An Inspector General’s prose styling can sometimes take your breath away:
“The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reimbursed a subgrantee receiving Stafford Act funds $3.8 million for rocks used for emergency repairs and improvements to facilities, notwithstanding that the rocks had originally cost the subgrantee less than $20,000.”
As the late Paul Harvey might have said, you can read the rest of the story on page 2.
Comment by William R. Cumming
March 18, 2009 @ 10:55 am
Well at least the OIG was trying to protect the federal fisc on this one. I would argue that structurely OMB Circular A-87 should be rescinded an a statutory overhead rate on all FEMA grants and mission assignments and contracts should be adopted. A 1973 federal court of claims decision says the Federal-State Agreement signed for each Presidentially declared disaster is in fact a contractual relationship. The STATEs ususally don’t see it that way nor does FEMA play by that ruling. The case US v. Texas or vice versa (memory fails)is one of the only cases construing that key document and relationship. A-87 is a key to grantees unlocking the keys to the federal fisc and should be at least up-date and reviewed and of course Congressional oversight of that document has never occurred. So its left to OIG’s and GAO to interpret and try and limit its damage indirectly.
Comment by William R. Cumming
March 19, 2009 @ 4:12 am
Well at least the OIG was trying to protect the federal fisc on this one. I would argue that structurely OMB Circular A-87 should be rescinded an a statutory overhead rate on all FEMA grants and mission assignments and contracts should be adopted. A 1973 federal court of claims decision says the Federal-State Agreement signed for each Presidentially declared disaster is in fact a contractual relationship. The STATEs ususally don’t see it that way nor does FEMA play by that ruling. The case US v. Texas or vice versa (memory fails)is one of the only cases construing that key document and relationship. A-87 is a key to grantees unlocking the keys to the federal fisc and should be at least up-date and reviewed and of course Congressional oversight of that document has never occurred. So its left to OIG’s and GAO to interpret and try and limit its damage indirectly.
OH! You’re my new favorite blogger fyi
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