Katrina Coverage

WASHINGTON -- FEMA has allocated nearly $5 billion to buy 300,000 trailer homes as part of its emergency hurricane spending -- even though 270,000 of them are on back order and will have to be built, says a congressman who voted against last week's $51.8 billion bill.
Rep. Steve King, Iowa Republican, said President Bush and members of Congress are spending quickly on Hurricane Katrina relief in part to try to counter bad publicity over the federal government's initial response...
Speaking by telephone from Louisiana, where he had spent the night at a Red Cross shelter in Baton Rouge, Mr. King said the trailer houses are a perfect example.
The first bill called for 200,000 trailers, at a cost of $3.3 billion. Then, even after learning that only 30,000 trailers could be delivered now, the administration requested money for 100,000 more in the second bill, for a total cost of $4.9 billion.
They will be located "some place about 100 miles north of New Orleans" in a temporary trailer-house city that eventually will be bulldozed, Mr. King said...
Much more about the spending/misspending at the link.