News Roundup

Study Finds Only 30% Of Katrina Funds Slated For Long Term Rebuilding

The Institute for Southern Studies
August/September 2007

Download the full study [PDF]

Two years after the onslaught of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, much of the Gulf Coast is still in crisis — and billions of federal recovery money remains bottled up or has been squandered due to red tape, failures of oversight and misguided priorities. That’s the conclusion of a new report from the Institute for Southern Studies..

The study, published in collaboration with Oxfam America and the Jewish Funds for Justice, looks at 80 statistical indicators and draws on interviews with more than 40 Gulf Coast leaders to identify roadblocks to recovery, and ways federal leaders can tackle critical needs in the region like housing, jobs and coastal protection.

The Institute reveals that, out of the $116 billion in Katrina funds allocated, less than 30% has gone towards long-term rebuilding-and less than half of that 30% has been spent, much less reached those most in need.

“The President says he’s written a ‘big check’ for the Gulf Coast, but the over 60,000 families still in FEMA trailers must be wondering if the check bounced,” says Jeffrey Buchanan of the RFK Memorial Center for Human Rights and co-author of the report on Katrina spending.

Amount that Bush administration says has been spent on Gulf Coast recovery since 2005 hurricanes: $116 billion

Estimated percent of those funds that are for long-term recovery projects: 30

Percent of FEMA’s 2005 disaster relief budget that was spent on administrative costs: 22

Of $16.7 billion in Community Development Block Grants earmarked for long-term Gulf Coast rebuilding, percent that had been spent as of August 2007: 30

Of $8.4 billion allocated to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for levee repair in Louisiana, percent that had been spent as of July 2007: 20

Percent of rebuilding costs that Gulf Coast local governments were required to pay up front to receive matching federal funds, due to a Stafford Act provision that Congress has since waived for the region: 25, later reduced by President Bush to 10

Percent that New York had to pay after 9/11 and Florida after Hurricane Andrew, because the federal government waived the Stafford Act’s matching requirement: 0

As of June 2007, value of controversial “cost plus” Katrina contracts given out by three federal agencies, which allows companies to charge taxpayers for cost overruns and guaranteed profits: $2.4 billion

As of August 2006, value of Gulf Coast contracts that a Congressional study found were “plagued by waste, fraud, abuse or mismanagement”: $8.75 billion