WASHINGTON – Governmental Affairs Committee Ranking Member Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., Wednesday issued the following statement in reaction to news that Pentagon auditors have asked the Department of Defense Inspector General to investigate Halliburton Corp.’s overcharges to the American taxpayer for importing fuel into Iraq. Lieberman and other lawmakers made the same request of the DOD IG on November 25, 2003.
“Something funny is going on, and we need to get to the bottom of it. On the one hand, the Army Corps of Engineers is now claiming that Halliburton paid reasonable prices for imported Kuwait fuel, even though the Kuwaiti fuel cost twice as much as fuel from Turkey. On the other hand, Pentagon auditors, in a preliminary audit, found Halliburton overcharged the American taxpayer by $61 million, and that number only accounts for a small portion of the fuel imported into Kuwait. “Why didn’t the Army Corps and Halliburton reject the high prices charged by Kuwait? Was political pressure involved, as has been reported? Are the Army Corps and Halliburton working together to keep the truth from coming out? We need answers and we need them before taxpayers lose another dime.” The link to the November letter to DOD IG below: