Lieberman Calls for Halliburton Hearings

WASHINGTON -- Calling for transparency in multi-million dollar government
contracts, Governmental Affairs Committee Ranking Member Joe Lieberman,
D-Conn., Friday strongly urged that congressional hearings be held to
examine in detail the no-bid contract awarded to a Halliburton
Corporation subsidiary to extinguish Iraqi oil well fires.

In a letter dated May 16, 2003, to Committee Chairman Susan Collins,
R-Me., Lieberman asked that the hearings also include a closer look at
Iraqi reconstruction contracts that were awarded through a closed or
limited bidding process.

Only through complete disclosure, can we ensure that the American
people will have confidence in how their government chose to award these
contracts, Lieberman wrote in the letter.

In March, the Army Corps of Engineers announced a no-bid contract had
been awarded to the Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg, Brown & Root to
extinguish oil well fires and repair the nations petroleum
infrastructure. Last week, the Corps released information indicating the
contract was far more extensive than it had originally disclosed.

Lieberman has twice written to the U.S. Agency for International
Development for details on the agencys use of a closed bidding process
for awarding reconstruction contracts. The agencys inspector general
later found that one of the contracts was awarded to a company without a
security clearance, despite the fact that the agency required them in
the initial bidding process.

While I agree that the urgent and pressing needs in Iraq demand swift
attention, I nevertheless believe that the administration should be
forthright and open with the American people about the details of all
the rebuilding contracts in Iraq, Lieberman said.

Lieberman and Collins are original co-sponsors of legislation that would
require the administration to publicly disclose details of any Iraqi
reconstruction contracts. The legislation has been referred to the
Governmental Affairs Committee.

Following is a copy of Liebermans letter:

May 16, 2003
The Honorable Susan M. Collins

The United States Senate

Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Senator Collins:

As you know, Senator Frank Lautenberg has recently asked the
Governmental Affairs Committee to hold hearings to investigate the Iraqi
reconstruction contract awarded to Kellogg, Brown & Root (KBR), a
subsidiary of the Halliburton Corporation. I agree with Senator
Lautenbergs desire for transparency and disclosure on this important
issue, and I strongly urge you to conduct hearings at the earliest
possible date on all of the Iraqi reconstruction contracts that were
awarded through a closed or limited bidding process.
In March, the Army Corps of Engineers announced that it had awarded a
no-bid contract to KBR. At the time, the Corps said the contract was to
extinguish oil well fires in Iraq and repair the countrys petroleum
infrastructure. However, last week we learned that this contract went
far beyond what was initially disclosed. In a letter to Rep. Henry
Waxman, the Corps acknowledged for the first time that the contract with
KBR would also allow the company to operate Iraqi oil fields and even
distribute Iraqi oil.

I have been concerned for some time about the manner in which the Bush
Administration has awarded a number of contracts related to the
rebuilding efforts in postwar Iraq, including the contract awarded to
KBR. While I agree that the urgent and pressing needs in Iraq demand
swift attention, I nevertheless believe that the administration should
be forthright and open with the American people about the details of all
of the rebuilding contracts in Iraq. I have written to the U.S. Agency
for International Development on two occasions seeking details on why
the Agency chose to use a closed bidding process for awarding contracts,
and how this closed process operated. I have also joined you in becoming
an original cosponsor of legislation (S.876) to require the
administration to publicly disclose the details of any Iraqi
reconstruction contracts that are awarded without an open and
competitive bidding process. But as we saw last week with the disclosure
of new details regarding the KBR contract, more steps need to be taken
soon to ensure that all details regarding this and other contracts are
made public.

That is why I am strongly urging you to call hearings on all post war
Iraq contracts awarded by the Bush Administration through a closed or
limited bidding process. It is only appropriate that we provide the
American people with the details of these contracts and how they were
awarded. Only through complete disclosure, can we ensure that the
American people will have confidence in how their government chose to
award these contracts.

Thank you for your consideration of this request. I look forward to
continuing to work with you on this important issue.

Sincerely,

Joseph I. Lieberman
Ranking Member

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