$$ Former FEMA directors, well-connected lobbyists rushing to cash in $$

[G_j]

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/10/national/nationalspecial/10contracts.html?ei=5094&en=fe141b51ca81de17&hp=&ex=1126411200&partner=homepage&pagewanted=print

September 10, 2005

In Storm's Ruins, a Rush to Rebuild and Reopen for Business
By JOHN M. BRODER

BATON ROUGE, La., Sept. 9 - Private contractors, guided by two former directors of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other well-connected lobbyists and consultants, are rushing to cash in on the unprecedented sums to be spent on Hurricane Katrina relief and reconstruction.

From global engineering and construction firms like the Fluor Corporation and Halliburton to local trash removal and road-building concerns, the private sector is poised to reap a windfall of business in the largest domestic rebuilding effort ever undertaken.

Normal federal contracting rules are largely suspended in the rush to help people displaced by the storm and reopen New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. Hundreds of millions of dollars in no-bid contracts have already been let and billions more are to flow to the private sector in the weeks and months to come. Congress has already appropriated more than $62 billion for an effort that is projected to cost well over $100 billion.

Some experts warn that the crisis atmosphere and the open federal purse are a bonanza for lobbyists and private companies and are likely to lead to the contract abuses, cronyism and waste that numerous investigations have uncovered in post-war Iraq.

..more..

[halobeam]

1. the corporate looters in full force.

[wolfgirl]

2. And we're surprised by this? eom