Democrats warn of potential Katrina contract abuse

[sabra]

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N16663674.htm

Democrats warn of potential Katrina contract abuse


WASHINGTON, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Rebuilding from Hurricane Katrina could be ripe for fraud if government whistle-blowers are not better protected than those who lost their jobs after disclosing abuses in Iraq's reconstruction, a leading Senate Democrat said on Friday.

Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota said all necessary resources should be deployed to rebuild New Orleans and the U.S. Gulf Coast, but the billions of dollars in expected government spending must be must be carefully monitored.

"We simply must ensure accountability for these massive expenditures -- so that these dollars don't just wind up lining the pockets of unscrupulous contractors, as we've seen all too often in Iraq," Dorgan said at an unofficial hearing held by the Democratic Policy Committee, a congressional group.

"One of the keys to ensuring accountability is to have civil servants who witness fraud, waste and abuse to blow the whistle," Dorgan said.

[Talismom]

1. "Potential" my arse! It's already very real! n/t

[Karenina]

7. Kinetic!

[Talismom]

8. Exactly, currently in motion! n/t

[kbm8795]

2. Karl Rove + Halliburton = cardboard houses

and a culture of corruption that will make a travesty of this rebuilding effort. Why would anyone believe that this Administration is serious about rebuilding the Gulf Coast when they put a man in charge whose entire political history has been nothing but the manufacturing of lies?

[NV Whino]

3. Yeah, well...

why don't they just goddamn do something about it then?

[KittyWampus]

6. Hello? They're HOLDING HEARINGS.... Why Don't DU'ers Stop Obsessing

over Bush, who is NOT running for re-election and start paying attention to what Democrats ARE doing and the corruption of the GOP thugs who ARE running for re-election.

[Chef]

4. I can see it now

If you speak against this pork-a-rama, you aren't helping the victims. You are either in favor of this or with the hurricane.

[HockeyMom]

5. Just like Iraq

What elese is new?

[TheStates]

9. It would be good to not blame it on Bush...blame it on the GOP instead..

I think that says it all since they're the ones going for re-election....

[raysr]

10. Contract abuse,

ya think??!!

[buzzsaw_23]

11. "Warn of potential"?

sounds like tiptoeing.

Maybe-possibly-could be says a quivering voice in the back of the room.



From d.a. levy
"Really"
                     the police try to protect
                     the banks - and everything else
                     is secondary"