There's been a lot of press about how 1.4 billion in Katrina funds have been misused for various personal purposes. The faux outrage about a sex change operation (no major drain on revenues) shows it was intended as a right wing talking point. But I remember which party wanted thorough and independent oversight of Katrina expenditures - the Democratic party - and which party blocked it - the Republican party. I remember which party wanted toothless, meaningless oversight - the Republican - and which struggled to get that committee to do
something - the Democratic. And I've noticed who has resisted such flimsy oversight as we managed to get - the Bush administration, fully in keeping with their stated and achieved intent to run roughshod over the laws of this land.
When Katrina first hit, who introduced legislation to provide meaningful independent oversight for an estimated $200 billion in expenditures? Democratic House leaders
Waxman and Pelosi (HR 3838) When House Democrats tried to get the legislation
out of committe, who blocked it? The Republican House Leadership.
When America called on Congress to investigate the disgraceful neglect of the Federal goverment, who proposed a toothless committee to "investigate" and shoved it through on a strict party-line vote? The Republican leadership. How many subpeonas were issued by the committee investigating possibly the worst national disaster in history? NONE!
When HUD secretary Alfonso Jackson (yes, the guy, who bragged about illegally excluding non-Republicans from contracts) didn't show up for an oversight meeting, who called for a subpeona to investigate corruption at HUD? The Democratic members of the House Financial Services Committee. Who didn't grant it? Republican chairman Bob Ney (why am I not surprised?)
So now that the GAO has revealed over a billion in fraud in the hurricane relief program, who has the nerve to whine over the problem created by their insistence that there be no meaningful oversight over Katrina relief? Republicans! Led by Michael McCaul of Texas. And I can guarantee that there's a lot more corruption than this - Ney didn't put his career on the line for some lackeys' penny ante vacations. There's a lot more big-time fraud that will be found once Democrats are able to do real investigations of this national scandal.
It's time to put the Republican hypocrites out of business and put in a Congress that will act to protect the American taxpayer. Support Democratic candidates for Congress and help put a stop to this massive defrauding of the American taxpayer.