FEMA Flip-Flops Again on Trailers

[maddezmom]

Source: WaPo

By Marc Kaufman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, January 18, 2008; Page A17

Those trailers the Federal Emergency Management Agency bought to house Hurricane Katrina victims were at the center of the storm again yesterday -- and not in a way that's going to make folks at the beleaguered agency any happier.

FEMA hurriedly bought the 145,000 trailers and mobile homes via no-bid contracts just before and after Katrina hit the coast in August 2005. But the purchase quickly became problematic, with some communities refusing them for a variety of reasons.

FEMA was forced to put trailers on the market, selling them to anyone for 40 cents on the dollar.

Yesterday, however, the emergency agency offered to buy them back, for their original purchase price, because of concerns that the trailers are tainted with formaldehyde. The agency said it is making the offer because of concerns about "possible adverse health effects" associated with the trailers


Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/17/AR2008011702965.html?nav=hcmoduletmv

[Frank Cannon]

1. No-bid contracts. Brought to you by the "conservative"party.

How the fuck did people ever swallow the notion of "no-bid" contracts? Would you accept a "no-bid" contract for a roofer to work on your home? For a mechanic to do major repair work on your car? This is one of the stupidest fucking things I've ever heard, and yet Republicans seem to be absolutely crazy for the idea.

[Supersedeas]

7. a legacy of cronyism -- not to be reported by the cronies in the Media

[flashl]

2. They probably want them back because they can be independently tested. n/t

[Highway61]

3. What???

Why doesn't FEMA go after the company who used all that formaldehyde????

[tanyev]

4. Probably owned by a Bush Ranger.

[gratuitous]

9. Now there's a pertinent question

But profiteering is one of the few growth industries under George W. Bush, and with the economy doing so poorly, they don't want to take money out of the pockets of people. Or something like that.

:crazy:

[Javaman]

5. classic example of money laundering.

Fema sells them to anyone at 40 cents on the dollar then buys them back at the original price.

someone made a bucket load of money on this.

[Doctor_J]

6. Let's see if our Congress or candidates start discussing this every day

I won't get my hopes up.

[opihimoimoi]

8. Bush and his cronies .....but the INEPTNESS, the NOOBISM, the PETERISM, speaks

LOUD AND CLEAR.....them Pub Boys are Dumber than a bucket of shit.....damn