Report: Poor planning hurt hurricane contracting

Lack of preparation, poorly communicated responsibilities and inadequate deployment of oversight personnel hurt the federal government's response to hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the Government Accountability Office has concluded.

In a briefing report released Thursday, GAO summarized the findings of a review of acquisitions conducted through the General Services Administration, Army Corps of Engineers and Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The review found problems at GSA and FEMA in anticipating contingency needs and having contracts in place to meet them. For example, FEMA did not adequately anticipate the need for services such as temporary public buildings and housing, the report said. Also, the Army Corps indicated that FEMA assigned unanticipated tasks such as acquiring temporary classroom spaces, contrary to a general practice of working through planning and response teams established in advance of an event.

All three agencies also indicated to GAO that they were unclear about how to satisfy the 1984 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, which establishes a preference for awards to contractors living or doing business in the affected area.

GAO found that poor delineation and communication of responsibilities among the network of federal, state and local officials that respond to contingency situations under the National Response Plan was a major hindrance to securing effective contracts.

For example, reviewers said they spent three weeks determining who was responsible for overseeing contracts worth $120 million and commissioned from GSA by FEMA. The official listed in GSA's records as the main FEMA contact was unaware of the contracts, according to reviewers.

Echoing problems noted by the Office of Management and Budget and others with interagency contracting, FEMA officials told reviewers that procurement roles in such contracts had to be clarified.

Finally, GAO found that shortages of contract oversight personnel slowed projects and put agencies at risk of failing to identify poor contractor performance or overpaying for services.

FEMA officials told reviewers that they have since addressed some of these problems through increased staffing and new procedures for rotating personnel to ensure continuity in contract oversight.

Bill Woods, GAO's director of acquisition and sourcing management, noted similarities in the contingency contracting demands created by hurricanes Katrina and Rita and those awarded for operations in Iraq. "There are similarities in terms of what needs to be done to ensure a good outcome -- you need adequate preparation, and to have contracts already in place," Woods told Government Executive.

Results of the study of 13 contracts, each worth at least $5 million, were presented last month to House and Senate committees on homeland security and government reform.

"Poor contract planning and oversight is just one of the reasons money spent on Katrina contracts is vulnerable to waste and fraud," said Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn. "Taxpayer dollars will be spent for years to come on Katrina response and recovery … Government auditors and prosecutors must redouble their efforts to address what will surely be a serious, ongoing problem."