Last December, CREW released a blockbuster report, Homeland Security for Sale - DHS: Five Years of Mismanagement, detailing massive failures and billions wasted at the Department of Homeland Security.  The waste and abuse never seems to end at DHS.  A new report from the DHS Inspector General will show how "millions of dollars" were misspent from selling used trailers.

The Associated Press broke the story: 

The Federal Emergency Management Agency misspent millions of dollars it received from selling used travel trailers, government investigators have found.

Instead of buying more trailers - as allowed under the law - FEMA used more than $13 million toward fully loaded sport utility vehicles, travel expenses and purchase card accounts, according to a draft report by the Homeland Security Department's inspector general obtained by The Associated Press. The report is to be released Friday.

During its three-month review last summer, the inspector general found that FEMA used some of the proceeds from trailer sales for tree-removal services, agency decals and banners and global positioning systems. FEMA spokesman James McIntyre said the agency discovered these problems on its own and has taken steps to fix them.

Last week, CREW released its report, Homeland Security for Sale, and an accompanying website.  The report received enormous coverage from in the media, particularly online.

And, it's not over.  Today,  United Press International wrote about the report:

The report, "Homeland Security for Sale," was published last week by the non-profit watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

It recaps government and news media investigations into departmental contracts and programs worth billions of dollars -- including the Coast Guard's troubled Deepwater modernization program and U.S. Customs and Border Protection's virtual border fence called SBINet, or Secure Border Initiative Network.

The report also examines the business dealings of former Homeland Security officials now working for companies seeking to gain government contracts in the intelligence and defense fields, as well as with the department.

"Billions have been spent on projects to secure our borders and to inspect port cargo," reads the report, charging the projects "have been delayed and the contractors have overcharged, all under the less than watchful eye of DHS political appointees." 

Keith Olbermann dissects "Homeland Security for Sale":

Five years ago, President Bush signed legislation creating the Department of Homeland Security. Over the past five years, the American people have become far too familiar with stories about DHS and its gross overruns on projects, the worst employee morale in the federal government, the inoperability of information technology, our exposure to cyber-terrorism or FEMA’s fake press conference.

Today, CREW is releasing a report, Homeland Security for Sale - DHS: Five Years of Mismanagement, detailing massive failures and billions wasted at the Department of Homeland Security.

The report can be found at www.homelandsecurityforsale.org. The website includes a video prepared by Brave New Films.

In the report, CREW details billions of dollars in waste and mismanagement of taxpayer dollars, for example:

• $24 billion has been spent, and at least $178 million wasted, on the failed Coast Guard Deepwater program;

• over $600 million has been allocated for unworkable radiation border scanners;

• $1.3 billion has been lost on the USVISIT program, which was never fully implemented; and

• projected $2 billion loss on the SBInet “virtual fence” border program.

CREW is releasing its report to hold those who run the agency accountable for its massive failures and to spark a public debate about how DHS can and must be improved in the next administration. The next President will have to fix DHS -- and all the candidates need to provide specific plans to address the massive failings outlined in Homeland Security for Sale - DHS: Five Years of Mismanagement.

In CREW fashion, we name names. The report is divided into five sections. For each, we name the worst offender and the runner up earning dishonorable mention:

I. Most Troubled DHS Component: FEMA

Dishonorable Mention: TSA

II. Most Outrageous Contract: Deepwater

Dishonorable Mention: Radiation Detection Portal MonitorsIII.

III. Failed Program: US-VISIT

Dishonorable Mention: SBI

IV. Component with the Most Serious Crime Problem: CBP (U.S. Customs and Border Protection)

Dishonorable Mention: TSA

V. Beneficiary of the Revolving Door: Tom Ridge

Dishonorable Mentions: Holman, Buchholz, Davis, Hutchison

The Department of Homeland Security is an embarrassment that would be comical if only our national security were not at stake. The agency and its leadership must be held accountable for its failures and pushed to do better.

This is a shocking and disturbing report. The American people deserve far better from their government. Much better.

What can you do? Ask your presidential candidate what he or she would do to fix DHS in the next administration. The massive problems at DHS have to be solved by the next President. If you get an answer, please send it to fixdhs@citizensforethics.org and it will be posted at HomelandSecurityForSale.org.