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To: American Spirit who wrote (3693)	4/15/2006 2:10:44 PM
From: Karen Lawrence	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 14758

VICE PRESIDENT, WHO DONATED MILLIONS TO CHARITY, AWAITS $1.9 MILLION FROM OVERPAYMENT (still receiving "deferred compensation" from Hal) mercurynews.com By Deb Riechmann Associated Press WASHINGTON - President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney beat the tax-filing deadline this year. Bush sent in a check for $187,000 while Cheney, who overpaid his taxes, is awaiting a whopping refund. Bush and the first lady paid $187,768 in federal taxes this year on income of $735,180. Cheney and his wife made more than 10 times as much, but are entitled to a $1.9 million refund. According to the president's tax return released Friday by the White House, the Bushes had adjusted gross income of $735,180 -- about $50,000 less than the year before. The couple paid $187,768 in federal taxes for last year -- about $19,500 less than they paid the Internal Revenue Service for 2004. Their income included Bush's presidential salary -- about $400,000 -- and investment income from trusts that hold their assets. The Bushes contributed $75,560 -- about 10 percent of their income -- to churches and charitable organizations. Those included the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army's funds for hurricane relief in the United States and earthquake aid in Pakistan. They also gave to Martha's Table, which provides food and services to the underprivileged in the Washington area, the Archdiocese of New Orleans Catholic Charities and the Mississippi Food Network. The Bushes paid $26,172 in state property taxes on their ranch near Crawford, Texas, up about $4,000 from the year before. The Cheneys reported adjusted gross income of nearly $8.82 million, a number largely padded with income they received by exercising stock options that had been set aside in 2001 for charity. The Cheneys donated about $6.87 million to charity from the stock options and royalties earned on Mrs. Cheney's books: ``America: A Patriotic Primer,'' ``A is for Abigail: An Almanac of Amazing American Women'' and ``When Washington Crossed the Delaware: A Wintertime Story for Young Patriots.'' Recipients of their charitable donations included George Washington University Medical Faculty Associates for the benefit of the Cardiothoracic Institute, the University of Wyoming Foundation and Capital Partners for Education, to benefit low-income high school students in the Washington area. After subtracting the charitable contributions, the Cheneys' income was $1.95 million, on which they owed $529,636 in taxes, according to a statement released by Cheney's office. Since the Cheneys paid $2.46 million in withholding and estimated taxes over the year, they were entitled to a refund of about $1.93 million. The Cheneys' income included the vice president's $205,031 government salary and $211,465 in deferred compensation from Halliburton Co., the Dallas-based energy services firm he headed until Aug. 16, 2000. The White House has said that the amount of deferred compensation from Halliburton received by Cheney is fixed and is not affected by the company's current economic performance or earnings.

To: American Spirit who wrote (3693)	4/15/2006 2:21:05 PM
From: Karen Lawrence	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 14758

Of course, Cheney continues to lie: A report by the Congressional Research Service undermines Vice President Dick Cheney's denial of a continuing relationship with Halliburton Co., the energy company he once led, Sen. Frank Lautenberg said Thursday. The report says a public official's unexercised stock options and deferred salary fall within the definition of "retained ties" to his former company. Cheney said Sunday on NBC that since becoming vice president, "I've severed all my ties with the company, gotten rid of all my financial interest. I have no financial interest in Halliburton of any kind and haven't had, now, for over three years." Democrats pointed out that Cheney receives deferred compensation from Halliburton under an arrangement he made in 1998, and also retains stock options. He has pledged to give after-tax proceeds of the stock options to charity. Cheney's aides defended the assertion on NBC, saying the financial arrangements do not constitute a tie to the company's business performance. They pointed out that Cheney took out a $15,000 insurance policy so he would collect the deferred payments over five years whether or not Halliburton remains in business. Lautenberg, D-N.J., asked the Congressional Research Service to weigh in. Without naming Cheney or Halliburton, the service reported that unexercised stock options and deferred salary "are among those benefits described by the Office of Government Ethics as 'retained ties' or 'linkages' to one's former employer." Lautenberg said the report makes clear that Cheney does still have financial ties to Halliburton. "I ask the vice president to stop dodging the issue with legalese," Lautenberg said. Cathie Martin, Cheney's spokeswoman, said the question is whether Cheney has any possible conflict of interest with Halliburton, "and the answer to that is, no." Cheney was chief executive officer of Halliburton from 1995 through August 2000. The company's KBR subsidiary is the main government contractor working to restore Iraq's oil industry in an open-ended contract that was awarded without competitive bidding. According to Cheney's 2001 financial disclosure report, the vice president's Halliburton benefits include three batches of stock options comprising 433,333 shares. He also has a 401(k) retirement account valued at between $1,001 and $15,000 dollars. His deferred compensation account was valued at between $500,000 and $1 million, and generated income of $50,000 to $100,000. In 2002, Cheney's total assets were valued at between $19.1 million and $86.4 million. Earlier this month, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit that accused Halliburton and Cheney of misleading investors by changing the way the company counted revenue from construction projects. The lawsuit was filed last year by Judicial Watch, a conservative public interest group, on behalf of three small investors, who said the company tried to polish financial results by booking revenue on cost overruns before it was certain of getting paid. Halliburton has contracts worth more than $1.7 billion for its work in Iraq, and it could make hundreds of millions more from a no-bid contract it was awarded by the Army Corps of Engineers, The Washington Post has reported. According to The Post, while Cheney was defense secretary the Pentagon chose Halliburton subsidiary Brown & Root to study the cost effectiveness of outsourcing some military operations to private contractors. Based on the results of the study, the Pentagon hired Brown & Root to implement an outsourcing plan. Cheney became Halliburton CEO in 1995. ©MMIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.