Reply #4: Audit cites Homeland Security management issues (fraud, waste, abuse)

[UpInArms]

http://today.reuters.com/News/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2005-12-29T132257Z_01_FLE923733_RTRUKOC_0_US-SECURITY-HOMELAND.xml

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Nearly three years after it was created, the sprawling U.S. Department of Homeland Security still faces management problems that were partly accountable for the flawed federal response to Hurricane Katrina, according to an internal audit released on Wednesday.

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which devastated Gulf Coast states, exposed weaknesses in the Federal Emergency Management Agency's information systems and its management of contracts and grants, the audit by the DHS inspector general's office found.

The report said Katrina, in late August and Hurricane Rita, a month later, compounded FEMA's already overburdened resources and infrastructure.

"When one considers that FEMA's programs are largely administered through grants and contracts, the circumstances created by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita provides an unprecedented opportunity for fraud, waste, and abuse," it said.

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