Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: DuckTapeSunroof who wrote (528437)	1/23/2004 6:33:38 PM
From: nolimitz	Respond to of 769670

By Jim Wolf WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Halliburton Co. (NYSE:HAL - news) workers may have taken kickbacks from a Kuwaiti subcontractor supplying U.S. troops in Iraq (news - web sites), causing a potential $6 million overcharge to U.S. taxpayers, the company said on Friday. Moving to blunt the firestorm of criticism, the company said late on Friday it had sent a $6.3-million check to the U.S. Army Materiel Command, its customer, to cover potential overbilling. "We will bear the cost of the overcharge, not the government," Randy Harl, chief executive of Halliburton's Kellogg, Brown & Root unit, or KBR, said in a statement. Auditors at the Houston-based company found the questionable payments and potential overbilling and alerted Pentagon (news - web sites) Inspector General Joseph Schmitz, said a company spokeswoman, Wendy Hall. Halliburton, once headed by Vice President Dick Cheney (news - web sites), is the largest contractor in Iraq with over $8 billion in potential work doing everything from laundry for U.S. occupation forces to repairing damaged oil fields. Democrats in Congress have been pressing to determine whether the company traded on political connections to get lucrative deals. Cheney was its chief executive from 1995 until 2000, when he stepped down to become George W. Bush's running mate. The president's spokesman, Scott McClellan, said of the suspected kickbacks: "If something like this happened (Bush) expects the Department of Defense (news - web sites) to look into it fully, get to the bottom of it and make sure that money is repaid if Halliburton overcharged." Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota urged on the Senate floor that no new contracts be granted to the company until doubts have been "resolved." Sen. Frank Lautenberg, a New Jersey Democrat, said Cheney still receives "deferred salary" from Halliburton and called for all of Halliburton's contracts with the government to be terminated. U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman of California, the top Democrat on the House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform, called for hearings on "fraud, waste and abuse" in the billions being spent on Iraq reconstruction since the U.S.-led ousting of President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites). Earlier in the day, Halliburton emphasized its self-disclosure and self-reporting to the government last week of the suspected kickbacks and potential overcharge. "Halliburton internal auditors found the irregularity which is a violation of our company's philosophy, policy and our code of ethics," Hall, the company spokeswoman, said in an e-mailed statement. "We found it quickly, and we immediately reported it to the inspector general. We do not tolerate this kind of behavior by anyone at any level in any Halliburton company," she added, saying one or two former employees were involved. The suspected kickbacks could lead to criminal charges. Hall declined to specify whether the employees in question had been fired or had left the company on other terms.

To: DuckTapeSunroof who wrote (528437)	1/23/2004 7:00:41 PM
From: Gordon A. Langston	Respond to of 769670

Arnold is looking at cutting prison costs in CA. "Kindel said corrections officials project as many as 25,000 of the state's 161,000 inmates could be safely released, but he cautioned: ''The vast majority of our inmates are in there for serious crimes. Those are not being looked at [for early release] at all.'' The Bee reported Saturday it obtained internal memos showing the administration is considering abolishing parole for nonviolent inmates. The move would save $231million a year by 2005-06."