WASHINGTON, Sept. 1 (UPI) -- Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., says Washington should end recovery aid to the Gulf region and it’s “time the taxpayer gravy train left the New Orleans station.”
Tancredo, who is running for the 2008 GOP presidential nomination said federal funds sent to the region devastated by Hurricane Katrina two years ago are being waste, The Hill reported.
“The amount of money that has been wasted on these so-called ‘recovery’ efforts has been mind-boggling,” said Tancredo. “Enough is enough.”
Tancredo said $114 billion has been spent on reconstruction of a large stretch of the Gulf Coast, and state and local officials “have got to step up to the plate and take some initiative.”
“The mentality that people can wait around indefinitely for the federal taxpayer to solve all their worldly problems has got to come to an end,” he said.
Tancredo was particularly critical of the amount of money that has been subjected to fraud and abuse, estimated at $1 billion, The Hill said.
“This whole fiasco has been a perfect storm of corruption and incompetence at all levels,” he added.
