GovExec.com:
In a sign that the Bush administration is entering a period of intense scrutiny from the new powerbrokers on Capitol Hill, a leading Democrat with oversight responsibility will announce next week a wide-ranging probe of government contracts for rebuilding Iraq.
On Tuesday, the day of President Bush's State of the Union speech, House Oversight and Government Reform Government Management Subcommittee Chairman Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y., plans to unveil an investigation into "no-bid" contracts and possible conflicts of interest in the awarding of Iraq reconstruction contracts by the Pentagon.
A Towns press release dated Jan. 23 states that "one of the primary targets of the investigations" would be "the Halliburton Corp. and its subsidiary Kellogg, Brown and Root." It also notes that Vice President Cheney is the former Halliburton CEO.
Ed Towns' press release states:
"In my role as Chairman of this sub-committee, I am looking to launch a series of hearings into the no-bid contracts that have been issued by the Defense Department, particularly, in the case of the war in Iraq. There have been several billion dollar contracts given to Halliburton and its subsidiaries and many questions have been raised about the Iraq contracting process. Primarily questions on the seemingly inflated prices charged by Halliburton to import gasoline from Kuwait into Iraq; and Halliburton's admission of kickbacks to company officials," stated Congressman Towns.
Towns tells us that companies have been awarded contracts worth a total of more than $50 billion. Top reconstruction contracts went to:
-Parsons Corporation, Pasadena, CA, $5.3 billion
-Fluor Corporation, Aliso Veijo, CA, $3.75 billion
-Washington Group International, Boise, Idaho, $3.1 billion
-Shaw Group, Baton Rouge, LA, $3 billion
-Bechtel Corporation, San Francisco, CA, $2.8 billion
-Perini Corporation, Framingham, MA, $2.5 billion
-Contrack International, Inc., Arlington, VA $2.3 billion
According to Rep. Towns, "This squandering of American tax dollars must stop. There must be an end to these no-bid contracts."
Tags: news | politics | Dick Cheney | congress | corruption | corporations | Ed Towns
