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CNN Live Saturday
Senator Calls for Investigation Into Halliburton's Iraq Contract
Aired May 10, 2003 - 14:10 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: The Halliburton contract in Iraq is now raising more than just eyebrows. One U.S. senator is now calling for a formal investigation into how Vice President's Dick Cheney's former firm landed this lucrative oil deal in Iraq. CNN's Chris Plante is at the Pentagon with more on that -- Chris.
CHRIS PLANTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka. That's right. It's New Jersey Democratic Senator Frank Lautenberg, who has called on the Senate to investigate the awarding of this contract, a contract that the Pentagon had originally budgeted to be valued of up to $7 billion. It now looks like the value of the contract because of the minimal amount of damage that was caused to the oil fields may be worth a mere $600 million -- only the Pentagon could refer to something as being a mere $600 million -- but certainly significantly less than the original $7 billion.
Now, the reason this is causing a problem is essentially two- fold. The first is that the Pentagon awarded the contract, it's the Army Corps of Engineers, technically, under the Pentagon, that awarded the contract to the Halliburton corporation without first going through the competitive bidding process, which is normal procedure for situations like this one. Halliburton, of course, and this subsidiary that's getting the contract, Kellogg, Brown & Root, is busy around the world, even as we speak, carrying out Pentagon contracts. They work in Bosnia, in various areas in the Middle East, providing all kinds of services, from construction to meal services for U.S. troops on the ground. It's part of the privatization of many of the elements of the U.S. military, and trying to cut back on costs overall.
And the second problem, perhaps the more significant problem than lacking the competitive bidding process, is a significant problem, is that the company, Halliburton, the parent company of Kellogg, Brown & Root, was until Vice President Cheney came onto the political ticket with George W. Bush, was, of course, the CEO of Halliburton.
So it certainly has a bad smell about it. There's a public perception problem that they are battling, if nothing else. The Pentagon and the White House, for that matter, insist that the White House, the vice president's office, have absolutely nothing to do with this process, that it is an internal Pentagon process. All decisions were made here. The White House and the vice president's office not even informed, according to the Pentagon, during the course of this process. And they insist that there are very few, if any, other companies in the world that are capable of carrying out a task of this magnitude. It is a very large scale project, of course, repairing and upgrading oil facilities in Iraq. And they're sticking by their decision, but certainly a lot of heat, and now possibly, probably a Senate investigation into the propriety of all this -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, Chris Plante, this is far from at the end of the road. Thanks very much. Appreciate it from the Pentagon.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Contract>
Aired May 10, 2003 - 14:10 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: The Halliburton contract in Iraq is now raising more than just eyebrows. One U.S. senator is now calling for a formal investigation into how Vice President's Dick Cheney's former firm landed this lucrative oil deal in Iraq. CNN's Chris Plante is at the Pentagon with more on that -- Chris.
CHRIS PLANTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka. That's right. It's New Jersey Democratic Senator Frank Lautenberg, who has called on the Senate to investigate the awarding of this contract, a contract that the Pentagon had originally budgeted to be valued of up to $7 billion. It now looks like the value of the contract because of the minimal amount of damage that was caused to the oil fields may be worth a mere $600 million -- only the Pentagon could refer to something as being a mere $600 million -- but certainly significantly less than the original $7 billion.
Now, the reason this is causing a problem is essentially two- fold. The first is that the Pentagon awarded the contract, it's the Army Corps of Engineers, technically, under the Pentagon, that awarded the contract to the Halliburton corporation without first going through the competitive bidding process, which is normal procedure for situations like this one. Halliburton, of course, and this subsidiary that's getting the contract, Kellogg, Brown & Root, is busy around the world, even as we speak, carrying out Pentagon contracts. They work in Bosnia, in various areas in the Middle East, providing all kinds of services, from construction to meal services for U.S. troops on the ground. It's part of the privatization of many of the elements of the U.S. military, and trying to cut back on costs overall.
And the second problem, perhaps the more significant problem than lacking the competitive bidding process, is a significant problem, is that the company, Halliburton, the parent company of Kellogg, Brown & Root, was until Vice President Cheney came onto the political ticket with George W. Bush, was, of course, the CEO of Halliburton.
So it certainly has a bad smell about it. There's a public perception problem that they are battling, if nothing else. The Pentagon and the White House, for that matter, insist that the White House, the vice president's office, have absolutely nothing to do with this process, that it is an internal Pentagon process. All decisions were made here. The White House and the vice president's office not even informed, according to the Pentagon, during the course of this process. And they insist that there are very few, if any, other companies in the world that are capable of carrying out a task of this magnitude. It is a very large scale project, of course, repairing and upgrading oil facilities in Iraq. And they're sticking by their decision, but certainly a lot of heat, and now possibly, probably a Senate investigation into the propriety of all this -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, Chris Plante, this is far from at the end of the road. Thanks very much. Appreciate it from the Pentagon.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Contract>
