Letter to Senators Susan Collins and Joseph Lieberman

October 29, 2004

The Honorable Susan M. Collins
Chair
The Honorable Joseph I. Lieberman
Ranking Member
Senate Governmental Affairs Committee
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Madam Chairman and Senator Lieberman:

I am writing to urge the Government Affairs Committee to hold hearings on recent revelations that the Department of Army has continuously awarded lucrative no-bid contracts to the Halliburton Company over objections raised by the chief contracting officer of the Army Corps of Engineers, Bunnatine Greenhouse.

It is a disgrace that the Army not only chose to ignore federal contracting rules, but also threatened to retaliate against Ms. Greenhouse for doing her job of protecting taxpayers against waste, fraud and abuse.

According to news reports, Ms. Greenhouse first raised concerns about contracting irregularities in March 2003. Since that time, Halliburton has continued to benefit from sole source contracts awarded by the Army despite evidence that Halliburton has overcharged the government to the tune of tens of millions of dollars.

The most recent incident involves the extension of a Halliburton contract to provide logistical services in the Balkans. This contract was awarded competitively to Halliburton in 1999 and expired this May. Although the Army knew full well that the contract was expiring, it chose not to open it up for competitive bid. Instead, over the objections of Ms. Greenhouse, the Army extended Halliburton's current contract while expanding the scope to the rest of Europe.

I urge the Government Affairs Committee to hold hearings on this important matter. We need to hear from Ms. Greenhouse on contracting abuses and ensure that changes are made so that taxpayer money is spent wisely.

Sincerely,

Barbara Boxer
United States Senator