Pinto
Nov 6, 2003, 01:03 AM
link (http://www.thehill.com/news/110503/profiteering.aspx)
More of the same. The Whitehouse is rotten to the core, and to think almost half of you people voted for these pirates.
_A decision by the House Republicans to strip the Iraq supplemental bill of an anti-profiteering provision has outraged the Democrats.
Some Democrats have accused the White House of pulling the strings on the effort to nix the language.
“The White House and House GOP leadership didn’t want [the provision] in there,” charged Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), an author of the language.
The provision — included during the Senate Appropriations Committee markup with unanimous support but removed in conference — would have subjected those who deliberately defrauded the United States or Iraq to jail terms of up to 20 years and costly fines.
A Senate Democratic aide said, “Several House Republican conferees were clearly empathetic, but they had to look to a higher authority. That higher authority was the White House, which had sent the marching order to strip this from the bill.”
Another Democratic aide said that “the White House got to House Republicans.” The aide pointed to Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner’s (R-Wis.) support for the provision — the lawmaker chairs the authorizing committee but was not a member of the conference — and the unwillingness of House Republicans to compromise on the language as evidence that the top White House staff may have given the marching orders.
At a Democratic Policy Committee hearing, Melanie Sloan, executive director of the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, testified that “Halliburton [formerly headed by Vice President Dick Cheney] has charged an average price of $2.65 a gallon of gasoline imported into Iraq from Kuwait, despite experts’ conclusions that the total price should be less than $1 a gallon.”
Sloan added that Iraq’s state oil company is importing “the exact same gas” for 97 cents. She concluded that between $286 million and $339 million of the $900 million the administration has requested for the importation of petroleum products could be wasted “if Halliburton’s pricing practices are not stopped.”
Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), who chaired the hearing, said, “Is there anything more ironic than getting ripped off on the price of oil imports in Iraq, of all places?”
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said at the hearing that following passage of the Iraq supplemental bill there would be a “festive atmosphere on K Street.”
Durbin said the Iraq spending bill opens the door for “fat and sloppy good-old-boy contracts.” The lawmaker said that those seeking greater transparency were unable to examine many contracts because they are classified. Asserting that this has nothing to do with security, Durbin added, “This administration classifies anything that might be embarrassing.”
_Other attempts by Congress to require more accountability for spending the money, especially the reconstruction funds, were for the most part watered down or removed.
White House staff did not respond to a request for comment.
America gets the Government it deserves.
More of the same. The Whitehouse is rotten to the core, and to think almost half of you people voted for these pirates.
_A decision by the House Republicans to strip the Iraq supplemental bill of an anti-profiteering provision has outraged the Democrats.
Some Democrats have accused the White House of pulling the strings on the effort to nix the language.
“The White House and House GOP leadership didn’t want [the provision] in there,” charged Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), an author of the language.
The provision — included during the Senate Appropriations Committee markup with unanimous support but removed in conference — would have subjected those who deliberately defrauded the United States or Iraq to jail terms of up to 20 years and costly fines.
A Senate Democratic aide said, “Several House Republican conferees were clearly empathetic, but they had to look to a higher authority. That higher authority was the White House, which had sent the marching order to strip this from the bill.”
Another Democratic aide said that “the White House got to House Republicans.” The aide pointed to Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner’s (R-Wis.) support for the provision — the lawmaker chairs the authorizing committee but was not a member of the conference — and the unwillingness of House Republicans to compromise on the language as evidence that the top White House staff may have given the marching orders.
At a Democratic Policy Committee hearing, Melanie Sloan, executive director of the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, testified that “Halliburton [formerly headed by Vice President Dick Cheney] has charged an average price of $2.65 a gallon of gasoline imported into Iraq from Kuwait, despite experts’ conclusions that the total price should be less than $1 a gallon.”
Sloan added that Iraq’s state oil company is importing “the exact same gas” for 97 cents. She concluded that between $286 million and $339 million of the $900 million the administration has requested for the importation of petroleum products could be wasted “if Halliburton’s pricing practices are not stopped.”
Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), who chaired the hearing, said, “Is there anything more ironic than getting ripped off on the price of oil imports in Iraq, of all places?”
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said at the hearing that following passage of the Iraq supplemental bill there would be a “festive atmosphere on K Street.”
Durbin said the Iraq spending bill opens the door for “fat and sloppy good-old-boy contracts.” The lawmaker said that those seeking greater transparency were unable to examine many contracts because they are classified. Asserting that this has nothing to do with security, Durbin added, “This administration classifies anything that might be embarrassing.”
_Other attempts by Congress to require more accountability for spending the money, especially the reconstruction funds, were for the most part watered down or removed.
White House staff did not respond to a request for comment.
America gets the Government it deserves.
