www射-国产免费一级-欧美福利-亚洲成人福利-成人一区在线观看-亚州成人

  Home>News Center>World
         
 

Some say Congress going overboard on aid
(usatoday.com)
Updated: 2005-09-12 22:16

As the government rushes to respond with billions of dollars for Hurricane Katrina's victims, there are beginning to be a few voices of caution.

"We are in this sort of knee-jerk reaction mode," said Tom Tancredo, one of 11 House members, all Republicans, who voted against the latest emergency spending bill.

Lawmakers are being stampeded by their emotional reactions to Katrina's victims, as well as "the political dynamic that says if we don't show that compassion, people will think the Republicans in power are not compassionate," he said in an interview. "There is a lot of pressure to overreact."

"There's understandable pressure to get money out quickly," said Clark Kent Ervin, the former inspector general at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which is in charge of the relief effort. "But there inevitably will be waste and fraud."

Last week's votes on a $51.8 billion spending bill seem to bear that out. The Senate vote was 97 to 0; in the House, it was 410 to 11. The action pushed to $62.3 billion the amount allocated so far for Katrina relief, with more to come.

That's more than this year's discretionary budgets for all but two Cabinet departments, Defense and Health and Human Services. And it's more than the total federal spending for homeland defense. Washington has been burning through $2 billion a day in its flood-relief efforts, even before reconstruction begins.

The federal government has a long record of responding quickly to disasters, only to see money diverted for questionable uses that have little or nothing to do with its intended purpose.

For example, Ervin's successor, acting DHS Inspector General Richard Skinner, is investigating why the government bought new clothing, furniture and appliances after last year's Florida hurricanes for residents of Miami-Dade County, which mostly escaped damage.

There was waste, as well, in money spent after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to improve security. Small business loans meant to help recovery from the attacks went to a day care center, a veterinarian's office and a golf course hundreds of miles away in Georgia, the Associated Press found. Grand Forks, N.D., got more biochemical protective suits than it has police officers. And a contractor hired to help find airport screeners drew $5.4 million for nine months' work, according to a federal audit.

"Trust me, there will be abuses" in this spending, said Sen. Jeff Sessions (news, bio, voting record), R-Ala., who is from the hard-hit Gulf Coast city of Mobile. "I believe that the Senate is now in a bit of a hurricane mode, that all of Congress is, maybe even the White House. And that mode is that we do not need to be too careful."

Sessions appealed to President Bush to choose an overseer for the hurricane response with experience who can make sure money is spent wisely.

"This is so massive and the potential for fraud and abuse is so great, we are going to have to watch it," Sessions said. "The government will spend your money before you know what happened to it."



USS Park Royal crew await for Rice
Coffin of Milosevic flew to Belgrade
Kidnapping spree in Gaza Strip
 
  Today's Top News     Top World News
 

Australia, US, Japan praise China for Asia engagement

 

   
 

Banker: China doing its best on flexible yuan

 

   
 

Hopes high for oil pipeline deal

 

   
 

Possibilities of bird flu outbreaks reduced

 

   
 

Milosevic buried after emotional farewell

 

   
 

China considers trade contracts in India

 

   
  Journalist's alleged killers held in Iraq
   
  No poisons found in Milosevic's body
   
  US, Britain, France upbeat on Iran agreement
   
  Fatah officials call for Abbas to resign
   
  Sectarian violence increases in Iraq
   
  US support for troops in Iraq hits new low
   
 
  Go to Another Section  
 
 
  Story Tools  
   
Manufacturers, Exporters, Wholesalers - Global trade starts here.
Advertisement
         
主站蜘蛛池模板: 欧美性色生活免费观看 | 一区精品麻豆经典 | 精品国产日韩亚洲一区二区 | 香焦视频在线观看黄 | 成人国产在线视频在线观看 | 久久99爰这里有精品国产 | 欧美日韩一区二区三区四区在线观看 | 日本a级在线 | 九九视频在线观看视频23 | 亚洲一级片在线播放 | 欧美一级欧美三级在线观看 | 国产精品午夜波多野结衣性色 | 一道精品视频一区二区三区图片 | 高清午夜看片a福利在线观看琪琪 | 日本aaaa片毛片免费观看 | 中文字幕一区二区三区在线观看 | 99久久免费国产精精品 | 亚洲欧美94色 | 女人张开腿等男人桶免费视频 | 波多野结衣在线观看高清免费资源 | 日韩美女大全视频在线 | 亚洲综合无码一区二区 | 国产欧美在线观看不卡 | 久久性生大片免费观看性 | 亚洲第一免费视频 | 欧美国产精品亚洲精品第一区 | 全国男人的天堂网站 | 国产系列在线观看 | 欧美成人观看免费版 | 欧美日韩人成在线观看 | 日韩欧美在线播放 | 亚洲国产日韩成人综合天堂 | 久草手机在线观看 | 一区二区三区网站在线免费线观看 | 日韩 欧美 自拍 | 91久久精一区二区三区大全 | 美女扒开双腿让男人爽透视频 | a毛片免费全部播放毛 | 欧美成人性色大片在线观看 | 亚洲欧美国产一区二区三区 | 神马午夜在线 |