Brendan Coyne / New Standard News – 2005-07-10 23:55:47
http://newstandardnews.net/content/index.cfm/items/2061
(July 7, 2005) — Despite known financial malfeasance and current federal investigations into allegations of bribes, overcharges and other unethical and possibly illegal actions, the United States Army awarded Halliburton a new contract worth nearly $5 billion over the next year, Reuters and the Washington Post revealed yesterday.
The company contract kicked in two months ago but neither the Army nor Pentagon made the information public. The Post reported that Pentagon officials declined to turn over the contract documents without a formal Freedom of Information Act request.
As reported by The NewStandard, news of the new contract broke just days after a report by US House Democrats charged that Halliburton has misspent or overcharged the Pentagon at least $1.4 billion for services provided in Iraq, mainly through Kellogg Brown and Root, a subsidiary.
According to a study released in May by Corpwatch, a corporate oversight organization, federal agencies are conducting at least eleven separate investigations into Halliburton and its subsidiaries over actions in Iraq, environmental violations, illegal bidding practices and anti-trust law violations.
Additionally, a United Nations-created watchdog agency is investigating the company’s part in allegations against the US-run Iraqi Coalitional Provisional Authority, the Corpwatch report found.
Halliburton had been awarded well in excess of $10 billion in military service contracts since the US invaded Iraq. Many of those contracts were without competition and the majority were “cost-plus” arrangements whereby reported expenses and a guaranteed profit margin would be paid by the government no matter what the eventual price tag.
© 2005 The NewStandard
Online sources used in this news brief:
• Washington Post: “Halliburton’s Higher Bill”
• Reuters: “Army Gives $5 Billion More in Work to Halliburton”
• The NewStandard [previous]: “More Halliburton Abuses, Special Treatment Revealed”
• House Cmte. on Gov’t Reform (Minority Staff): “Halliburton’s Questioned and Unsupported Costs in Iraq Exceed $1.4 Billion (PDF)”
• Corpwatch: “Houston, We Still Have a Problem (PDF)”
