Investigators slam Katrina response

Mon Feb 13, 2006 5:57 PM ET

By Donna Smith

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Fraud and abuse in the emergency response to Hurricane Katrina cost U.S. taxpayers millions of dollars, government investigators told a Senate panel on Monday ahead of a congressional report that faults the government's handling of the disaster that killed more than 1,300 people.

The revelations were the latest in a barrage of criticism directed at both the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency and Department of Homeland Security, whose leader, Michael Chertoff, on Monday outlined steps he would take to better prepare his agency.

A House of Representatives report to be released later this week gave a scathing assessment of Chertoff's handling of the disaster saying he executed his responsibilities "late, ineffectively, or not at all."

Also, on Monday, a Senate panel heard from federal investigators about widespread fraud and abuse and a lack of controls in FEMA's response.

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