Cheney's Halliburton $263 million excessive or unjustified.

American Family Voices:

Cheney’s Halliburton $263 million excessive or unjustified.

Mon Feb 27, 2006 13:40

AM Feed - February 27, 2006: Fun with Audits

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Vice President Cheney’s old company Halliburton is getting yet another sweetheart deal from the Army. The Army has decided to reimburse Halliburton subsidiary KBR for almost all of its disputed costs relating to a $2.41 billion no-bid contract – even though Pentagon auditors have found $263 million in costs they deemed to be excessive or unjustified.

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AM Feed - February 27, 2006: Fun with Audits
Hot Topics

Vice President Cheney’s old company Halliburton is getting yet another sweetheart deal from the Army. The Army has decided to reimburse Halliburton subsidiary KBR for almost all of its disputed costs relating to a $2.41 billion no-bid contract – even though Pentagon auditors have found $263 million in costs they deemed to be excessive or unjustified. KBR will receive payment for all but $10.1 million (or 3.8 percent) of those costs. Typically, over the last three years, the Army withholds well over half the disputed costs that auditors recommend, which is yet another reminder of just how far from normal this Halliburton deal has been. [link]

The Bush administration has relented slightly, and allowed a 45-day review of the deal that would transfer port operations of six major US ports to a state-run United Arab Emirates (UAE) company. The review, which was requested by the company, gives the Bush administration a slight opportunity to save face in what has become a disastrous issue for them. Undoubtedly, the White House will spend much of the next 45 days attempting to marshal support for a plan that has been denounced by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. It remains to be seen whether the results of the review – unlike much of the backroom scheming that led to this deal – will be shared with the public.
[link]

t looks like yet another political power play orchestrated by Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX) has gone awry. Rep. Sam Johnson (R-TX), a DeLay ally and chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, demanded an IRS audit of a nonprofit group that had been critical of DeLay. In an August 2004 letter, Johnson claimed he had “uncovered some disturbing information” about Texans for Public Justice – but IRS auditors uncovered no evidence of any violations. An initial complaint was filed against Texans for Public Justice by Barnaby Zall, a Washington lawyer with (you guessed it) close ties to DeLay. [link]

Quote of the Day

“Enlisting the IRS to intimidate critics is a dirty trick reminiscent of Richard Nixon…It is not a crime to report a crime, as we did with DeLay.” – Director and Founder of Texans for Public Justice, Craig McDonald.

Morning Snark

* What if Vice President Cheney’s little hunting “episode” was actually a well-orchestrated plan to send a message for the Army to pay up?

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