Jul 12, 2006 12:11 pm US/Central
Halliburton KBR Contracts Back Up For Rebid
WASHINGTON (AP) ―
The Army will rebid the multibillion contract under which a Halliburton Co. subsidiary has been providing logistical services to troops around the world, Army officials said Wednesday, after long-standing complaints over how the deal has worked in Iraq.
Halliburton subsidiary KBR, also known as Kellogg Brown & Root, provides food, water shelter, laundry service and other logistical support for troops around the globe under a 2001 contract that has been extended several times.
Halliburton was once led by Vice President Dick Cheney, and Bush administration officials have been come under fire since the beginning of the war in Iraq for awarding more than $10 billion to the company and its subsidiaries in 2003 and 2004, some of it in no-bid contracts. There have been allegations of fraud and abuse, which the company has denied.
KBR said in a statement Wednesday that it's achievements in Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan have been "nothing short of amazing," in that it has prepared nearly 375 million meals, washed more that 18.5 million bundles of laundry and so on for troops in America's two ongoing wars.
Shares of Halliburton Co. stock fell in early activity on the New York Stock Exchange on the news.
"It has taken them far too long," Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., said of the Army decision. "I believe literally hundreds of millions and probably billions of dollars have been wasted - it's almost an unbelievable amount of waste and abuse and likely fraud."
(© 2006 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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