| Topic: |
Politics > Politics-USA |
| User: |
"Harry Hope" |
| Date: |
10 Oct 2005 11:54:03 AM |
| Object: |
Wanna know what FEMA did with your money, dear taxpayers? Fuggedaboutit |
From The Florida Times-Union, 10/9/05:
http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/100905/ope_19984256.shtml
Why papers are suing FEMA as watchdogs for taxpayers
By WAYNE EZELL, The Times-Union
Suppose a substantial amount of your tax money goes to a government
agency that writes checks to all kinds of people following a disaster.
And suppose the agency issues no-bid contracts, is accused of
cronyism, and has demonstrated incompetence in spending -- thereby
wasting -- your tax money.
Would you like to know who got the money and whether those getting the
money really deserved it?
Would you want to know who received the contracts, whether they
followed the rules or "knew somebody" or reaped an easy windfall?
Sorry, mere taxpayer, you can't find out.
Just trust that FEMA is doing the right thing.
Some Florida newspapers are suing FEMA to see how the agency doled out
money after the 2004 hurricanes in Florida.
As outrageous as it may sound, FEMA is spending your tax money to keep
its records sealed and to avoid being held accountable.
Do you wonder why FEMA doesn't want anyone reviewing the books?
I think I know.
A federal judge in Fort Myers will decide whether newspapers can see
the names and addresses of the people who received nearly $5.3 billion
in after-storm payments.
Seeking to learn if the payments were fair and equitable, The
News-Press in Fort Myers, the Pensacola News Journal and Florida
Today, all owned by Gannett Inc., sued after FEMA refused to release
the records.
Most larger newspapers, including the Times-Union, spend a lot of
money each year on legal fees to ensure openness of government and
openness of public records.
Usually they seek information that any taxpayer should be able to
obtain easily.
You can find out who gets farm subsidies and how much in this country.
So why not FEMA payments?
Quite simply because of an ever-growing effort to keep public matters
secret.
Why would competent administrators not want us to know how tax money
is being spent?
To release the records would violate individual privacy, FEMA says.
Convenient but not convincing.
The government shouldn't give out Social Security numbers and perhaps
other deeply personal data, but there's no good reason to withhold who
received the money, how much and why.
Well, there were reports of well-heeled people getting reimbursed for
generators in 2004.
They may not want their names on a list of government handouts.
You would think there should be a presumption of openness at FEMA and
other state and federal agencies.
The presumption should be championed by lawmakers, who write the
rules, and administrators, who should have enough heft to undergo
scrutiny.
Now that they've seen the $5 billion bill for Florida in 2004 and
FEMA's performance in 2005, some members of Congress are saying the
records should be open.
Rep. Mark Foley, a Republican whose district includes much of the area
struck by last year's hurricanes, wants the records opened.
"I don't know why they are denying all these records," Foley told the
News-Press.
"There's no stigma to being a hurricane victim."
There are consequences to not knowing what's in FEMA's files.
Excessive costs and wasted tax money are examples.
There are others.
Perhaps if the secrecy had been lifted a year ago, allowing the media
and others to watchdog more carefully in 2004, a few outcomes would
have been different in 2005.
Perhaps if the crazy way FEMA doles out money had been uncovered
sooner, we could have avoided wasting some of the many millions wasted
after Katrina.
Perhaps if a firestorm of scrutiny had focused on FEMA earlier, a more
effective agency with stronger leadership could have been in place to
enable FEMA to respond more effectively and thereby reduce the misery
or even save lives.
No one knows what might have happened, of course, but this explains
why newspapers are suing FEMA.
Taxpayers should be able to see the books.
____________________________________________________________
Shhhhhhh. Republicans at work doin' what they do best.
Harry
.
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