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Wyden Comments on Requested Halliburton Probe
Senator has warned of high costs of no-bid
contracts in Iraq, urges DoD to act
January 15, 2004
Washington, DC – U.S.
Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) praised the Defense Contracts Auditing
Agency (DCAA) today for its decision to request further investigation
into whether the Halliburton company and its subsidiary, Kellogg
Brown and Root, overcharged American taxpayers in the execution
of a fuel delivery contract in Iraq. Wyden, who has criticized
large no-bid and limited-bid contracts for Iraq reconstruction,
won passage with U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) of bipartisan
legislation to ensure competition in the contracting process.
He has also sought to limit the waste of taxpayer dollars in other
areas during Iraq reconstruction, including fuel delivery. Wyden
issued the following statement:
“The request for further
investigation into Halliburton and KBR’s work on the Iraq
fuel delivery contract is timely and appropriate. Questions have
lingered far too long about both the propriety and the potential
financial liabilities of huge, no-bid contracts in Iraq; it’s
time to root out the waste those contracts have bred, or put the
questions to rest once and for all. The Department of Defense
should open the inquiry without delay. As I said last week to
Army Secretary [R.L “Les”] Brownlee in calling for
further review, this is an important taxpayer issue. There are
billions of dollars at stake and the trust of the American people
is on the line.”
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