The Fiscally Responsible Few

Is there anyone in Congress that is fiscally responsible?

The stories of wasted money in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina are already starting to come out. Was the 60 billion dollars in “relief” money that was authorized by Congress in the days after the hurricane really necessary? No doubt companies and contractors of all types were ecstatic, ready to climb aboard the windfall gravy train.

There's only a few in Congress who can be applauded for not loosing their heads in an emergency, or at least not using taxpayers money just to appear compassionate.

The roll call vote on the additional 50 billion dollars in FEMA funds shows us that eleven members of Congress voted against the uncontrolled flow of public funds. They are the only truly responsible members of Congress:

Barton (TX), Flake, Foxx, Garrett (NJ), Hostettler, King (IA), Otter, Paul, Sensenbrenner, Tancredo, and Westmoreland.

Perhaps the budget of the United States would not be broken if there were more members of Congress like this group.

Some of the stories of waste in the news:

Roofing Firms Make a Killing

NEW ORLEANS - Across the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast, thousands upon thousands of blue tarps are being nailed to wind-damaged roofs, a visible sign of government assistance. The blue sheeting - a godsend to residents whose homes are threatened by rain - is rapidly becoming the largest roofing project in the nation's history.

It isn't coming cheap.

Knight Ridder has found that a lack of oversight, generous contracting deals and poor planning mean that government agencies are shelling out as much as 10 times what the temporary fix would normally cost.

The government is paying contractors an average of $2,480 for less than two hours of work to cover each damaged roof - even though it's also giving them endless supplies of blue sheeting for free.

"This is absolute highway robbery, and it really does show that the agency doesn't have a clue in getting real value of contracts," said Keith Ashdown, vice president for Taxpayers for Common Sense, noting that he recently paid $3,500 for a new permanent roof. "I've done the math in my head 100 times, and I don't know how they computed this cost."

Expensive Cruise Ships

Washington Democratic Rep. Jay Inslee criticized a $192 million, six-month contract with Carnival Cruise Lines to use three luxury ships to house evacuees from the region. The ships are now being occupied by a relatively small number of relief workers.

"We need to ask some pretty hard questions about that," he said. "Is it economical to continue this contract to house relief workers?"

Inslee said questions were raised about the contract just days after it was signed and noted the per person cost was $1,275 a week, far above the typical cost of a week-long cruise for a normal passenger.

U.S. Paying When Free Ships Were Offered

As scrutiny intensifies on how the government has spent money in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, two senators on Thursday questioned a $236 million deal with Carnival Cruise Lines to house evacuees on ships when Greece offered to provide vessels for free.

Ice Bought and Trucked in Circles

Washington -- When the definitive story of the confrontation between Hurricane Katrina and the U.S. government is finally told, one long and tragicomic chapter will have to be reserved for the odyssey of the ice.

That would be the 91,000 tons of ice cubes intended to cool food, medicine and sweltering victims of the storm. It would cost taxpayers more than $100 million, and most of it would never be delivered.