U.S. Army clears Halliburton of overbilling-WSJ

[DuctapeFatwa]

Halliburton Co. (HAL) has been cleared of any wrongdoing in a Kuwait fuel-delivery contract that Pentagon auditors alleged overcharged the U.S. government by more than $100 million, the Wall Street Journal said on Tuesday.

The head of the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, Lt. Gen. Robert Flowers, said Halliburton's Kellogg Brown & Root unit will not need to provide "any cost and pricing data" relating to a contract to deliver millions of gallons of gasoline from Kuwait to Iraq, the paper said, citing a previously undisclosed Dec. 19 ruling.

http://money.iwon.com/jsp/nw/nwdt_rt_top.jsp?cat=TOPBIZ&src=201&feed=reu§ion=news&news_id=reu-n06200842&date=20040106&alias=/alias/money/cm/nw

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

1. I wonder how much who made on that bit of news... n/t

[cthrumatrix]

21. where's the Dem. Senators voice? this is BS

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

22. Busy looking for their balls.... nt

[BuckeFushe]

38. BUMP this article is wrong see my last post below.

I cannot let this become "truth".

[POed_Ex_Repub]

2. Gee, what a surprise...

:puke: :puke: :puke: :puke:

[101 Proof]

3. Go figure...

who didn't see that one coming???

[pmbryant]

24. Rumsfeld telegraphed this weeks ago

The day after the audit came out (maybe it was even the same day it came out), Rumsfeld told the press that there wasn't any overcharging.

Contradicting his own auditors without delay.

So this "news" is hardly a surprise.

--Peter

[Guaranteed]

4. GOD DAMMIT!!

FUCKING BULLSHIT.

[daleo]

5. That's a relief

Glad they won't have to produce any of that pesky "evidence", to back up these claims. What's a few hundred million taxpayers dollars between friends.

[truthisfreedom]

6. what a load off my mind, i tell you. i've been so worried about them!

corporations have suffered so much at the hands of this iron-fisted administration.

[Bozita]

7. Nothing to see here...keep moving, folks...c'mon keep moving

Nothing to see here...

Haven't you heard? We caught Saddam.

Look at his beard. Look at his teeth.

He gassed his own people, you know.

[wellst0nev0ter]

12. You Forgot The Rape Rooms (n/t)

[tridim]

8. I think I'm going to rob a bank

and have my mom write a note clearing me from prosecution.

Oops, I forgot I'm not a rich Republican and the Vice President isn't my daddy.

[JasonDeter]

9. This is what our brave soldiers are dying for. eom.

[mw]

10. Again, Bushie abuse of the military: now using their good name

They know the military is trusted, so now Bushies are using their good name to clear their own dirty cronies.

Shameless.

When Bush isn't misusing the military, he's killing them in Iraq.

[jonoboy]

11. yeh sure..tell it to the welfare mums

[emc]

13. fees for hauling fuel

As an old trucker, when I read about the rates that Halliburton was getting for hauling fuel it astounded me...

I figured that from Kuwait to Bagdag is I would guess about 750 miles possibly....From what I read the fuel itself costs one Nickle a gallon---also ,they haul 20,000 gallons per load at a rate of 2.64 per gallon------I think that this is a little high (gallonage )since tankers in the states haul on average 8000 gallons. Anyway Ill figure it both ways---20000x2.64=52,800 dollars for hauling one load----here in the states we as truckers would get a dollar a mile----750.00 for the trip---Now naturally this it is risky hauling fuel there, but 50000 per load is a little exorbitant if you ask me---even at 8000 gallons a load it comes to 21000 dollars per load...
Halliburton pays the drivers about 125,000 per year from what I read,so they are cleaning up --at the taxpayers expense. And the army had the nerve to state that the contract is OK and there is no gouging. Get real--------I only wish that I could have made money like this when I was trucking------

[newyawker99]

35. Hi emc!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

14. Wow, that was fast. They solved that one real quick. Ummm,

is the 911 commission still operating? Maybe they could use some lessons from these super geniuses at DOD>

[maggrwaggr]

15. I ..... am ...... speechless ........

I ... I ..... well fuck it n/t

[Rose Siding]

16. Didn't Congress call for an investigation?

Auditors said, "low level officials" said no. What's a ripped off citizen to believe?

[cthrumatrix]

17. the teflon robbers... when you own the media and the courts...you get away

[0007]

18. Man, they had enough time to get the books straight, huh?

So the folks that give the contracts say that Halliburton is doing fine?

[dusty64]

19. Oh boy, this

is sure a surprise.

[leesa]

20. Well aren't these unique contracts. They can charge whatever they

want and we'll be happy to pay it. I thought Republcans were the conservative business party. Cheney needs to be in jail now.

[underpants]

23. will not need to provide "any cost and pricing data"

Gee it's nice when you don't have to provide any more information to your auditors.

[VelmaD]

25. I am a government auditor...

and I have to say this pisses me off no end.

Smells really fishy. There's no way in hell my boss would let our management get away with this crap about providing no "cost or pricing daya". Somebody in the media needs to find out who was responsible for putting together this audit report and lean on them to spill the beans publicly. There are professional standards at stake here and the auditors involved need to be reminded of that.

[underpants]

27. Wait until I tell my wife

she will flip. She is an internal auditor and there is no way that this not only doesn't pass the smell test but actually sends up red flags. Instead of not providing MORE information any reasonable audit would expand the field.

ridiculous.

[VelmaD]

28. Absolutely right

My boss would FLIP OUT if our management tried something like this. When they don't want to provide information that's always the point where you dig your heels in and make them give you WAY more than you originally asked for. (Our management has learned this the hard way.) :evilgrin:

[beawr]

26. Well Duh

What makes you think this was ever going to fly? One NEVER embarrases their Republican Boss.

[oasis]

29. The capture of Saddam came just in time for them to get a handle on it.

How terribly convienient.

[bobthedrummer]

30. Yet last week the Pentagon took over the distribution of gas

right?

[missile_bender]

31. Do they plan to give Halliburton back the contract?

if they do, they lie. If they don't they lie. They lie.

[salin]

33. Great Catch!

Rather contradictory. But hey... bush always says to his corporate funders... "It's Your Money".... and it indeed our money more quickly becomes their money for inferior service and gouged prices. Who says that private entities ALWAYS are more efficient.... in theory perhaps... in the days of open greed and corporate feeding at the taxpayers trough... not a chance.

For example - did anyone catch the item a day or two ago that did an analysis of the language on the medicare bill regarding the 'new discount cards'? It seems that while in the overall program (to go into effect in a few years) participants can NOT try to negotiate for lower prices for drugs... those offering the 'discount cards' can... BUT there is NO language that requires those savings to be passed on to consumers... at one point it had been in the legislation but it was stripped. So a company can use the sheer volume of 'discount cards' to negotiate down prices (let's say they push prices down by 20%) and can pass on say 5% (if anything) and keep the 15% profit for themselves. So everytime he touts the 'savings' people will realize - we should document it. And document actual savings when they get reported. And document the inevitable story a few years in the future when we learn the HUGE profits reaped by those (likely cronie of bushes) companies that get the contracts for the cards - and the minimal (if any) savings provided by the cards.

[bobthedrummer]

32. Corporate welfare my ass, that's our tax money too

this is a CRIME!

[Ganja Ninja]

34. Might as well just give up!

Sit back and wait for America to go broke and the rich to flee the country. Then we can pick up the pieces of what's left of a once great nation and start over again.

The outrages just keep coming day after day after day. I need a drink or maybe some oxycontin.

[pinto]

36. more here re: contracts, contacts, etc.

http://www.iraqgroup.net/news_press/december_2003/english/wsj_16_dec_03.doc

[BuckeFushe]

37. NOT TRUE DAMN IT, that was EARILEST article on subject

Tue January 6, 2004 11:04 AM ET

http://www.reuters.com/financeNewsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=PTLWAYKV02T44CRBAEOCFEY?type=businessNews&storyID=4080981

TWO PAGE ARTICLE

"This is not linked to the draft audit and should be looked at as a separate issue," Adkins said when asked to comment on a Wall Street Journal story that said the waiver meant Halliburton had effectively been cleared of allegations of overpricing raised by Pentagon auditors.

Adkins is spoksman for the Pentagon.

THIS IS NOT OVER, no matter how the bought and paid for press wants you to believe.

[stickdog]

39. Folks, the Army Core of Engineers are the same corrupt, grafting assholes

who originally rubberstamped Bush's war profiteers.


http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20031231/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/halliburton&cid=542&ncid=716

Halliburton to Lose Iraq Oil Project
Wed Dec 31,10:06 AM ET Add White House - AP Cabinet & State to My Yahoo!

By LARRY MARGASAK, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - Just weeks after Pentagon (news - web sites) auditors said Halliburton may have overcharged taxpayers to import oil to Iraq (news - web sites), the Defense Department is removing the Army Corps of Engineers from its role in supervising the program.

The Defense Energy Support Center, which buys fuel for the military throughout the world, will supervise the shipments and choose new contractors to replace Halliburton, Vice President Dick Cheney (news - web sites)'s former company. "We're taking over the mission," the center's spokeswoman, Lynette Ebberts, said Tuesday.

Democratic lawmakers have criticized the prices charged the U.S. government by Halliburton's KBR subsidiary, which has been importing refined petroleum products into Iraq under a mission awarded without competitive bids. Cheney headed Halliburton before running for vice president.

Earlier this month, the Defense Department's auditing agency supported the Democrats' allegations, finding the company may have charged up to $61 million too much for delivering gasoline to Iraqi citizens.

More on Core corruption here:

http://www.taxpayer.net/corpswatch/index.htm

[0007]

40. So now the Army is porking us along with Halliburton?

[CHIMO]

41. Has

Anyone thought about following the money?