Halliburton gets another $33 million for Hurricane
Katrina clean-up
12 Oct. 2005
WASHINGTON, Oct. 12 (HalliburtonWatch.org) -- The
U.S. Navy awarded $33 million to Halliburton for clean
up work at naval air stations damaged by Hurricane
Katrina, the Department of Defense announced
last night.
The money will be added to the $12
million awarded to Halliburton on August 29, the day
Katrina made landfall. Both awards, totalling $45
million, require the company to repair structures and
remove debris at naval air stations in Pascagoula and
Gulfport, Mississippi and in Louisiana.
On Sept. 14, the Navy announced another $15 million for
Halliburton to support the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
in pumping water out of New Orleans, restoring utilities
and constructing temporary morgues.
The Navy assigned the work to the company under the $500
million "construction capabilities contract,"
or CONCAP,
awarded in 2001 and renewed in 2004 after competitive
bidding.
Last night's announcement brings the current value of
Halliburton's Katrina contracts to $61.3 million, a
number that is likely to grow as new task orders are
issued in the future.
Critics worry that Halliburton's performance in Iraq,
which the U.S. State Department called "poor,"
will be exported to areas affected by Katrina. At one
point last year, the Pentagon reported that Halliburton
failed to account for 43 percent of its expenses in the
Middle East. Military audits
determined the company had $1 billion in
"questioned" expenses in Iraq (i.e. expenses
which military auditors consider
"unreasonable") and $442 million in
"unsupported" expenses (i.e. expenses which
military auditors have determined contain no receipt or
any explanation on how the expenses were disbursed).
Members of Congress have expressed outrage that
Halliburton was picked for Katrina work since it is
being investigated
on numerous fronts for wrongdoing, including violation
of criminal laws, bribery, bid-rigging and felonious
overcharging of U.S. taxpayers. Some members have demanded
the Pentagon suspend
the company from all new contracts.
Former Bush administration officials, now private lobbyists
or corporate CEOs, rushed down to the Gulf Coast in
search of government contracts soon after Katrina made
landfall, sparking charges of cronyism. Even some
Republicans were a bit embarrassed by it. “I think
there are some laws that have to be changed, especially
[when contracting] in emergency situations and the
like," Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA), chairman of the House
Committee on Government Reform, told The Hill
newspaper.
In all the uproar, the Bush administration agreed to re-open
some of the Katrina contracts awarded by the Federal
Emergency Management Agency so that more local and small
businesses can get involved. Halliburton's Navy contract
used to support Katrina relief will not be re-opened.
Additionally, Congress is considering an oversight
committee to prevent cost-overcharges and abuse of
taxpayer dollars as witnessed in Iraq. "The sudden
interest by a Congress not known for its commitment to
oversight is a reflection of the ballooning cost of
hurricane relief, lessons learned from Iraq and growing
unease in Republican circles about recent political
scandals, according to politicians and analysts,"
reported the Los
Angeles Times.
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