In a giant travel trailer auction, the federal government has agreed to sell for pennies on the dollar most of the 120,000 formaldehyde-tainted travel trailers it bought nearly five years ago for Hurricane Katrina victims. But the sale of the units, perhaps the most visible symbol of the government’s bungled response to the hurricane, has triggered a new round of charges that it is endangering future buyers for years to come.

The sale of the units will be completed by April 3, pending an antitrust review by the Justice Department, which has rarely reversed government auctions. In the meantime, the sale also has drawn criticism from some lawmakers upset about the loss of taxpayer dollars and RV industry groups that say the fire sale is hurting their business.

FEMA officials defended the sale, noting that Congress has complained that the government has spent $220 million over three years to store vacant trailers. Wholesale buyers from the auction must sign contracts attesting the travel trailers will not be used, sold or advertised as housing, they said, and that trailers will carry a sticker saying, “Not to be used for housing.”

Full Story…
————–