Where did all the FEMA billions go?  As usual, the Biden White House wants more money.  The latest request is for more FEMA money, with Hawaii's wildfire disaster in Maui being the supposed culprit. [...] Maybe there are better ways for FEMA to spend its disaster relief money than by housing FEMA officials in $1,000 a night hotel rooms while the only aid being given is in those $700 checks.  One guy with a FEMA checkbook and a room at the Best Western could do thatt.  But they insist it was on the up and up.  But that's probably small potatoes.  Where much of FEMA's money reportedly goes is to "the border" where they provide housing, transport, communications, medical care, food, and supplies to millions of incoming illegal aliens, through their NGO buddies on contract.  Seems paying for an unguarded border and subsidizing the business model of Mexico's cartels costs a lot for FEMA, leaving it unable to respond to other disasters involving actual Americans.  While they're claiming Lahaina blew out their budget, take a look at some of the back-of-the-envelope calculations of what fire victims actually got:  [Tweet with video clip]

FEMA to Give $363.8 Million to Non-Federal Entities to Provide Shelter for Illegal Aliens.  Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), under the guise of humanitarian concern, has enacted the "Shelter and Services Program," funneling $363.8 million of taxpayers' money in the fiscal year 2023 to non-federal entities, claiming to support the U.S. Customs and Border Protection in the "safe, orderly, and humane release" of illegal immigrants.

White House explains why it turned down disaster relief for Ohio.  The White House explained why it turned down Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine's request for disaster relief this week in the aftermath of a derailment of a train hauling toxic chemicals.  A Biden administration official told Fox News Digital that it has provided extensive assistance to surrounding communities following the chemical release earlier this month in eastern Ohio.  However, the official said the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the agency that usually provides relief to communities hit by hurricanes and other natural disasters, isn't best equipped to support the state's current needs.  "The Biden Administration is mobilizing a robust, multi-agency effort to support the people of East Palestine, Ohio.  Since February 3, the Environmental Protection Agency has had personnel on the ground," the official told Fox News Digital.  "FEMA is coordinating with the emergency operations center working closely with the Ohio Emergency Management Agency."

Hours After Trump Announces Upcoming Visit to East Palestine, FEMA Reverses Course and Will Support Ohio Community.  The announcement by President Trump with his intent to visit East Palestine next Wednesday, followed moments later by a reversal announcement from FEMA stating they will now offer support to East Palestine, do not seem coincidental.  The Biden administration, including the EPA, FEMA and Transporation Secretary, was likely very worried about the optics of getting blasted by President Trump very visibly next week for their lack of urgency and concern.  Moments after Trump announces his visit, FEMA reverses their prior denial of aid.

Suddenly, Biden's FEMA goes stingy on Ohio?  Joe Biden's logic can really be out to lunch when Americans are in peril.  Which brings us to the absolutely bizarre specter of Biden's FEMA emergency management agency turning down a request from Ohio to help citizens whose city of East Palestine, Ohio, with a chemical oil spill, which has contaminated the entire atmosphere.  When has anyone heard of FEMA turning down any sort of request for a disaster that affects thousands of people thrown out of their homes by circumstances beyond their control?

Who's doing what in East Palestine?  The train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, is one of the biggest environmental disasters our country has seen in quite some time.  It's surprising to me that initially there was scant media coverage and the information on the websites for the U.S. EPA, Ohio EPA, and the Ohio governor's office still leave many questions unanswered.  In addition, a 45-minute visit by Governor Mike DeWine and a statement by the Transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg that refers to this train derailment as one of a thousand that occur in a year, downplay the seriousness of the magnitude of the impacts on the environment and on the residents of the community.  All this leaves people confused and certainly doesn't engender trust.

Biden Admin Doubles Down on Refusal of FEMA Aid for Ohio Train Derailment.  Following the Biden administration's refusal to provide FEMA assistance in the wake of the toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, the White House has issued a statement attempting to justify the decision.  Though the derailment and subsequent "controlled burn" resulted in a large spill of multiple dangerous chemicals and toxic smoke engulfing the small village and surrounding area, Biden's FEMA has repeatedly told Republican Ohio Governor Mike DeWine that Ohio is not eligible for disaster assistance.

Biden Has Sent $196 Billion To Ukraine But Refuses To Give a Dime to Ohio.  The Biden administration continues to lead the world in contributions to Ukraine with nearly $200 billion in tax payers' money promised or sent as aid, as American citizens suffering from disasters at home are told there is no money for them.  The Biden administration rejected a request for federal disaster assistance from Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine following the train derailment disaster in East Palestine that led to an unprecedented release of highly toxic chemicals, just days after the CDC edited the toxicology profile for vinyl chloride, massively increasing the lethal exposure level and removing information about how the chemical affects children[.]

Biden Administration refusing to help in East Palestine disaster!  Governor Mike DeWine dropped a truth bomb a few hours ago:  he has been in contact with FEMA every day since the disaster in East Palestine unfolded, and the Biden Administration is refusing assistance.  Perhaps this is why Mayor Pete has refused to go to the site of the disaster, and why he has been joking on TV while one of the largest environmental disasters in recent history has been ongoing.  Many people have been astonished at how little attention the MSM has given to the ongoing disaster.  It appears we now know why: the Biden Administration doesn't want it to be a big deal, despite millions of Americans being affected now and into the future.  A million pounds of toxic chemicals have been released into the environment — including the watershed that serves millions of Americans.  The Biden Administration's response has been "meh, so what?"

FEMA let $3.7 billion in improper payments go out.  The Federal Emergency Management Agency did not have controls in place to prevent over $3.7 billion of improper payments from the lost wages assistance program, a recent report from the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Homeland Security found.  In 2020, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, FEMA took funds from the Disaster Relief Fund for lost wages assistance to "help ease the economic burden for people who lost work because of coronavirus disease."  FEMA partnered with 54 state workforce agencies to rush $44 billion out the door to people who lost their jobs due to Covid-19.

A disastrous history.  Jimmy Carter in 1979 tried to make sense of disaster relief by establishing FEMA via executive order.  He stated that the new structure would "permit more rational decisions of the relative costs and benefits of alternative approaches to disasters."  Carter was wrong:  Presidents kept reacting politically, and local and state officials kept passing the buck and asking for bucks.

The Secret National Cops.  U.S. Rep. Helen Chenoweth, R-Idaho, questions the use of "traditional tools" as they were wielded in her own bailiwick. Chenoweth, whose congressional district includes Clearwater County, blasted the FEMA agents for behaving "like a bull in a china shop."  "I understand that FEMA has an important responsibility to ensure that federal funds are handled consistent with law, but … FEMA has proceeded against a local government and private citizens in a threatening manner," she wrote to Attorney General Janet Reno.  "It is exactly this type of unnecessary, heavy-handed show of force that feeds the distrust of the federal government."

FEMA's Plan for Mass Destruction Attacks:  Of Course It's True.  Let me state for the record that FEMA is moving ahead with plans to create temporary cities that could handle millions of Americans after mass destruction attacks on U.S. cities.  Though the agency has denied the program to some of our readers and has made misleading claims about NewsMax's original story to members of the press, the basic facts of the story remain unchallenged.

The FEMA raid at Orofino, Idaho.  At 7 a.m. on July 18th, two employees at the [Clearwater County, Idaho] flood control center were startled by a group of men in dark attire and bullet-proof vests and sidearms.  According to various accounts, the frightened employees, thinking they were under assault by a gang of thugs, locked the door and called the sheriff, Nick Albers.  Nancy Butler, a reporter for the weekly Clearwater Tribune, told Sarah Foster of the Internet newspaper World Net Daily that the behavior of the FEMA agents was "totally uncalled for."  "They didn't just come over and knock on the door — they came running over the hill at the back of the building and crawling through the sagebrush.  The whole scenario just floored me."

Federal Emergency Management Agency:  Some people have referred to it as the "secret government" of the United States.  It is not an elected body, it does not involve itself in public disclosures, and it even has a quasi-secret budget in the billions of dollars.  This government organization has more power than the President of the United States or the Congress, it has the power to suspend laws, move entire populations, arrest and detain citizens without a warrant and hold them without trial, it can seize property, food supplies, transportation systems, and can suspend the Constitution.  Not only is it the most powerful entity in the United States, but it was not even created under Constitutional law by the Congress.  It was a product of a Presidential Executive Order.  A Presidential Executive Order, whether Constitutional or not, becomes law simply by its publication in the Federal Registry.

(Same article as above from an alternate source:  FEMA - The Secret Government.)

The Disaster Agency.  Most Americans had never even heard of this obscure government agency before syndicated columnist Jack Anderson reported in October 1984 that FEMA had prepared bizarre "standby legislation" that would, in the event of a national crisis, "suspend the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, effectively eliminate private property, abolish free enterprise, and generally clamp Americans in a totalitarian vise."  In any self-respecting banana republic, such a document might be called a blueprint for a coup d'etat.  FEMA called it "national security" planning.

COG stands for surprising assault on democracy.  An elite group of former Clinton advisers and former public officials from both major political parties gathered recently at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C., to announce their proposal to convert the House of Representatives from an elected body to an appointed body in the event of a national emergency.

FEMA Concentration and Internment Camps:  There over 600 prison camps in the United States, all fully operational and ready to receive prisoners.  They are all staffed and even surrounded by full-time guards, but they are all empty.  These camps are to be operated by FEMA should Martial Law need to be implemented in the United States.

Lists of FEMA radio frequencies used to be common, but #5 in this list is the only one remaining:  [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]

Mount Weather and Underground Bases.  Mount Weather is the self-sustaining underground command center for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).  The facility is the operational center — the hub — of approximately 100 other Federal Relocation Centers, most of which are concentrated in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina.  Together this network of underground facilities constitutes the backbone of America's "Continuity of Government" program.

Shadow Government Is at Work in Secret.  Deployed civilians are not permitted to take their families, and under penalty of prosecution they may not tell anyone where they are going or why.  "They're on a 'business trip,' that's all," said one official involved in the effort.  The two sites of the shadow government make use of local geological features to render them highly secure.  They are well stocked with food, water, medicine and other consumable supplies, and are capable of generating their own power.

Site R is secure, but it's not undisclosed.  Site R, with its six-stories of underground offices, subterranean water reservoir, and banks of mysterious antennas, dishes and massive, steel doors, has been a designated backup command center since it was hewn out of the mountain in 1951.

Disaster aid boondoggle  Hurricane Frances made landfall more than 100 miles north of Miami-Dade County earlier this year.  But that didn't stop thousands of residents there from getting nearly $28 million in federal disaster aid.  Top winds reached only 47 mph in Miami-Dade County during the Labor Day weekend storm, so damages were limited to some fallen power lines and uprooted trees, according to FEMA and other disaster-relief officials.  Yet residents used their relief checks to buy more than 5,000 televisions allegedly destroyed by Frances, as well as 1,440 air conditioners, 1,360 twin beds, 1,311 washers and dryers, and 831 dining sets.

Not taking no for an answer, Houston mayor seizes old warehouse.  The owner declined Wednesday [9/7/2005] to lease or rent the building as offices for FEMA, so Mayor Bill White commandeered the building.

The Editor says...
This is a clear violation of the Fourth Amendment, since Houston is hundreds of miles away from the area damaged by Hurricane Katrina.

Hundreds of millions paid to people untouched by disasters.  The federal government's mishandling of the Hurricane Katrina catastrophe is only the latest bungling in a national disaster response system that for years has been fraught with waste and fraud.  A South Florida Sun-Sentinel investigation has found that the Federal Emergency Management Agency in five years poured at least $330 million into communities that were spared the devastating effects of fires, hurricanes, floods and tornadoes.

Katrina victims required to use Microsoft Internet Explorer.  It's clear to me that they've engineered a web system that is:  (a) Extraordinarily over-engineered to work under only one browser, and (b) Nonfunctional under that browser.  This, I conclude, is simply another example of FEMA incompetence.

The Secret National Cops:  Who are federal inspectors general, and why are they pointing guns at us?  U.S. Rep. Helen Chenoweth, R-Idaho, questions the use of "traditional tools" as they were wielded in her own bailiwick.  Chenoweth, whose congressional district includes Clearwater County, blasted the FEMA agents for behaving "like a bull in a china shop."  "I understand that FEMA has an important responsibility to ensure that federal funds are handled consistent with law, but … FEMA has proceeded against a local government and private citizens in a threatening manner," she wrote to Attorney General Janet Reno.  "It is exactly this type of unnecessary, heavy-handed show of force that feeds the distrust of the federal government."

FEMA guilty of religious discrimination?  The Alliance Defense Fund is concerned about Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) refusing to help churches in the aftermath of disasters.  Paragould, Arkansas, was recently declared a disaster area after being hit by a severe ice storm.  Erik Stanley, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), says a local church assisted FEMA officials in their relief efforts, but FEMA did not return the favor.

Two more dots connected!
FEMA Paid ACORN For Firefighting.  FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, figures in many paranoid fantasies about government control.  Popular fiction often depicts it as a shadowy agency whose sinister operatives are planning to manufacture a crisis that will give them unlimited power and funding. ... In reality, FEMA occupies itself with harmless and benevolent activities, such as funding ACORN.

FEMA grant denied because of 'insufficient damage'.  Jefferson County resident Jonathan Stewart said he laughed in shock after the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) claimed the house his family lost in the deadly April 27 twister was 'not unsafe to live in'.  The devastating reality is the house is now a concrete slab surrounded by rubble.

FEMA Short On Money.  I am quite sorry that people in the path of Irene suffered damage, but they CHOSE to live where they knew a hurricane (or tropical storm or a flood) could come.  So I must ask, "Why is it the rest of the country's responsibility to make them whole again?"

Update:
FEMA finds $114 million.  [Scroll down]  Then, suddenly, FEMA told Senate Democrats that all of their previous warnings were overblown.  The agency was able to recover $40 billion from ongoing long-term projects, and instead of being broke, they actually had $114 million in the bank, just enough to get them into the next fiscal year.  Which is convenient, because that allows them access to all of next year's budgeted disaster relief spending.  Since there is now no need for unbudgeted disaster relief spending this year, there is now no need for spending offsets.  DOE's green energy loan program lives to see another day.  How convenient.

What is the deal with those FEMA/DHS AM backup transmitters?  Back last February, it was reported that FEMA/Department of Homeland Security was mysteriously constructing prepackaged AM transmitter buildings at various PEP (Primary Entry Point) transmitter sites across the country as something call "Primary Entry Point Expansion."  These buildings contain a 5 KW Nautel AM transmitter, EAS gear, satellite equipment (the exact equipment list is undisclosed) and a backup generator all in a shielded (Faraday Cage), prefabricated building placed inside of a fenced in compound at the station's transmitter site.  The buildings are being put in place, but not connected to anything in the outside world.

Five Reasons Why FEMA Should Stay at DHS.  The FEMA Independence Act of 2009 is currently in the U.S. House of Representatives.  This bill would move the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) out of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and elevate the agency to cabinet-level status.

The Editor says...
Why make FEMA a cabinet-level agency?  So FEMA could be under the direct control of the executive branch, not the Congress.  FEMA is dangerous enough already without the ability to hide behind executive privilege.

Video:  Camp FEMA — The Obama Youth Army!

New Nationwide FEMA Camps Should Raise Eyebrows.  In a nutshell, there seems to be a solicitation of bids occurring for the staffing of FEMA camps within 72 hours of implementation by an order from either Homeland Security or the president.  This situation begs to be investigated, with special consideration paid to the motives of the present administration. ... Perimeter fencing or barricades is required to be six feet high, enclosing the camp, with all traffic in or out to be recorded on a daily log and with security restricting all traffic and access.  The contractor shall also provide fencing and barricades around areas which are "off limits" to occupants.

Prepaing for martial law.  As watchmen begin to expose the people, companies and even lawmakers behind this money and power grab, they could be considered dangers to the "security" of the United States, or engaging in "belligerent acts."  So too could the people who will protest in anger about the bank holidays, the overnight evaporation of their retirement accounts, and even the fire sale of national assets to manage the unmanageable and unsustainable debt.  Their anger must be controlled in the name of national security.  To be certain, their warnings will not be heard nor will protests be allowed from a detention facility.  You know, the facilities that don't exist?

Party lines are meaningless when the common objective is the revolutionary overtaking of America.
The planned re-election of Obama, revolutionary style.  [Scroll down]  According to my source, there is talk among the highest levels of the uppermost echelon of the Department of Homeland Security, which he describes as effectively under the control of Barack Hussein Obama.  During this call, he said that the DHS is actively preparing for massive social unrest inside the United States.  He then corrected himself, stating that "a civil war" is the more appropriate term.  Certain elements of the government are not only expecting and preparing for it, they are actually facilitating it," stated my source.  "The DHS takes their marching orders from the Obama administration, from Obama himself, but mostly from his un-appointed czars.  And Jarrett, especially Valerie Jarrett.  Don't think for a minute that the administration is doing anything to stabilize events in the U.S.  They are revolutionaries, and revolutionaries thrive on chaos," he added.

The latest from "DHS Insider".  And the preparations are these: DHS is prepositioning assets in strategic areas near urban centers all across the country.  Storage depots.  Armories.  And even detainment facilities, known as FEMA camps.  FEMA does not even know that the facilities are earmarked for detainment by executive orders, at least not in the traditional sense they were intended.  By the way, people drive by some of these armories everyday without even giving them a second look.

Justice Antonin Scalia says World War II-style internment camps could happen again.  Justice Antonin Scalia predicts that the Supreme Court will eventually authorize another a wartime abuse of civil rights such as the internment camps for Japanese-Americans during World War II.  "You are kidding yourself if you think the same thing will not happen again," Scalia told the University of Hawaii law school while discussing Korematsu v. United States, the ruling in which the court gave its imprimatur to the internment camps.

Has the Dept. of Homeland Security become America's standing army?  In 2006, DHS awarded a $385 million contract to a Halliburton subsidiary to build detention centers on American soil.  Although the government and Halliburton were not forthcoming about where or when these domestic detention centers would be built, they rationalized the need for them in case of "an emergency influx of immigrants, or to support the rapid development of new programs" in the event of other emergencies such as "natural disasters."  Viewed in conjunction with the NDAA provision allowing the military to arrest and indefinitely detain anyone, including American citizens, it would seem the building blocks are already in place for such an eventuality.

Somewhat related:
Feds want to build South Texas lockup for immigrant families.  Federal authorities want to build a South Texas immigration lockup for families after an unprecedented surge in the number of youngsters pouring across the U.S. border, a federal official said Thursday [9/11/2014].  Immigration and Customs Enforcement is proposing a residential center in the town of Dilley, about 70 miles southwest of San Antonio, agency spokeswoman Adelina Pruneda said.  "Structures on the site may be used temporarily to house up to 680 residents while the new facilities are built," she said.

The Most Dangerous Woman In America — Valerie Jarrett.  I was recently speaking with a friend of mine from Tennessee and began to point out how bad things in this country have become.  Inevitably, the discussion began to center around the subject of unwarranted detention centers, such as the ones I have identified on this site, including NFL stadiums, NBA and NHL arenas and shopping malls.  And I added that this is on top of the fact that the US already houses two million inmates, mostly for private profit through the CCA.  I told him that DHS had signed agreements with all of these entities so that Americans could be detained without due process.  My friend rolled his eyes and repeated the national anthem of all sheep, "I didn't know you were one of them conspiracy theorists".  He couldn't hold back the laughter.  Subsequently, I spent 30 minutes showing him the following evidence, in its raw form, and he then he became visibly shaken.

Another Blatantly Obvious FEMA Camp Pops Up In Texas!  Congressman Ron Paul was asked in 2011 about HR 645 (the bill that authorizes FEMA Camps... AKA Concentration Camps for AMERICANS who will not comply with the new American Agenda) and whether or not it could lead to Americans being incarcerated in detention camps during a time of martial law.  He responded, "Yeah, that's their goal, they're setting up the stage for violence in this country, no doubt about it." [...] Every time you're mocked and slapped with the label of "conspiracy theorist" for saying there are FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) camps in Amerika, just remind them of a fascinating 4-page KBR document, Project Overview and Anticipated Project Requirements, which is a solicitation for bids from subcontractors to provide services and supplies for FEMA camps.

FEMA Concentration Camps: Locations and Corresponding Executive Orders!.  It's not a conspiracy if it's right in front of your face.  The government has no need to hide their intentions.  Every ounce of information you need about them is freely available.  I've even posted the entire ARMY training manual that covers how to get people "escorted" to their camps when the time comes.  Sadly, Americans are SO busy in denial, the government doesn't even have to hide what they are doing.  Within the links below are links to other articles with TONS of information.  You could be reading for hours.  This article ought to open your eyes if you doubted.

Louisiana promises mobile homes safer than FEMA trailers after Katrina.  Mobile homes will fill front yards across southern Louisiana again, just like after Hurricane Katrina, as federal authorities bring in temporary housing for thousands of people displaced by catastrophic flooding.

FEMA is using the FOIA to dig itself into a deeper hole.  If there were an award for the least popular federal agency, the Federal Emergency Management Agency would probably be a near-unanimous choice, thanks to the barrage of negative media it received during the Hurricane Katrina debacle.

FEMA Strikes Again!  Although the effort was trumpeted in the media as an example of grassroots ingenuity in the face of disaster, local officials with the Federal Emergency Management Agency have nixed an attempt by Houston activists to set up a low-power radio station at the Astrodome that would have broadcast Hurricane Katrina relief information for evacuees.

The Editor says...
FEMA's excuses for this action are numerous and each is transparently false.  The micro-power broadcasting issue is all about control.  The government can't afford to allow even one watt of unlicensed broadcasting, because it would open a door that could never be closed again.  The FCC has been fighting this battle for decades.

Clinton's Mythical FEMA.  While making the rounds of the network morning shows, [Senator Hillary Clinton has] been very hard on the Federal Emergency Management Administration and, of course, the Bush Administration.  She went as far as complaining that Bush damaged "Bill's FEMA."  Naturally, the mainstream media are too lazy to investigate her politically-charged exploitation of Katrina to not only revise her hubby's legacy, but also to score brownie points as she eyes a 2008 presidential run.

It's the spending, stupid.  Perhaps you've heard the one about the 700 firefighters from a variety of states who volunteered to do rescue work following Hurricane Katrina?  They sat in a hotel room in Atlanta for days getting sexual harassment training from FEMA officials.  No joke.  Note to Republicans eager to shovel new money at federal agencies:  This is the way government works.

FEMA to the Rescue.  All volunteers, he was told, must complete this class before being sent into the disaster area.  My friend kindly provided me with a copy of the class schedule.  [You won't believe your eyes; political correctness is apparently far more important at FEMA than actual work.]

Dammable pork:  Dr. Jeffrey Guy, a Nashville trauma surgeon, recruited 400 doctors, nurses and first responders to help the people in New Orleans.  Then FEMA gave them something to do:  fill out 60-page applications that demanded photographs and tax forms.

Blame to go around.  A team of Indiana firefighters, volunteering to help rescue victims of Katrina, went to Atlanta, where Federal Emergency Management Agency staffers told them that their job was to hand out fliers and that their first task was to attend a multi-hour course on sexual harassment and equal employment opportunity.  This is, astonishingly, standard operating procedure at FEMA.  And in other parts of the federal government….

FEMA versus Wal-Mart:  Many people who think that government is the answer to our problems do not bother to check out the evidence.  But it can be eye-opening to compare how private businesses responded to hurricane Katrina and how local, state and national governments responded.

Ron Paul on Katrina Response.  Rep. Ron Paul rightfully criticizes how the Federal Government responded to the Gulf Coast disaster.  Furthermore, the Congressman questions the logic of granting FEMA nearly $52 billion when they have already "failed so spectacularly."

FEMA criticized for cruise ship deal.  On Sept. 1, … FEMA pleaded with the U.S. Military Sealift Command:  The government needed 10,000 berths on full-service cruise ships, FEMA said, and it needed the deal done by noon the next day.  The hasty appeal yielded one of the most controversial contracts of the Hurricane Katrina relief operation, a $236 million agreement with Carnival Cruise Lines for three ships that now bob more than half empty in the Mississippi River and Mobile Bay.

Stumbling Storm-Aid Effort Put Tons of Ice on Trips to Nowhere.  When the definitive story of the confrontation between Hurricane Katrina and the United States government is finally told, one long and tragicomic chapter will have to be reserved for the odyssey of the ice.  Ninety-one thousand tons of ice cubes, that is, intended to cool food, medicine and sweltering victims of the storm.  It would cost taxpayers more than $100 million, and most of it would never be delivered.

FEMA Should Be Shut Down.  What if there was no such thing as FEMA?  I asked myself that question after reading about the Federal Emergency Management Agency's bungled efforts to serve the poor and suffering in the area formerly known as New Orleans. … FEMA's boorish behavior underscores it real purpose, which is always to spend its budget and get good press doing it, because such activities will reflect well on the public sector.

In government we trust.  What lessons should we have learned from last summer's deadly and destructive hurricanes?  The primary lesson is that we shouldn't have much faith in a federal bureaucracy like the Federal Emergency Management Agency.  They amply demonstrated their incompetence, but what's our response?  We'll give them more money and more authority.  That's not smart.

Millions of Katrina aid wasted, review finds.  $438 a night paid for New York hotel rooms.

Audit of FEMA:  Waste, fraud cost millions.  Waste and fraud marked the federal government's assistance programs for Hurricane Katrina victims, with 10,000 mobile homes going unused and scattered cases of evacuees spending emergency money on nude dancing in Houston, tattoos, casino gambling and a diamond engagement ring, according to an audit released Monday [3/6/2006].

FEMA faulted for big hotel bills.  The Federal Emergency Management Agency failed to set cost controls on hotel room rentals for Hurricane Katrina evacuees, an omission that led to "excessive" bills on some rooms, according to a new oversight report.  FEMA was still paying up to $364 a night for some rooms on Dec. 7, more than three months after Katrina hit the Gulf Coast….

FEMA Wasted Millions of Taxpayer Dollars During 2005 Hurricane Recovery Efforts.  In only six months Congress has spent roughly $100 billion on costs associated with the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes, most of which was utilized by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), as the agency attempted to meet the needs of thousands of individuals affected by these catastrophic events.  However, many of FEMA's efforts were undercut by the extensive waste, fraud and abuse of the taxpayer money intended to assist with response and recovery costs.

FEMA Will Try to Recoup Millions Distributed for Hurricane Relief.  Acknowledging that it wrongly distributed tens of millions of dollars in hurricane relief last year, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said Friday that it would try to recoup aid from thousands of individuals or families who fraudulently or otherwise wrongly collected money.

The Editor says...
[Good luck with that.  Sounds like FEMA has overestimated itself again.]

FEMA re-bids $3.6B in hurricane contracts.  The Bush administration on Friday awarded up to $3.6 billion in temporary hurricane-victim housing contracts to small and minority-owned firms, saying it was shifting the money from four large companies that had not competed for the work.

Senate panel recommends abolishing FEMA.  The nation's disaster response agency should be abolished and rebuilt from scratch to avoid a repeat of multiple government failures exposed by hurricane Katrina, a Senate inquiry has concluded.  Crippled by years of poor leadership and inadequate funding, the Federal Emergency Management Agency cannot be fixed, a bipartisan investigation says in recommendations to be released Thursday [4/27/2006].

The Editor says...
Inadequate funding?  Really?  FEMA has a budget of $4.8 billion, and a staff of about 6,000 employees.*

White House opposes Senate call to dismantle FEMA.  The White House on Thursday [4/27/2006] signaled opposition to a Senate panel's call to dismantle the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the main focus of criticism for the administration's botched response to Hurricane Katrina.

Senate Panel Says FEMA Is Beyond Repair.  Hurricane Katrina turned FEMA into a "symbol of a bumbling bureaucracy" so far beyond repair that it should be scrapped, senators said Thursday [4/28/2006].  They called for creation of a new disaster relief agency as the next storm season looms on the horizon.

The Editor says...
How would that fix anything?

FEMA Wants $4.7M Katrina Benefits Repaid.  More than 2,000 Mississippi residents were notified that they must repay millions of dollars in federal Hurricane Katrina benefits that were excessive or, in some cases, fraudulent.  The Federal Emergency Management Agency is seeking a total of $4.7 million from 2,044 people, giving them 30 days to repay or set up a payment plan.

And then, just when the Senate panel recommended dismantling FEMA ...
FEMA goes high-tech for storm preparedness.  The Federal Emergency Management Agency has a live video network to allow officials in Washington to assess disasters and has equipped trucks with GPS devices so the agency can see when supplies are delivered to stricken areas, officials said Thursday [5/11/2006].  To better prepare for this year's hurricane season, FEMA has also stockpiled equipment for floods and started a partnership with the Coast Guard to use its boats when responding to some emergencies.

FEMA Proposals:  Much Ado About Nothing.  This month, Congress will likely consider three bills, two in the House and one in the Senate, that would reorganize or move the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).  None has much merit.  These proposals would impose costly, time-consuming, and unnecessary organizational changes that would add to the federal bureaucracy and hamper, not strengthen, how the nation responds to disasters.

FEMA extends housing benefits for some 15,000 evacuee families.  "This is a huge victory for the evacuees," said Bob Fleming, who oversees Catholic Charities' assistance program for people displaced by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. … Relieved of the anxiety of worrying about keeping a roof over their heads, the evacuees can use the next five months to find jobs and otherwise stabilize their lives, Fleming said.

The Editor says...
If they need another five months to find jobs, what have they been doing for the last 12 months?

FEMA Ordered to Resume Katrina Housing Payments.  A federal judge ordered the Bush administration today to immediately resume making housing benefits available to thousands of victims of Hurricane Katrina.  U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon said the Federal Emergency Management Agency failed to adequately explain why it ended the 18-month housing assistance program for people who lost their homes in the 2005 storm.

The Editor says...
After 18 months, it's no longer "housing assistance" -- it's just housing.  This country is full of freeloaders who will ride the government gravy train until they are thrown off.  Get Judge Leon on the phone.  I can explain it to him.

Judge's order reveals FEMA aid shortcomings.  Those still receiving aid were most dependent before Katrina, mostly single mothers on welfare, while the rest are back on their feet, said Ronald D. Utt, senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think-tank. … "A lot of people have simply found it easier to stay where they are, which are probably places of greater opportunity than New Orleans."

The Editor says...
Notice that the story drips with political bias:  The question is whether FEMA is dishing out taxpayers' money fast enough, to people who have no intention of paying it back.  On one side of the argument, the article cites "anti-poverty advocates", and on the other side are "Bush administration defenders" at "a conservative think-tank".  As if the conservatives are in favor of poverty.

FEMA Halts Censorship of Louisiana Church's Hurricane Victim Outreach.  Government officials have told a Louisiana church that its members can go back to sharing the gospel after providing free barbecues for residents of several post-Hurricane Katrina trailer communities.  Earlier this year, representatives with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, reportedly told members of Calvary Baton Rouge Church that it could no longer follow the free meals it served to hurricane victims with voluntary gospel messages and Bible studies.

Audit says FEMA is squandering Katrina aid.  The government is squandering tens of millions of dollars in Hurricane Katrina disaster aid, in some cases doling out housing payments to people living rent-free, investigators said Wednesday.  The Federal Emergency Management Agency has recouped less than 1 percent of the $1 billion that investigators contend it squandered on fraudulent assistance, according to the Government Accountability Office.

Read the official GAO report...
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Disaster Relief:  Continued Findings of Fraud, Waste, and Abuse.  FEMA continued to lose tens of millions of dollars through potentially improper and/or fraudulent payments from both hurricanes Katrina and Rita.  These payments include $17 million in rental assistance paid to individuals to whom FEMA had already provided free housing through trailers or apartments.  In one case, FEMA provided free housing to 10 individuals in apartments in Plano, Texas, while at the same time it sent these individuals $46,000 to cover out-of-pocket housing expenses.  In addition, several of these individuals certified to FEMA that they needed rental assistance.

1,300 Katrina fraud probes under way.  More than a year after Hurricane Katrina, there are about 1,300 ongoing investigations of alleged FEMA fraud in the southern district alone, a federal prosecutor said. … So far, 92 individuals have been indicted by the federal government in Mississippi's southern district in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.  Of that number, about half have pleaded guilty, and one has gone to trial.

Woman found guilty of fraud.  A Gulfport woman is in custody awaiting a possible 20-year sentence for conviction of FEMA fraud.  Rose Maria Crosby, 48, was found guilty Tuesday on five counts involving a false statement for disaster-relief assistance after Hurricane Katrina.

Katrina evacuees say they need more than extension.  A six-month extension of emergency housing assistance will stave off an immediate catastrophe but will not solve the underlying problems preventing hurricane victims from rebuilding their lives, evacuees and their advocates said Monday [1/22/2007]. … About 25 evacuees gathered Monday at a Stafford apartment development for senior citizens to thank FEMA for the extension while arguing that they need an additional 18 months rather than just six months.

Sounds like they're on the road to Perpetual Victimhood.

FEMA Calls Rebuilding Complete As New Orleans Restored To Former Squalor.  After an unprecedented 18-month cleanup and repair effort supervised by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and several state and local government bureaus, Undersecretary for Federal Emergency Management R. David Paulison announced Monday [1/29/2007] that the city of New Orleans has been successfully returned to its pre-Hurricane Katrina state of decay and deterioration.

FEMA wants more than $300 million in hurricane aid returned.  In the neighborhood President Bush visited right after Hurricane Katrina, the U.S. government gave $84.5 million to more than 10,000 households.  But Census figures show fewer than 8,000 homes existed there at the time.  Now the government wants back a lot of the money it disbursed across the region.

Feds go after Katrina fraud cases.  In her application for federal emergency help, Tina Marie Gilmore told officials how she watched hopelessly as her two daughters, ages 5 and 6, were swept through the rushing flood waters after Hurricane Katrina and was so distraught several months later that she couldn't function — to drive a car or even be in the same room with children.  But after mailing her a check for $4,358, the Federal Emergency Management Agency learned that not only did Winston, 34, not live in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina devastated the city, but that she didn't have any children.  Even her last name was a fake.

At long last...
US to cut Katrina hotel payments.  The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in charge of the relief effort, has paid evacuees some $274 million since hurricanes Katrina and Rita.  Almost 54,000 families are still living in hotels and motels in Texas, Louisiana, Georgia and Mississippi.

Katrina Aid Used for Luxury Condos.  With large swaths of the Gulf Coast still in ruins from Hurricane Katrina, rich federal tax breaks designed to spur rebuilding are flowing hundreds of miles inland to investors who are buying up luxury condos near the University of Alabama's football stadium.

FEMA apologizes for fake "reporters".  The main U.S. disaster-response agency apologized on Friday [10/26/2007] for having its employees pose as reporters in a news briefing on California's wildfires that no journalists attended.  The Federal Emergency Management Agency, still struggling to restore its image after the bungled handling of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, issued the apology after The Washington Post published details of the Tuesday briefing.

The Editor says...
Apologies all around, as usual.  Big deal.  The way to prevent this from happening again is to fire the people who made this decision.  Will that happen?  Not likely.

Nothing to see here.  Ever wonder how that audit of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's security controls on its classified laptop computers turned out?  Well, according to the "declassified" report released today [12/26/2007] by the Homeland Security Department's inspector general, we get to keep wondering.

FEMA Wins Appeal in Katrina Rental Aid.  The Federal Emergency Management Agency can end housing subsidies for many victims of Hurricane Katrina, an appeals court ruled.  Many storm victims now receive help through a different federal agency, and it wasn't clear how many people would be affected by the ruling.  The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided Friday that storm victims who apply for rental assistance aren't legally entitled to a "continuing stream of payments."

Who did the most to help victims of Hurricane Katrina?  The results are recounted in a new paper on the disaster written by Steven Horwitz, an Austrian-school economist at St. Lawrence University in New York.  While [FEMA] fumbled about, doing almost as much to prevent essential supplies from reaching Louisiana and Mississippi as it could to facilitate it, Wal-Mart managers performed feats of heroism.

Fraudulent FEMA aid may exceed $1 billion.  After Hurricane Katrina last August, the Federal Emergency Management Agency paid out fraudulent disaster assistance which may have exceeded $1 billion, according to Government Accountability Office testimony before Congress Wednesday [6/14/2006].

FEMA still handing out Katrina cash inappropriately.  A Congressional investigation found that the Federal Emergency Management Agency paid out an estimated $1 billion inappropriately after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, but to date has recovered less than one percent of that amount.  Government Accountability Office investigators testified at a hearing Wednesday [12/6/2006] that in addition, FEMA is still sending out tens of millions of dollars in inappropriate aid payments through its Individuals and Households Program, which provides rental assistance to people displaced due to natural disasters.

Paulison:  Increase the size of FEMA.  The Federal Emergency Management Agency is still far short of its recruitment goals, but its director, R. David Paulison, says he wants to expand the agency's staffing even beyond those goals.  "It's been a slower process than I thought.  It's more difficult to get people on board in the federal government than at the local level, but we are doing it and we are going to fill this agency up," Paulison said on Sunday's Meet the Press [8/27/2006].

After tornado, FEMA disarms town, turns away help.  On Friday, May 4 [2006], an F5 tornado wiped the town of Greensburg, Kan., almost entirely off the map.  The Federal Emergency Management Agency, along with the National Guard and local police from all over Kansas, then systematically kept out relief workers while they went house to house disarming the residents.

Obama hates white people and wants them to die.  With nearly 1.5 million people in the mid-west without power during a cold snap, what other possible reason is there that this new "competent" administration and FEMA would be failing so spectacularly in helping in this natural disaster? ... Of course, I am just aping what lefty blogs were saying about Bush less than 24 hours after Katrina's hurricane winds stopped blowing. ... Isn't it interesting that now that we have a Democrat as president that all of a sudden, disaster relief is a state and local matter and the federal government should stand aside and allow them to do their jobs?

Kentucky:  No Power, No FEMA.  When a million people in flyover country are suffering, and 42 people have died, we don't hear much about it.  If this was New York, Washington, Boston, [New Orleans,] (or if the president had an R after his name) you'd see non-stop reports, and the press would be roundly criticizing FEMA's absence, and the White House's disregard.  Right?

Louisiana Sen. Landrieu Demands FEMA Resignation.  U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu called for the resignation Thursday of Doug Whitmer, FEMA chief of staff of the Louisiana Transitional Recovery Office in New Orleans, following a CBS News investigation that detailed cronyism, sexual harassment and racial discrimination in their New Orleans office.

If there's no public outcry...
FEMA Considers Placing Florida Storm Victims in Foreclosed Homes.  The federal government is exploring how to put Florida hurricane evacuees in foreclosed homes if a Katrina-like storm devastates the region and shelters, hotels and other housing options are full.  Officials told The Associated Press on Tuesday that it is an effort to find some benefit in the foreclosure crisis and keep people close to their homes and communities instead of scattering them around the country, which happened when Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and other parts of coastal Louisiana and Mississippi almost four years ago.

The Editor says...
If the perpetual victims won't vacate a FEMA trailer without a fight, they surely won't let go of a full-size house.

Ex-FEMA worker, cousin charged with Katrina fraud.  A former Federal Emergency Management Agency employee and her cousin have been charged with allegedly stealing more than $721,000 in Hurricane Katrina money that was meant for storm victims.

A Weather Newsgasm.  [Scroll down]  In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) became an acronym for incompetence. ... Americans have been taught that the federal government will always come to their rescue and it rarely does with any efficiency and usually with a great waste of money and resources.


Section 6A:
FEMA trailers, trailer parks and trailer trash

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, some of the most shameless freeloaders moved in to FEMA trailers, and then proceeded to complain about the conditions in the trailers and the high-crime trailer parks that developed.  Some stayed in the trailers long after they had worn out their welcome.  Many of the ingrates later sued the government, claiming injury due to formaldehyde fumes.

Trailer cash.  If FEMA could distribute the fortune spent on trailers directly to those in need of housing, the recipients might find a much nicer place to live, and even have money left over for home repairs. … Those displaced by Hurricane Katrina and seeking a temporary trailer don't get to kick the tires or discuss financing plans, but a look at the ultimate sticker price might make them wish they could:  $59,800.

FEMA trailer dwellers seek toxin tests.  A group of hurricane victims wants a federal judge to order air quality tests in their government-issued trailers after the Federal Emergency Management Agency postponed its plans to check for hazardous fumes.  Federal scientists were scheduled to start testing for levels of formaldehyde in Mississippi trailers Nov. 2, but FEMA said it needed more time to prepare.

Here's a real shocker...
Some receiving FEMA assistance not willing to help themselves.  What are people who receive FEMA assistance doing to help themselves?  That's the question NBC 15's Andrea Ramey asked those who have been staying for free in hotel rooms after they moved out of FEMA supplied travel trailers.  What she found out is there are some who are doing very little.  The scorching heat puts many at the Quality Inn poolside, but for Gwenester Malone, she chooses to beat the heat by setting her thermostat to sixty degrees.  Malone's room for the past three months, along with three meals daily, have all been paid for by taxpayers.

Subsidy offered to get residents out of trailers.  Scores of St. Tammany Parish residents still living in FEMA trailers were told by federal officials this week that a pilot rent subsidy program is available for them to move into homes and apartments.  But those residents, at meetings in Slidell and Folsom, were also told that they may have to move out of the area due to a local shortage of rental housing units.

Post-Katrina trailer residents fearful as eviction day looms.  One has to wonder:  HOW LONG do these perpetual victims expect to live in taxpayer-owned trailers at no cost?

Homeland Security official:  Purchase of mobile homes a waste.  The inspector general for the Homeland Security Department said Friday [4/21/2006] that U.S. taxpayers could be stuck with a maintenance bill of nearly $47 million a year for thousands of mobile homes that sit parked at sites around the country, never having reached the Gulf Coast to provide temporary housing for survivors of Hurricane Katrina.

FEMA trailer inquiry broadens.  The inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security has agreed to look into a host of questions U.S. senators have raised about the controversial rebidding of FEMA trailer contracts along the devastated Gulf Coast, according to documents.  Details were not available about the inspector general's review, which centers on 36 contracts of up to $100 million each to maintain and ultimately deactivate the trailers in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Texas.

FEMA Changing Locks on Trailers.  FEMA will replace locks on as many as 118,000 trailers used by Gulf Coast hurricane victims after discovering the same key could open many of the mobile homes.  One locksmith cut only 50 different kinds of keys for the trailers sold to FEMA, officials said Monday [8/14/2006].  That means, in an example of a worst-case scenario, one key could be used to unlock up to 10 mobile homes in a park of 500 trailers.

New Orleans Police Say Post-Katrina 'Trailer Towns' Have Turned Into Crime Hubs.  The trailers set up to house thousands of victims of Hurricane Katrina have turned into hot spots for drug dealers, prostitutes and even murderers, law enforcement officials said Tuesday [1/9/2007].  People continue to live in the trailers as they wait for repairs or rebuilding of their homes.  But police say criminals can live there at the fringes of society and go unchecked by authorities.

FEMA trailers being returned in poor shape .  Granted that the travel trailers FEMA has supplied to persons needing a place to live are the best in the world, but many being sent back from Bogalusa are said to have been "wrecked" by those who lived in them.  Even now, you can drive down some streets and see trailers with windows hanging loose, screens flapping and doors off the hinges — just like the traditional houses they are sitting next to.

Landrieu:  Make FEMA turn trailer park info to law enforcement.  US Senator Mary Landrieu said today that the government should make FEMA turn over records of residents of its trailers and trailer parks to New Orleans police and other agencies investigating crime in the area.  The proposal is part of a 10-point plan she announced in Washington for fighting crime in New Orleans.  Nine killings in the first eight days of the new year are threatening its the city's biggest business: tourism and conventions, and the surrounding area.

Post-Katrina trailer towns turn into crime hot spots, police say.  The trailers set up to house thousands of victims of Hurricane Katrina have turned into hot spots for drug dealers, prostitutes and even murderers, law enforcement officials said Tuesday.  People continue to live in the trailers as they wait for repairs or rebuilding of their homes.  But police say criminals can live there at the fringes of society and go unchecked by authorities.

Over 31K still in FEMA trailers.  More than 200 [trailers] are still in use in Forrest County alone — and like thousands of households along the Gulf Coast, Pine Belt families are facing a looming Feb. 28 deadline to get out of their trailers.  "FEMA is authorized to provide disaster assistance, including travel trailers, 18 months following the presidential disaster declaration," which began the day Katrina struck, FEMA spokesman Eugene Brezany explained.  [Dorothy] Smith said making such a deadline would be impossible for her.  "I'm just now getting comfortable in here," she said.

Others are not so comfortable...
Katrina Victims Feel Trapped by Trailers.  It was bad enough when Hurricane Katrina chased Carrie Lewis out of her assisted-living home in New Orleans.  Now she fears the rest of her life may be spent in the isolation of a federally sponsored trailer park.

FEMA to extend housing aid storm victims.  The Federal Emergency Management Agency intends to extend by at least six months the transitional housing assistance program for Gulf Coast residents displaced by hurricanes Katrina and Rita.  The program was scheduled to expire next month, potentially displacing more than 100,000 households from FEMA-funded trailers, mobile homes and rental units, according to the agency.

Evacuee camp kids worry schools chief.  The leader of Louisiana's largest school system says she believes that up to 200 children in the state's biggest hurricane evacuee camp are not registered in local schools.  And she says the U.S. government — citing privacy laws — is doing little to help officials identify the youths.  East Baton Rouge Parish School Superintendent Charlotte Placide says the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has refused to give school officials direct access to information about youths in Renaissance Village, a trailer park for families where 1,200-2,000 people live.

Cities try to shut FEMA trailer parks.  Communities along the Gulf Coast are moving to banish the government-issued trailers that house tens of thousands of people whose homes were destroyed by the devastating hurricanes in 2005.  Those cities and parishes are shutting down impromptu trailer parks set up after the disaster, telling homeowners they either must show progress rebuilding or get rid of the emblematic white travel trailers dotted across front yards from Alabama to Texas.

[One] Key opens many FEMA trailers.  The Federal Emergency Management Agency said Monday [8/14/2008] that it would replace locks on request for residents of travel trailers issued to evacuees of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita last year after finding that the same key could open many trailers.

Waste in FEMA trailer maintenace contracts:  The Federal Emergency Management Agency wasted billions of dollars by awarding contracts for services to maintain and remove emergency trailers for people displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita to politically well-connected and financially risky companies, according to an inspector general's report released Monday [4/23/2007]. … The report, requested by Sen. Byron L. Dorgan (D-N.D.) and Sen. Mary L. Landrieu (D-La.) found that FEMA awarded contracts to companies without determining whether the companies would be able to complete the work and accepted unrealistically low prices which then later ballooned to almost ten times the original ceiling.

Three and a half years later, people are still living in "temporary" housing.
FEMA on board with housing plan for Katrina victims.  The Federal Emergency Management Agency is supporting an Alabama state agency's efforts to let a handful of Hurricane Katrina victims remain in rent-free travel trailers and mobile homes past a May 1 deadline, a spokesman has confirmed.  Under a 2006 policy, FEMA can donate such temporary housing stock to states, local governments and voluntary organizations to help disaster victims.

Drag your feet long enough and you will be rewarded.
FEMA Offers Katrina Survivors Federal Trailers for $1.  The federal government is offering 3,400 survivors of hurricanes Katrina and Rita who have not found permanent housing a chance to buy the temporary federal trailers they live in now for as little as one dollar.

Katrina Victims Will Not Have to Vacate Trailers.  Hurricane Katrina victims around the Gulf Coast who were told to vacate their temporary trailers by the end of May will instead be allowed to buy them for $5 or less, White House officials announced on Wednesday [6/3/2009].

No great surprise...
Drugs, Weapons Found in Bridge City FEMA Trailer.  An Orange County man is in jail after Sheriff's Deputies say they found narcotics and weapons inside his FEMA trailer.

New Orleans moves to get rid of last FEMA trailers.  The era of the FEMA trailer — a symbol of the prolonged rebuilding from Hurricane Katrina — might be drawing to a close in New Orleans.

Years later, Katrina freeloaders find a way to get paid for the privilege of living in a government trailer.
Thousands housed in trailers after Katrina may get payments.  More than 20 mobile home manufacturers have agreed to pay $14.8 million to thousands of U.S. hurricane victims who said they were harmed by formaldehyde in the trailers.