Jackson Free Press

The New York Times reported on Friday about the wave of lawsuits in Mississippi and Louisiana over contracts for debris removal. In her piece, "After Hurricanes Comes Tempest Over Cleanup," Leslie Eaton describes a lawsuit brought by the Southern Poverty Law Center accusing large contractors of failing to pay promised wages to hundreds of immigrant workers. Local government officials have complained that they have little control over the process, and there are at least five government investigations into abuses in the $1.3 billion cleanup program. Even the Department of Homeland Security now acknowledges that the program needs to be restructured.

In Mississippi, the conflict over debris removal contracts centers on AshBritt Inc. of Pompano Beach, Fla., which has paid Gov. Haley Barbour's lobbying firm, Barbour Griffith & Rogers, $40,000, according to Congressional documents. In September, the Army Corps of Engineers awarded a $500 million contract to AshBritt for debris removal in Mississippi. After members of Congress objected because federal law requires the contract to go to local companies, the Corps offered a new $300 million contract in December that was only open to local companies. Also, $150 million was reserved for small or minority-owned companies. As recently as October, AshBritt described itself as a minority-owned, woman-owned company, because owner Randal Perkins listed his Cuban-American wife Saily as company president, according to a report in The Washington Post. Perkins has since acknowledged that he runs AshBritt, explaining that the false listing was a "clerical error."

Now, AshBritt has filed formal protests with Homeland Security and the Corps, insisting that the government allow it to compete for the new contracts. Perkins says his company is the victim of a politically motivated effort to take away its business.

"After all that has happened to the Gulf Coast, I find it appalling that any company would resort to legal maneuverings to make a few dollars off of Mississippi's pain," Rep. Bennie Thompson said in a statement. Thompson added that AshBritt's protests may further delay the cleanup process.