Mistakes disbursing Katrina aid attributed to ‘human error’

Lawmakers and government investigators on Wednesday said human error, not technology, appeared to be to blame for why the Federal Emergency Management Agency made hundreds of millions of dollars in improper payments in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

FEMA's information technology systems tagged "hundreds of millions of dollars" in potentially improper payments before they were made, but "someone somewhere" made a decision to let the payments go through, Greg Kutz, the Government Accountability Office's managing director for forensic audits and special investigations, told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee during a hearing.

FEMA Director David Paulison has said the agency began making disaster relief payments to individuals immediately after the hurricanes struck without fully investigating whether they qualified for the aid, all in an effort to ensure that those who needed assistance received it.

But Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, indicated that she does not buy into Paulison's rationale.

"Isn't it possible for FEMA to deliver assistance to the right people quickly without compromising the integrity of those programs?" she asked. Homeland Security Department and FEMA officials were invited to provide testimony during Wednesday's hearing but did not do so, a committee aide said.