Watch Original: Internal FEMA report found contracting incompetence -- a year ago

TIP OF THE ICEBERG? A 2004 audit found contracting in disarray under Michael Brown's FEMA

This morning at Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch, our special project investigating the post-hurricane South, we have a breaking new report.

Sean Reilly, Washington, D.C. reporter with Newhouse News Service, reveals for Watch that over a year ago, FEMA's own auditors found the agency's contracting arm to be mired in incompetence -- the very people slammed after Katrina for giving out hundreds of millions of dollars in no-bid or limited competition contracts to big out-of-state corporations like Bechtel and Halliburton.

Why is this story important? Post-Katrina, FEMA's incompetence may seem like old news.

But two of FEMA's -- and the administration's -- biggest excuses for the outrageous Katrina contracting scandals have been 1) "we weren't prepared," and 2) "we didn't know" about contracting problems. However the Department of Homeland Security's 2004 internal report conclusively reveals that:

*** Over a year ago, the Department of Homeland Security itself knew that FEMA's contracting office was in total disarray and staff qualifications were a major concern. In fact, as Reilly reports, "record-keeping was so slipshod that auditors were 'unable to assess the qualifications of the workforce.'"

*** As early as 2001, FEMA was neglecting small business contractors, instead turning to big corporate heavyweights (many closely connected to the Bush Administration). Reilly: "The procurement office failed to meet its fiscal 2001 small business goals and then didn't bother with submitting a required written explanation and corrective action plan to the Small Business Administration."

*** These problems exacerbated long-standing concerns about lack of open bidding: "Once a year, FEMA was supposed to review their contracting operations with an eye to promoting full and open competition; no such review had been done since 1992."

In short, there's no excuse. Read the whole report here.

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