Latham doesn’t like idea of private control of hurricane relief money

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, some members of Congress suggested there should be a person named to oversee hurricane relief efforts. Some have suggested recruiting someone like former New York Mayor Rudy Guiliani to serve as a “czar” overseeing all hurricane-related government operations. But Iowa Congressman Tom Latham isn’t wild about the idea. Latham, a Republican from Alexander, says he wants oversight of the rebuilding. He says he doesn’t want to turn over the entire control of all those dollars to a person who’s not been elected to office. Latham says the government’s Inspectors General and members of congress can review the budgets to make sure people are doing their jobs and aren’t wasting taxpayer dollars on the recovery effort.