Auditors Eye OPEN-ENDED Katrina Contracts

[Holly_Hobby]

By HOPE YEN, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 36 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - Government auditors are questioning whether several multimillion-dollar Katrina contracts — including one involving a Halliburton Co. subsidiary — invite abuse because they are open-ended and not clearly defined.

The contracts, for services such as levee repair and emergency housing, were granted to companies based on their pre-existing business relationships with the government. Critics say the arrangements foster cronyism because a few repeat players typically get the best deals.

The Government Accountability Office and the Homeland Security Department, which has primary responsibility for reviewing the billions of dollars worth of Katrina contracts, said they will focus on the agreements that were awarded with little or no competition.

They include "indefinite delivery-indefinite quantity" contracts such as those involving Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg, Brown & Root Services Inc. of Arlington, Va., and San-Francisco-based Bechtel Corp. Both firms have strong ties to the Bush administration.

...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050922/ap_on_go_pr_wh/katrina_contracts_hk4

I don't know why I was surprised...

[savemefromdumbya]

1. Perhaps our Congresspersons should look into this?

There seem to be lots of holes in the net and Congress needs to be on the ball.

[elfin]

2. The GAO is probably

the only department that hasn't entirely been purged and filled with corrupt cronies.

Watch for slurs against GAO and further attempts to erode its clout which has been reduced by end arounds. Cannot cite a particular instance, but it seems to me that they have been told that some things are no longer under their purview that previously had been.