Maloney amendment to audit FEMA contract for Hurricane Maria relief passes in committee

WASHINGTON – Following reports that a Florida company, Bronze Star, failed to deliver half-a-million tarps and plastic sheeting to Puerto Ricans in need after Hurricane Maria, Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney (D, NY-18) was successful in passing an amendment to a bill that would require a formal audit of the contract by the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security. The company was awarded a $30 million contract for that supply.
“Tens of thousands of Americans still have holes in their roofs, or no roofs at all, because this contractor couldn’t get the job done and FEMA was asleep at the switch,” Maloney said. “People are suffering because of the slow response and we need an investigation into this failure by the agency and we need to get to the bottom of how this ridiculous contract went out.”
The House member noted Bronze Star was only two months old when it was awarded the contract by FEMA in October and had no history of fulfilling government contracts and was headquartered at a single-family private residence in Florida.