FEMA misspent money from trailer sales

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Source: The Raw Story

The Federal Emergency Management Agency misspent millions of dollars it received from selling used travel trailers, government investigators have found.

Instead of buying more trailers — as allowed under the law — FEMA used more than $13 million toward fully loaded sport utility vehicles, travel expenses and purchase card accounts, according to a draft report by the Homeland Security Department's inspector general obtained by The Associated Press. The report is to be released Friday.

During its three-month review last summer, the inspector general found that FEMA used some of the proceeds from trailer sales for tree-removal services, agency decals and banners and global positioning systems. FEMA spokesman James McIntyre said the agency discovered these problems on its own and has taken steps to fix them.

After Hurricane Katrina, FEMA purchased 200,000 travel trailers and mobile homes. When displaced hurricane victims leave these housing units, FEMA may sell the units to the general public. The law states that FEMA must use proceeds from these sales to buy more trailers or return the money to the U.S. Treasury.

Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/news/mochila/FEMA_misspent_money_from_trailer_sa_02192008.html

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"And Brownie, you're doin' a heck of a job."

[MadMaddie]

1. This is mismanagement at it's worst ....even criminal

why are these damn people not n jail?

[Parche]

2. They get mad at this

But they lose over $12billion cash in Iraq and no one questions it?
:grr: :grr: :grr: :hi:

[TheDebbieDee]

5. Those pallets of cash dropped in Iraq,

You ever think that perhaps this cash was printed up by the US Mint at *'s direction without proper authorization?

If you think about it, you will have no doubt that this is exactly what happened.

[rocktivity]

3. Candidate for this month's "You Call This NEWS?" Award

"FEMA misspent..."

:boring:
rocknation

[Canuckistanian]

8. Exactly

This is just ordinary, more-of-the-same BS we've been used to seeing.

Nobody will get punished, nobody will be held accountable.

Hell, nobody will even HEAR about this.

[SpiralHawk]

4. More, more, more republicon cronyism & corruption

No surprise...

[raouldukelives]

6. Well it wasn't a home..

But I'm sure the disaster victims that got the SUV's, purchase card accounts and travel expenses weren't too unhappy with it.

[provis99]

7. the article doesn't say the disaster victims got the SUVs

Without further details, I would guess the SUVs went to managers at FEMA, not disaster victims.

[salin]

9. the disaster victims wouldn't have received anything...

FEMA sold (and got the revenues) after the victims moved *out* of the trailors. That money went to FEMA and those SUVs, etc. went workers at FEMA. They didn't do anything for victims of that or subsequent disasters. Thus instead of recouping some of the original costs that could be used for future disasters (thus cutting down the overall new costs of future disasters to tax payers) the money was mispent by FEMA.

[jwirr]

10. The first thing our new president should do is call for a full government

audit and move to recoup all missing or misused money. These people own us reparations.