Vice President Dick Cheney's favorite ex-employer is getting another handout from his current one. According to a report on HalliburtonWatch.org (as well as a Los Angeles Times article), the U.S. Navy has awarded the folks at Halliburton yet another huge contract, totaling some $33 million, for "clean up work at naval air stations damaged by Hurricane Katrina."

This is above and beyond the $12 million awarded to Halliburton on August 29, as Katrina made landfall. The two awards require the company to repair structures and remove debris at naval air stations in Pascagoula and Gulfport, Mississippi, as well as in Louisiana. Another $15 million from the Navy is for supporting the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in pumping water restoring utilities and constructing temporary morgues in New Orleans.

Last night's announcement brings the current value of Halliburton's Katrina contracts to $61.3 million, a number likely to keep on growing as new task orders are issued. Critics are concerned that Halliburton's Iraq performance, called "poor" by the U.S. State Department, will be exported to areas affected by Katrina. According to Pentagon reports, the company failed to account for 43 percent of its Middle East expenses, with $1 billion of those being considered "unreasonable" and another nearly half-billion in the "unsupported" cagtegory, according to Defense Department auditors.

Demands from some Congress members, including even some Republicans, that Halliburton be suspended from all new contracts, have fallen on deaf ears in the Bush camp. Their only response has been an agreement to re-open some of the Katrina contracts, to allow more local and small businesses to get involved. However, this will not include the original Navy contract with Halliburton. - ST

staff reports - Free-Market News Network