Accountability in Federal Disaster Relief

ACCOUNTABILITY IN FEDERAL DISASTER RELIEF -- (House of Representatives - September 20, 2005)

(Ms. FOXX asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)

Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, like so many of my constituents, I have been extremely saddened by the devastation inflicted by Hurricane Katrina. To date I have supported the $10.5 billion in aid and voted for several bills to help ease the strain of this difficult time.

It is understandable that some have questioned my vote against the $51.8 billion relief supplemental. I believe taxpayer money should be spent wisely. My concern is that huge sums of money are being spent with little assurance the money is really helping those in need. Some estimate the Federal Government will be asked to spend as much as $200 billion on relief. But my support depends on tight controls and accountability measures. That is why I voted the way I did.

It is also why I have co-sponsored legislation to create a chief financial officer for the Federal Government's Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. Without this level of oversight and accountability, we will waste precious tax dollars, and every dollar wasted is a dollar that is not going to assist a displaced family in need. We also need to examine what the role of Federal Government should be in disaster relief. I will continue to support measured, commonsense solutions, but I will not support out-of-control Federal spending without proper oversight. We will not help the people affected by this storm by wasting taxpayers' money.

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