Halliburton ran out of control, says audit

[UpInArms]

http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1086940210386

A Pentagon audit has found wide-spread deficiencies in the way Halliburton tracks billions of dollars of government contracts in Iraq and Kuwait, leading to "significant" overcharges.

The findings have been bolstered by graphic accounts from former employees who have told a US congressman that the company's subcontractors charged $100 (?83, £55) to launder a 15-pound bag of clothing and abandoned $85,000 trucks when they suffered flat tyres.

Critics say Halliburton, an oilfield services company formerly headed by Dick Cheney, the vice-president, has mismanaged more than $8bn of Iraq contracts. They will also raise further questions about the Pentagon's increased reliance on private contractors to handle services, from providing meals to fuel delivery.

Henry Waxman, a Democratic congressman, published the findings before a hearing on Tuesday in the House committee on government reform. Mr Waxman wrote on Monday to Tom Davis, the Republican committee chairman, that the whistleblower testimony and the findings of the Pentagon and congressional auditors "portray a company and a contracting environment that has run amok".

...more good stuff at link...

[fertilizeonarbusto]

1. This can't be true

Unca Dick would NEVER do anything dishonest.
:silly:

[Tight_rope]

2. Crooks!

"Charged $100 (?83, £55) to launder a 15-pound bag of clothing and abandoned $85,000 trucks when they suffered flat tyres." What a waste.

[shraby]

3. America is keeping

count of the crimes of the century..and there will be an accounting!

[aquart]

7. Dream on.

[alfredo]

8. As long as the accountant isn't

Arthur Anderson.

[Trillo]

4. So--accounting is only for us "little people." n/t

[shraby]

5. By accounting I mean

they will pay the price for all their crimes.

[Trillo]

6. You are an optimist.

Please note: I was referring to the audit deficiencies and standard accounting practices related to bookkeeping, not to your use of the word--a variation of justice of some kind as I read it.

[The Backlash Cometh]

9. But, hey, we were reassured that only Halliburton was qualified

to do this job. Abandoning an $85,000 for a flat tire? Can you imagine what the Republicans would say if a military man did this on government time?

[justjones]

12. "Only Halliburton was qualified to do this job" was exactly what they said

when Halliburton landed this government contract and used as a justification for it being "no=bid."

If this is what this Administration calls "qualified," why should we trust that their judgement is any more reliable when governing this country?

[Bandit]

10. Not to even mention the trillion dollars the Pentagon can't account for

I guess birds of a feather do flock together.

[Miss Authoritiva]

11. I must confess: this is the first year that I ever contemplated

not paying my federal income taxes. Disgusted by the war, disgusted by stories such as this one, I agonized over writing the check to the government. And I am not by nature a tax-groaner (unlike some members of my family). But a friend half-jokingly said that maybe this year my taxes would be the very last dollars that funded some critical piece of medical research to completion. And I thought/pretended, maybe, and mailed the check.

Next year, however....

[struggle4progress]

13. kick

:kick:

[Rose Siding]

14. Halliburton responds with straw man

snip>
Wendy Hall, a company spokeswoman, said Waxman's allegations do nothing "to feed a single member of our military, create a single unit of housing, repair a single oil well or supply a single piece of material for reconstruction."

http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/news/politics/8922488.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp

Umm...SO?

What the hell good does it do for Congress to pretend fiscal responsibility (by cutting school lunches, infrastructure security, job training programs, etc) when the Pentagon makes deals with the devil? And then the devil whines about too much attention??!!! How about an explanation? or a REFUND?

[Tellurian]

15. Yes, Wendy- But where is the money coming from for Hallibuton to squander?

"Wendy Hall, a company spokeswoman, said Waxman's allegations do nothing "to feed a single member of our military, create a single unit of housing, repair a single oil well or supply a single piece of material for reconstruction."