Halliburton Unit Gets a Positive Review From Pentagon

[acmavm]

http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W8RH044DD92A0C300F87F3F5C32520

By Robert O'Harrow Jr.
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, September 10, 2004; Page E03

<snip>

After months of criticism from Democrats in Congress and government auditors for allegedly misspending and overcharging, Halliburton Co. got some good news yesterday.

The giant oil services company announced that a Pentagon review found that its purchasing-system practices "are effective and efficient and provide adequate protection of the Government's interest."

The news came in a letter from the Defense Contract Management Agency to Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown & Root Inc., which has received about $4.5 billion for providing fuel, housing and other troop support in Iraq and Kuwait. "KBR has repeatedly said that its purchasing system provide the flexibility and responsiveness necessary to meet the needs of its customers in a war zone," the company's statement said.

<snip>

Also not addressed in the new letter are questions about overcharging that have been raised by Pentagon auditors. In July a report by the staff of Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) said Halliburton charged the government $167 million more than necessary to import gasoline into Iraq.

Halliburton contends that it is being picked on for political reasons -- because Dick Cheney was the company's chief executive before being elected U.S. vice president in 2000.

-MORE-

[tandot]

1. What a huge surprise...a positive review from the Pentagon...

:eyes: