Centerfield

You'll be happy to hear that some people are taking the issue seriously.

Check this out.

good for him as the political payoffs are starting to ramp up. FEMA just hired (without any kind of bidding process) Kenyon Worldwide Disaster Management out of Houston. They're a subsidiary of Service Corporation of America, also out of Houston and have close ties with Bush. They were also part of the funeral-gate case in Texas during Bush's term as governor involving both Democrat and Republican politicians. This despite the fact that many morticians around the country were available to work FOR FREE as volunteers.

That's right, for FREE, as in at no cost to the taxpayers. Goldwater must be doing 25,000 rpm in his grave right now.

Soooooooeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!

UPDATE: Timely warning from past mistakes regarding post 9/11 aid.

While some at New York's ground zero couldn't get assistance they desperately sought, companies far removed from the devastation - a South Dakota country radio station, a Virgin Islands perfume shop, a Utah dog boutique and more than 100 Dunkin' Donuts and Subway sandwich shops - had no problem winning the government-guaranteed loans.
"That's scary. 9/11 had nothing to do with this," said James Munsey, a Virginia entrepreneur who described himself as "beyond shocked" to learn his $1 million loan to buy a special-events company in Richmond was drawn from the Sept. 11 program.

Marcus, I think this issue is less about partisan politics and more about how government gets awfully sloppy when given lots of money quickly and an overwhelming desire "to spend it to do good things"

I would agree that Flake's reasoning is sound.

We do have a major defecit to contend with, and the lump-sum relief monies strikes me as an analogy I've heard used by generals, when you funnel too much of anything it's like pushing on a rope.

Smaller, targeted funding is the better approach. It will foster greater accountability and overall efficiency. Afterall, what politician has been known to give back money? Excess would simply go to pork projects.

--JB
http://democracy2pointzero.blogspot.com

No, I think not. Time and again this and previous administrations have been quick to award cronies anything they can under any pretense. BTW, Allbaugh, former head of FEMA, was involved in "cleaning up" the Texas scandal.

BTW, now that things are out in the open any competent management team would go...hey, we have some free services being offered. Let's accept them and use the money for something important".

This and other fantasies are available via 900 numbers to be sure.

The Profesora points out that she used to live in the district of another regular nay-sayer - former Libertarian Ron Paul. He regularly gets reelected despite voting against monetary relief for his district.

She also points out another, related post at:

http://dsadevil.blogspot.com/2005/09/dirty-near-dozen-principled-deficit.html

I know this might lead to kill the discussion, but I believe that Rep. Flake has noble motivations, but is still wrong in his decision.

First, I do agree with Rep. Flake in that the government does tend to "lose" money when it's given a large amount to spend. We do have major issues with cheating ourselves so that someone can keep their job for another four years.

However, I have personally spoken to people who have lost their homes, posessions, and families in the flooding. So much devastation has occurred and so many people are left without a warm place to sleep, clean water to drink, or even the humanity of being able to relieve themselves in a toilet.

We all know that the government tends to be a juggernaut that lumbers forward stumbling over its own weight. What makes us think that this situation will be any different? I don't think these people need to suffer any more than they already have. Making them wait each time a 10 billion dollar bill can get passed and all the paper work finishes seems cruel to me.

If some pork barrel spending happens due to this then it's a worthwhile sacrifice that we, the people who still have our homes and families, can afford to make.

Since the bill was guaranteed to pass by an overwhelming margin, this makes the votes of these 11 senators a cost-free way to establish their anti-waste bonafides. And that means the motives can't entirely be trusted. Let's see some courageous votes when push comes to chove, and then I'll pat someone on the back.

I am very much in favor of the sentiment, but's it far past time for more than symbolic votes. It's a bit curious to me that the group Susan cites casts itself as anti government waste. I'm not in favor of waste, and neither is anyone else, so maybe it's just a case of trying to attract the most support via a more sexy framing of the issue.

However, in my opinion the more crucial problem to solve is the grotesquely large budget deficit. By all means get rid of waste, but lets make sure that the amount we spend is in line with what we collect. The alternative is a demographic train wreck with SS and medicare. I'd like to see support for another circuit breaker balanced budget act. It's time.

Wes,

The problem is that this siphoning of funds also delays aid and probably makes it harder for those in need to get assistance.
We're not talking small bits here and small bits there. Tens of millions of dollars going to a houston company when the services they provide are being offered for free by morticians across the nation means those tens of millions will not go to other areas of immediate need.
There needs to be strict accountability and auditing. Historical precedence would be the Truman-run commission during WW2 known as the "Special Committee to Investigate the National Defense Program" which exposed deficiencies in the procurement process.

The problem here and now is that there is little if any accountability.

Others are noticing the lack of concurrent cuts to balance out this additional spending.

Marcus, is the government actually supposed to PLAN that area morticians will in fact provide free funerals for EVERY corpse? If not, then they need a mechanism that includes contracting with a provider, right?

Are you telling me that if the government failed to make conractual arrangements for a provider, then they would NOT get crucified for trying to save money by relying on private benevolence? I find that hard to believe.

Marcus;

There needs to be strict accountability and auditing.

Marcus, I don't believe that parasites using this for their own agendas will delay relief. I believe it will lessen the relief gained from the lump sum. Say 50 billion goes out and 10 billion is sucked up by parasites. That still leaves 40 billion going out to the people who need it now. I'd rather see that happen than see a 10 billion bill be delayed for a week because it's scrutinized and fought over to make sure nobody gets anything out of it other than the people who need it. As irresponsible as it may be to not thoroughly inspect this and trim off the fat, I feel it would be more irresponsible of us to not get the aid to these victims as soon as we possibly can.

10 billion here, 10 billion there and pretty soon you're talking about REAL money!

bk,

The government seems to have no problem with other relief services being provided so I see no reason why moriticians with equipment and supplies
from all around the country who are ready and waiting to fly into the area to help out are any different from doctors wanting to do the same thing.

c3
you're right - 10 billion is a lot.
And I hope everyone keeps in mind what 10 billion dollars could buy - you could build from the ground up 250 high schools
or pay for the education needs of 2 million children for 1 year. No, waste is not a good idea, especially if it is easily preventable.

Wes, it's been more than 2 weeks and lots of people have yet to be seen or helped by the feds.
Delay need not be long at all. Rulemaking and standards for expenditures - full transparency, limits on profits - btw all easily available with the latest software because everyone has to conform to Sarbanes-Oxley(Oracle,SAP, Veritas/KVS, etc,) - could keep timetables short. Bid processes could be pretty quick too.

This post is actually very interesting and quite similar to a recent post on my blog: http://whatsnewtoday11.blogspot.com