OneWorld.net (U.S.)

WASHINGTON, D.C., Sep 27 (OneWorld) - Multibillion-dollar White House plans to aid recovery from Hurricane Katrina have spawned complaints by a broad array of civil rights, economic justice, and environmental groups even as congressional investigators look into possible corruption.

At issue are measures that critics--including People for the American Way, the AFL-CIO labor federation, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR), and the National Education Association--said would roll back wages just when local workers need decent pay more than ever, sap affirmative action requirements designed to protect minorities from discrimination, and enfeeble public schools even as they scramble to enroll evacuee children.

The accusations have come amid reports that more than 80 percent of the $1.5 billion in contracts signed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) were awarded without bidding or with limited competition.

Winners of major contracts include the Shaw Group and Kellogg, Brown & Root (KBR), a subsidiary of Halliburton, the New York Times, citing government documents, reported Monday. Lobbyist Joe Allbaugh, President George W. Bush's former campaign manager and a former leader of FEMA, represented both firms, the newspaper said, adding that such connections have fueled officials' and observers' concerns about corruption and favoritism.

KBR also has been the focus of controversy involving inflated pricing and questionable billing under Pentagon contracts in Iraq.

Additionally, congressional investigators are looking into a $568 million debris removal contract awarded to AshBritt, a Florida-based company that was a client of the former lobbying firm of Haley Barbour, Mississippi's Republican governor, the Times reported.

''Some industry and government officials questioned the costs of the debris removal contracts, saying the Army Corps of Engineers had allowed a rate that was too high,'' the newspaper said.

All companies have publicly defended their performance, it added.

The revelations nevertheless seemed guaranteed to feed the political turbulence that has been building up around the White House in the four weeks since Katrina struck.

Initial dissatisfaction centered on the pace and adequacy of the government's response. It then engulfed the career of FEMA chief Michael Brown, who resigned after being benched from post-Katrina operations, and spurred an ongoing administration-controlled investigation of ''what went right and what went wrong.''

Even before the latest controversy involving reconstruction contracts, the White House drew brickbats from critics for what some termed an irrelevant and potentially damaging strategy that involves:

-- Suspending the 1931 Davis-Bacon Act, which requires firms working under government contract to pay workers locally prevailing wages.

-- Exempting contractors from Affirmative Action Program (AAP) requirements for new federal hurricane relief contracts.

-- Setting aside $500 million in aid for displaced children for private school vouchers.

The Bush administration and some of its conservative supporters have said the steps would wean the poor off government programs that serve to perpetuate poverty and dependency on the public purse.

Specific measures also would cut government red tape and speed economic recovery, the White House has said.

''The purpose of the waiver of Davis-Bacon and other regulations was to remove red tape so that we could get at more small businesses, medium-size businesses that do not currently contract with the federal government, to get them involved in this activity,'' presidential domestic policy adviser Claude Allen was quoted as saying in news reports.

Others remained unconvinced.

''Employers are all too eager to exploit workers. This is no time to make that easier,'' said John Sweeney, the AFL-CIO president. ''What a double tragedy it would be to allow the destruction of Hurricane Katrina to depress living standards even further. Taking advantage of a national tragedy to get rid of a protection for workers the corporate backers of the White House have long wanted to remove is nothing less than profiteering.''

Likewise, civil rights campaigners expressed consternation over a Bush decision to suspend affirmative action requirements for an initial three months.

''We recognize the importance of providing relief and rebuilding in the communities in the disaster area, but it is totally unnecessary to undermine the affirmative action requirements of new federal contracts that are designed to provide equal opportunity in accomplishing these vital tasks,'' said Wade Henderson, the LCCR executive director.

Under the AAP, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs required contractors with more than 50 employees and with contracts for more than $50,000 to prepare an affirmative action plan aimed at preventing the ''under-utilization'' of minorities and women employees.

LCCR and other civil rights groups said new contractors had 120 days to prepare the AAP and were not overburdened by the regulation. Further, small businesses already were allowed to file ''abbreviated'' plans.

According to the U.S. Labor Department, firms already awarded contracts would be required to comply with the affirmative action requirements and all firms would still be expected to post ''equal opportunity is the law'' signs and observe other aspects of equal opportunity law.

Even so, ''there is no reason to exempt new contracts from preparing AAPs while requiring existing contracts to follow the law. Every contract should follow the law. Without these important equal employment practices in place, those communities that need access to opportunities the most could be excluded altogether,'' said Henderson.

Administration supporters also have defended the decision to disburse educational aid in the form of vouchers to help pay fees at private schools as a measure to speed displaced children's return to the classroom and reintegration into communities.

Critics assailed that position, saying private schools lacked capacity to take in new students and public schools were enrolling children displaced from private institutions.

''It makes no sense to divert funds from public schools that are enrolling hurricane victims, just to make President Bush's far-right political backers happy. This is bad policy,'' said Ralph Neas, president of People for the American Way.

Reg Weaver, president of the 2.7-million-member National Education Association, said the voucher plan would do little to help some 300,000 students displaced by Katrina.

''Vouchers do nothing to solve the problems created by Hurricane Katrina,'' Weaver said. ''Vouchers don't repair or rebuild neighborhood schools that have been devastated by this storm or provide traumatized children with access to comprehensive services they and their families need.''

Meanwhile, a proposal by several Republican lawmakers to waive a number of environmental regulations and open protected areas to oil drilling has drawn fire from environmentalists from opposite ends of the political spectrum.

Supporters say the measure would offset Gulf Coast production losses and serve as a hedge against future catastrophes. But opponents--including Republicans for Environmental Protection America and the Natural Resources Defense Council--countered that Katrina underscored America's need to decrease oil dependence and promote other sources of energy.

Rather than drill for oil in places like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, they said, government policy should tighten vehicle fuel-efficiency standards.

Adding to the building controversy, some conservative lawmakers from Bush's own Republican Party have challenged the president to come up with spending cuts to offset the Katrina recovery effort's cost, estimated by some as likely to top $200 billion.

Congress has appropriated $62.3 billion in post-Katrina emergency financing.