Outsourcing: New procedures for Katrina contracts

The Homeland Security Department is to establish a procurement control board to oversee and review contracts for Hurricane Katrina relief. A statement issued by the department said:

"The department has taken unprecedented actions to ensure procurement integrity is maintained during one of the largest recovery efforts in the nation's history".

The department's inspector general's staff will conduct internal control reviews and contract audits.

In related news, the Office of Management and Budget has repealed a $250,000 purchase limit on federal employee credit cards for emergency relief efforts. Following reports of credit card abuses by federal employees, the maximum amount will revert to the previous $2,500 limit.

In addition, Greta Wodele reports in GOVEXEC.COM that Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, and ranking member Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., claim they have support from other senators for their proposal to tap the special inspector general overseeing Iraq reconstruction to serve as federal watchdog for U.S. contracts along the Gulf Coast.