Joel Hefley: “it appears that this time the Federal Government is the one that is due a substantial refund. Auditors within the…”

“it appears that this time the Federal Government is the one that is due a substantial refund. Auditors within the Federal Emergency Management Agency have found $442 million in emergency funds that should be returned by States that did not need or abused these emergency dollars. As my colleagues know, FEMA is often called upon to provide emergency aid to States in cases of natural disaster. However, the agency is starting to be viewed as a Federal insurance company which hands out free money to repair and to renovate. In one case, the New Orleans sheriff's office has kept $56,000 it received for flood clean-up work that was performed free by prisoners. California is holding on to $1.4 million it received to fight a wildfire that was recovered from a negligent party. And Georgia used $15 million in emergency payments to not only repair flood damage but to also upgrade a facility. FEMA funds are taxpayer funds. They are not part of a slush fund for States to tap into for whatever they want. The guilty State governments get my 'Porker of the Week' Award.”