Cracking Down On Halliburton

Alexandra Walker

March 02, 2006

Good news from the Senate. Byron Dorgan and 25 others introduced a bill Thursday to clean up the business of government contracting. It takes its inspiration from the problems with Iraq and Katrina contractors, but applies to all contracting.

According to Dorgan's office, the bill would put "tough new penalties in place for war profiteers, eliminating conflicts of interest, insisting on transparency and putting an end to cronyism in key government appointments relating to federal contracting and public safety.”

To Charlie Cray, director of the Center for Corporate Policy, who wrote Grand Theft Baghdad for TomPaine.com about Iraq's bungled contracting, the legislation is much like what he's been calling for. Cray released this response praising the Dorgan bill:

The Center for Corporate Policy applauded Senators Byron Dorgan (D-ND), Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and other Senate Democracts today for introducing the "Honest Leadership and Accountability in Contracting Act of 2006,"  which would crack down on cronyism, corruption and war profiteering associated with federal contracting.

Federal contracting is a key chapter in the ongoing saga of corruption that starts on K Street and ends up undermining democracy at home and abroad. The abuse of U.S. taxpayers’ and Iraqi oil revenues witnessed in recent years has undermined the Iraq reconstruction project and put American troops at risk.

An analysis of the bill is here:http://www.corporatepolicy.org/issues/ACA2006.htm