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A Daily Chronicle of Bush Administration Distortion October 24, 2003
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Internal Email Reveals Halliburton's Strategy to Combat Accusations of Overcharging the Government



Negative publicity from the Bush Administration's award of a $7 billion no-bid contract to a Halliburton subsidiary with a history of overcharging the government has led Halliburton CEO David Lesar to direct his employees to counter with a letter-writing campaign, according to an internal company e-mail provided to The Daily MisLead.

The negative publicity has also embarrassed the administration, given President Bush's pledge in the wake of earlier corporate scandals that "corporate leaders who violate the public trust should never be given that trust again."1

The Halliburton subsidiary, previously known as Brown & Root, was cited at least twice in the past six years by the General Accounting Office for inflating costs -- for example, by providing more staffers and services than necessary.2 Brown & Root also paid $2 million last year to settle a criminal charge for overbilling the government.3

The subsidiary, which became Kellogg, Brown & Root with the 1998 Halliburton purchase of Dresser Industries, was given the no-bid contract to put out oil fires, import fuel and operate oil facilities in Iraq.4

One of the talking points in Lesar's memo, sent last Friday, was that "Halliburton makes our troops more comfortable in a difficult environment by bringing shelter, supplies, clean uniforms and mail from home." According to published reports, however, as few as 20 percent of American soldiers in Iraq have access to purified water and entire units are suffering from dysentery.5 One senior military commander wrote that soldiers were "using hoses from an Iraqi latrine stall to get water enough to maintain their hygienic needs."6

Sources:
  1. "The President's Comprehensive Corporate Reform Agenda".
  2. Contingency Operations: Army Should Do More to Control Contract Cost in the Balkans, General Accounting Office, 9/29/00.
  3. Letter from Rep. Waxman and Rep. Dingell to OMB Director Joshua Bolton, 10/15/03.
  4. "Entrepreneurial Beginnings," Halliburton Web site.
  5. "US House set to approve President Bush's $87 billion package for reconstruction in Afghanistan and Iraq," NPR, 10/9/03.
  6. "Leadership and Logistical Failures Hurt Troops," Soldiers for the Truth, 6/19/03.



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