limited competition basis . The beneficiaries are Circle B. Enterprises Inc., Gulf Stream Coach Inc., which received two of the contracts, and Morgan Building & Spas Inc.
DHS Hurricane Katrina Contracts
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards yesterday. Post-Katrina contracts total $303 million (the data don't currently include most FEMA or DOD contracts). According to the database, the four companies which have received the biggest single contracts ($15 to $50 million) are: Americold Logistics LLC, Clearbrook LLC, Asset Group Inc. and Motorola.
FPDS Hurricane Katrina Contracts
Corporate Watch—an organization that investigates "multinationals that profit out of war, fraud, environmental and human rights abuse"—notes that some of the same well-connected firms that got the biggest contracts for the reconstruction of Iraq are now benefiting from Katrina's recovery effort.
Big, Easy Iraqi-Style Contracts Flood New Orleans
Former President Bill Clinton said yesterday in Baton Rouge that FEMA should hire more local companies and workers to rebuild the hurricane-hit areas, the Shreveport Times reports.
Clinton to FEMA: Hire La. companies, workers
In an op-ed for The Seattle Times, Rep. Adam Smith, D-Was., says that Congress should enact a commission, similar to the Truman Commission of World War II, to ensure proper oversight of Katrina-recovery spending.
Federal relief efforts a fiscal disaster
While the Department of Homeland Security announced this week that it will create a procurement control board to oversee Katrina-recovery expenditures, some legislators say the government's initiative is inadequate.
Congress seeks to codify post-Katrina contracting restrictions
October 4, 2005
Despite government claims that it is trying to funnel contracts to small Gulf Coast companies, an investigation by The Washington Post shows that more than 90 percent of the money spent so far has gone to firms outside the states most affected by Hurricane Katrina.
Gulf Firms Losing Cleanup Contracts
Another Washington Post article reports that the company with the biggest FEMA relief contract so far, Circle B Enterprises, doesn't have a license to build manufactured housing in its home state, Georgia. The firm has been awarded a $287.5 million contract to build temporary housing for Katrina victims.
FEMA Contractor Lacks Building License
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards yesterday. Post-Katrina contracts total $297 million (the data don't currently include most FEMA or DOD contracts). According to the database, the four companies which have received the biggest single contracts ($15 to $50 million) are: Americold Logistics LLC, Clearbrook LLC, Asset Group Inc. and Motorola.
As questions on Katrina-related contracts continue to arise, FEMA is also under fire for failing to disclose how it spent taxpayers' money after four hurricanes raked Florida in 2004. Three newspapers sued the agency when it refused to provide the pay-out records for the $5.3 billion that were awarded in after-storm contracts.
Newspapers seek access to FEMA files
The Washington Post reports that the Office of Management and Budget terminated a new rule that increased the amount a federal employee could charge to government credit cards to $250,000 in expenditures related to Hurricane Katrina relief. Watchdog groups had warned that the rule could lead to fraud and abusive spending.
OMB Rescinds Katrina-Related Increase in Card Limits
The Advocate reports that the U.S. Corps of Engineers will oversee the removal of debris in St. Landry areas and municipalities. Members of St. Landry Parish Council want to make sure that parish contractors will be first in line for the job.
St. Landry OKs corps to oversee debris removal
The Christian Science Monitor says that the Bush administration's decision to relax labor laws in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina has reignited the immigration debate. Bush decided to suspend temporarily—in Katrina-hit states—sanctions against companies that hire undocumented workers.
Post-Katrina easing of labor laws stirs debate
October 3, 2005
One particularly costly FEMA effort has been even less than cold comfort in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The New York Times reports that the agency bought 182 million pounds of ice cubes—far more than could be delivered to aid storm victims. About 60 percent of the ice ended up in various storage facilities nationwide after truckers transported it on circuitous routes around the country for days. The cost to taxpayers: more than $100 million.
Stumbling Storm-Aid Effort Put Tons of Ice on Trips to Nowhere
A Federal Times article looks at the government's poor reporting of Katrina contracting activity.
Katrina contracts leave incomplete, inaccurate audit trail
Newsday reports that while FEMA has spent more than $1 billion on trailers to house evacuees, only 105 Louisiana families have received the promised units:
The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson, Miss., reports that Rep. Bennie Thompson, R-Miss., will call for a federal investigation on the $40 million no-bid contract for the construction of temporary classrooms awarded to a Akima Site Operations, politically connected Alaska Native company. Its parent, NANA Regional Corp., was profiled in the Center for Public Integrity's report "Outsourcing the Pentagon."
Congressman wants probe of no-bid contract
"Outsourcing the Pentagon" profile on NANA Regional Corp.
A New York Times editorial criticizes the Department of Labor's decision to relieve new federal contractors of the obligation to have an affirmative action plan for Katrina-related projects:
The Department of Labor has issued a memorandum that suspends affirmative action requirements in the contracting process for post-Katrina projects.
http://www.dol.gov/esa/ofccp/pdf/Katrina1.pdf 
On Friday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released its weekly report on the Hurricane Katrina Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Bill.
http://www.usace.army.mil/transcripts/KatrinaRpt_SAB_092905.pdf
The Boston Herald reported Friday that Bechtel National was awarded a multimillion-dollar contract to provide temporary housing to hurricane victims in Mississippi:
Dig contractor Bechtel gets big FEMA deal
September 30, 2005
Questions and concerns grew in Washington today about the hurricane relief process, with questions being raised on Capitol Hill about contracts for repairing roofs, housing evacuees, restoring education and providing other services for the Gulf Coast victims of Katrina and Rita.
The Federal Procurement Data System posted its latest information on hurricane-related contract awards today, including roughly $271 million for Katrina efforts. A quick run-through of the information—which does not include unreported contracts by FEMA, the Army Corps of Engineers and other agencies—reveals that roughly $236 million in aid is flowing through pre-established government purchasing agreements from the General Services Administration. Some $60 million in contracts appear to be have awarded with less-than-full competition. More than half of the reported amount, roughly $167.7 million in contracts appears to have gone to just five companies: Americold Logistics LLC, Clearbrook LLC, Asset Group Inc., Motorola, and East Alabama Portables.
Hurricane Katrina Contracts
Hurricane Rita Contracts
The New York Times reports that questions are being raised about FEMA's sluggish progress in housing displaced families despite its huge temporary housing contract awards.
Housing for Storm's Evacuees Lagging Far Behind U.S. Goals
Greece's offer of the free use of ships for evacuee housing was turned down and instead FEMA signed a $236 million contract with Carnival Cruise Lines. Sens. Barack Obama and Tom Coburn are asking Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff why the Greek offer wasn't accepted.
See Chicago Tribune article: Senators ask why U.S. paying when free ships offered
See USA Today article: Carnival CEO defends cruise ship deal for hurricane evacuees
Senators want cruise ship deal explained
Knight Ridder reports that contractors, including the Shaw Group, are charging government as much as 10 times the normal rate to cover roofs with temporary tarps and perform other roofing repairs:
U.S. paying a premium to cover storm-damaged roofs
Rep. Bennie Thompson says that the government is paying more than twice what it should for temporary classrooms in a $39.5 million no-bid contract awarded under special provisions to Akima Site Operations, and Alaska Native company that is a subsidiary of NANA Regional Corp. NANA Regional Corp. and its subsidiary NANA Pacific LLC have been profiled in previous Center for Public Integrity reports.
Mississippi Classroom Contract Questioned
Alaska firm gets Gulf rebuilding job
Alaska firm gets Gulf rebuilding job
Telecommunications companies, including AT&T, MCI, and Qwest, are restoring telephone services under contracts with government agencies—sometimes made through handshake deals. The Center has reported extensively on the influence of communications companies, including a state-by-state breakdown released yesterday:
Telecom Firms Scramble to Give Storm Aid
The Wall Street Journal has more on how former FEMA officials Joseph Allbaugh and James Lee Witt are using their influence on behalf of clients:
Connections Are Key to Contracts for Katrina Aid (subscription required)
Reporting more on hotels in New Orleans, the Los Angeles Times says that FEMA has booked 20,000 hotel rooms:
New Orleans' Tourist Business Dealing With the Big Difficult
September 29, 2005
Following up on yesterday's congressional hearings, several publications report on the testimony of several agency inspector generals, including that of the Department of Homeland Security's Richard Skinner, who told Congress that he was concerned over the award of several no-bid contracts.
No-Bid Contracts To Get Close Look
Katrina contracts worth billions raise worries about waste
Katrina contracts worth billions raise worries about waste
Homeland Security's chief oversight official also told representatives yesterday that the initial $15 million allotment was insufficient to police Katrina contracts and that more funds would be needed:
Homeland Security to request additional funds for Katrina oversight
Koch Membrane Systems, a subsidiary of conservative patron Koch Industries, is helping FEMA and the military purify water in Biloxi, Miss. The Center for Public Integrity's reporting on Koch and the oil industry was among the winners announced at the Society of Environmental Journalists award ceremony last night.
Gulf storms put Koch's water filters to the test
Center for Public Integrity "Politics of Oil" report: Koch's Low Profile Belies Political Power
Winners: SEJ 4th Annual Awards for Reporting on the Environment
Koch's Low Profile Belies Political Power
Winners: SEJ 4th Annual Awards for Reporting on the Environment
The Chicago Tribune reports this morning that Chicago-based CredentialSmart is backgrounding doctors and other health providers for the Department of Health and Human Services for an undisclosed sum:
Chicago firm helps check out Gulf Coast volunteers
Several publications report on the scramble for aid among Gulf Coast state officials, lobbyists and contractors, including Government Executive's report on Monday's Washington, D.C.-area Katrina Reconstruction Summit.
See Associated Press article: Gulf Coast governors press Congress for aid
See Wall Street Journal article: Katrina Galvanizes Lobbyists As Costly Rebuilding Begins (subscription required)
See Government Executive article: Officials fear contracting abuses in wake of Hurricane Katrina
September 28, 2005
Few Katrina-related contracts were announced today. News coverage focused on the grilling of former Federal Emergency Management chief Michael Brown in yesterday's congressional hearings and the resignation of New Orleans' police chief. News organizations continued to look into existing contracts, especially the awarding of one worth a potential $236 million to Carnival Cruise Lines and a $568 million award to Ashbritt, client of the former firm of Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour. Government auditors from several agencies have promised Congress that no-bid contracts and purchases on government credit-cards will be investigated.
See Associated Press article: Government auditors to probe Katrina deals
See Washington Post article: $236 Million Cruise Ship Deal Criticized
The Washington Post looks into complaints about the Carnival award:
$236 Million Cruise Ship Deal Criticized
While visiting Miami, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff indicated that Katrina-related contracts could be canceled or payments withheld if the deals did not measure up. However, he avoided responding to questions regarding former FEMA head Michael Brown's testimony as to whether federal, state or local authorities were to blame for the poor response to Katrina.
In Miami, Chertoff sidesteps questions about response to Katrina
The Navy has announced the noncompetitive award of a $9.1 million firm-fixed-price contract to repair Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Miss., to Whitesell/Yates Joint Venture of Biloxi.
September 27, 2005
No-bid storm contracts prompt warnings
Several government agencies and divisions have posted downloadable reports on contracts awarded through last Friday, although some of the most expensive, controversial contracts, including the more than $500 million Ashbritt award, are not listed:
Federal Government Procurement System - Excel File
Army Corps of Engineers
September 26, 2005
Today's must-read Katrina-related story is the New York Times' detailed analysis of contract awards. The Times reports that the Federal Emergency Management Agency has awarded more than $1 billion in contracts with little or no competition. The Homeland Security inspector general raises concerns about how some of the contracts were awarded.
Many Contracts for Storm Work Raise Questions
Over the weekend, the Los Angeles Times reported on the criticism of Carnival Cruise Lines' $236 million deal to house evacuees on ships. The article included Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman's letter to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff calling for more information on the contract.
Ships' Housing Deal Is Under Scrutiny
FEMA has allowed its reserve workforce to dwindle in favor of hiring less effective contract workers, according to the Washington Post, which also reports on Louisiana's drive to snare more federal aid:
FEMA Let Reserves Wither, Hurting Response, Some Say
Louisiana Goes After Federal Billions
September 23, 2005
While some contract awards surfaced today and yesterday, most major announcements and reporting have been shunted aside as the Gulf Coast prepares for the expected onslaught of Hurricane Rita.
The Dallas Morning News reports on FEMA's mismanagement of relief funds in a story replete with mentions and new details about contracted companies, including Circle B Enterprises, Gulfstream Coach, Integrated Express, Carnival Cruise Lines, Landstar System Inc. and Morgan Buildings, Spas & Pools:
After the storm, FEMA accused of wastefulness
The Associated Press reports that government auditors are questioning open-ended contracts to Halliburton and other subsidiaries:
Auditors targeting open-ended Katrina contracts
Minorities say they've been shut out of contracting opportunities, according to the Wall Street Journal, which has a rundown of regulatory changes:
Minorities Say Katrina Work Flows to Others (subscription required)
September 22, 2005
Champion Enterprises said it received a $60 million order from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to build 2,000 manufactured homes, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Champion builds homes for Katrina victims
The Army Corps of Engineers has awarded Thompson Engineering more than $11 million for quality assurance inspection services in Mississippi.
CorpWatch offers an overview of relief contracts, with a focus on fast-track agreements.
Big and Easy Iraqi-Style Contracts Flood New Orleans
FEMA spokesman Ross Fredenburg denied knowledge of agency contracts for ambulances, despite a contrary report in yesterday's Wall Street Journal.
Nursing home evacuations run into snags
The Shaw Group, which was awarded two $100 million post-Katrina contracts, announced a change in the top leadership of its Environmental and Infrastructure Division, according to a news release posted online at CCNMatthews.com.
Shaw Announces Change in Leadership of Environmental and Infrastructure Unit – Press release
September 21, 2005
FEMA announced the award of more contracts to construct temporary housing for hurricane evacuees yesterday, providing a windfall to some in the dwindling mobile home industry. Companies that received them included the country's largest mobile home builder, Clayton Homes, as well as Fleetwood Enterprises, Palm Harbor Homes and recreational vehicle manufacturer Gulf Stream Coach. The AP has a briefing:
FEMA OKs mobile homes for Katrina evacuees
The Indianapolis Star says that Indiana stands to benefit:
Fleetwood Homes puts its contract value at more than $170 million:
Fleetwood Accepts Orders to Build Travel Trailers and Homes to Support Disaster Relief Efforts
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that there are five companies providing housing, including Bechtel:
Palm Harbor Homes also received an award:
Palm Harbor Homes hired to build FEMA housing
The Army Corps of Engineers has posted two contracts for construction in Mississippi, each for $50 million, to CH2M Hill Constructors and W. G. Yates and Sons Construction Company:
Award Notice – CH2M Hill
Award Notice - W. G. Yates and Sons
The Corps has also raised a previous joint-venture contract to Carothers Construction and Zenex International's Aduddell Roofing from $20 million to $60 million:
More news today on cleanup efforts in Biloxi, Mississippi, including the participation of Crowder-Gulf, Ceres Environmental Services and Yates Construction in the more than $50 million effort.
City to clear private property
The AP reports on the Big Easy hospitality industry, including FEMA-contracted Starwood Hotels and Resorts:
Hotels, resorts rushing to reopen along Gulf Coast to handle rebuilding effort
The Nation spotlights the wild-west nature of private security operations in New Orleans:
September 20, 2005
All's mostly quiet on the contracting front this morning, with no new announcements of major awards for Katrina recovery. Amid calls for more oversight of relief contracting, the major papers announce the appointment of FEMA's ex-acting chief financial officer, Matthew Jadacki, to run the Office for Hurricane Katrina Oversight under the Department of Homeland Security. In other news, the head of procurement for OMB, David Safavian, is arrested on charges stemming from the investigation of lobbyist Jack Abramoff, and contractors are lobbying to protect themselves from liability.
The Wall Street Journal reports that C. Henderson Consulting Inc. was awarded a contract for $5.2 million through the end of the month to provide ambulance services for FEMA, in a profile that looks at one of its subcontracters, GoldStar, one of several relief companies with checkered pasts:
Some Firms Hired in Katrina's Wake Have Checkered Pasts (subscription required)
The Army Corps of Engineers has awarded an almost $10 million contract to help shore up Mississippi River levees to Merrick Construction Company of Cottonport, LA:
The New York Times notes the suspension of affirmative action paperwork requirements for Katrina contractors:
Contractors Get Affirmative Action Exemption
September 19, 2005
While no major new awards surfaced over the weekend and today, the major papers and newsweeklies examine the doling of federal dollars for relief, and some more information about existing contracts trickles out.
In a story over the weekend, the Washington Post reveals that FEMA is contracting its contracting, using consultant Acquisition Services in its efforts:
Short-Staffed FEMA Farms Out Procurement
Newsweek tours the rebuilding menagerie being assembled in the Hurricane states, while Detroit Bureau chief Keith Naughton talks contracting with Competitive Enterprise Institute president Fred L. Smith:
Katrina Comeback I : Costs, Contracts, Confusion
FEMA is setting up temporary communities, built by companies like Fluor Corporation and Clayton Homes of Maryville, Tenn.:
Recipe for an Instant Town: Find Land, Add Trailers
The Times gives a brief history lesson in government purchasing abuses:
Here Is Your New Federal Credit Card. Here Is Your New Purchase Limit
The Wall Street Journal today reports that an $800,000 preliminary hurricane evacuation plan was drawn up by FEMA consultants IEM Inc., retained by FEMA to assess the hurricane response:
U.S. Had Plan for Crisis Like Katrina (subscription required)
Labatt Food Services and Selrico Services set the table for evacuees as well as their normal military base clients:
Local food-service firms Labatt, Selrico feeding storm victims
DISH Satellite TV and XM Satellite Radio are beaming FEMA's voice to Katrina's victims:
Dish Satellite TV Network And XM Satellite Radio Deliver FEMA Information To Shelters
Wall Street is smiling about Shaw and other contractors, according to Bloomberg News:
September 16, 2005
Today's highlight, other than the president's speech, was the announcement of four fixed-price debris removal contracts from the USACE, potentially worth a total of $4 billion including options:
Here's a press release:
Debris Removal Contracts Awarded for Hurricane Recovery Efforts, Says Army Corps of Engineers
Here's the Washington Post's take:
4 Firms Hired to Clear Debris in Gulf Coast
The Department of Labor has suspended affirmative action requirements on contracts:
Memorandum: Contracts for Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts
CounterPunch revisits Service Corporation International, parent of body-removal contractor Kenyon International, which settled a $100 million lawsuit several years ago for dumping bodies:
Corpse-Abusing Company Gets FEMA Contract
FEMA uses cruise ships as temporary lodging for some:
Cruise Ships, Spurned by Evacuees, Are Home to Displaced City Workers and Families
The Army Corps of Engineers has posted a list of its Katrina contract awards:
Hurricane Katrina Consolidated Contract Listing
The Washington Post takes a look at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' "handshake deals" with Bertucci Construction, Fordice Construction and the Shaw Group.
Government Tries to Balance Scrutiny, Speed
Security firm Blackwater USA is working for the Department of Homeland Security's Federal Protective Service and the Coast Guard:
Blackwater employees create a stir in New Orleans
Design and construction services firm Dewberry has a press release on its work assessing correctional facilities for FEMA:
Dewberry Sending Employees to Assist FEMA in Hurricane Katrina Response - Updated September 15
In older news, USA Today explored controversy behind the Shaw and Fluor contract awards:
Contracts for recovery work raise controversy
AP reports that SFA Inc. is providing kits for showers, laundry machines and latrines for 7,000 troops in the Gulf States:
Md. company sending mobile showers, latrines for Bragg soldiers
September 12, 2005
Bechtel
FEMA Contracts to Provide Housing Relief for Displaced Hurricane Victims
Boh Brothers Construction
In Storm's Ruins, a Rush to Rebuild and Reopen for Business
Carothers
Emergency Contracts Already in Place
Ceres Environmental Services Inc.
Emergency Contracts Already in Place
CH2M Hill
FEMA Contracts to Provide Housing Relief for Displaced Hurricane Victims
Dewberry
FEMA Contracts to Provide Housing Relief for Displaced Hurricane Victims
Fairfax Engineering Company Assesses Gulf Coast Damage
Storm Recovery Is More a Mission Than Opportunity
Fluor Corp.
FEMA Contracts to Provide Housing Relief for Displaced Hurricane Victims
IAP Worldwide
Emergency Contracts Already in Place
Kellogg, Brown & Root (Halliburton)
http://www.defenselink.mil/contracts/2005/ct20050914.html
http://www.defenselink.mil/contracts/2005/ct20050909.html
Phillips and Jordan Inc.
Emergency Contracts Already in Place
The Shaw Group
Emergency Contracts Already in Place
Sterling Construction Services Inc.
TJC Engineering Inc.
URS Corporation
S.F. engineering firms dispatch crews to gulf
See also:
Firms with Bush-Cheney ties clinching Katrina deals