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Coming This Week…

by Matt Townsend, ProPublica - July 7, 2008 2:26 pm EST
Tags: Afghanistan, Department of Justice, FEMA, FEMA Trailers, Military Contractor Abuse Scandal

Every Monday we'll be posting a list of the week's upcoming events that we find interesting. Our first installment includes toxic trailers, Attorney General Michael Mukasey on the Hill, and another episode in the Air Force tanker contract saga.

Tuesday, July 8

The Government Accountability Office releases a report on road construction in Afghanistan. President George W. Bush enacted the Afghanistan Road Initiative in 2002.

Wednesday, July 9

9:30 a.m. -- Attorney General Michael Mukasey testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee during a hearing on oversight at the Department of Justice. Mukasey will most likely be questioned about the recent inspector general's report that revealed politically biased hiring practices at the department.

10 a.m. -- Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) and the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hosts its second hearing on the FEMA trailers used for Katrina evacuees that had toxic levels of formaldehyde. The committee has called trailer manufacturers to testify. In the first hearing a year ago, several evacuees described (video) illnesses they developed after living in FEMA trailers.

2 p.m. -- Charles M. Smith, who last month said he was forced from his Army post overseeing contracting in Iraq in 2004 after he threatened to withhold $1 billion in questionable payments to contractor KBR, will speak to the Democratic Policy Committee. After Smith was replaced, the Army continued to pay KBR without penalty.

Thursday, July 10

10 a.m. -- The House Judiciary Committee holds its hearing on politicization at the Department of Justice. Not appearing: former White House adviser Karl Rove, who has refused to testify despite a subpoena from the committee. The committee had planned to question him about his involvement in the firing of nine U.S. attorneys in 2006 and the prosecution of former Alabama Democratic Gov. Don Siegelman.

2 p.m. -- The future of the controversial Air Force aerial tanker contract is front and center at the House Armed Services Committee. The Air Force initially awarded the $35 billion contract to Northrop Grumman over Boeing, but a GAO report released in June concluded major errors had been made in the decision. Several lawmakers have called for the contract to be reopened.

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