Newsgroup: it.politica.internazionale
Titolo: La Halliburton minaccia sistematicamente chi la controlla

Halliburton Threatens Army Officials Who Point Out Contract Abuse
WASHINGTON, Sept. 16 (HalliburtonWatch.org) -- A former contracting
officer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) told a
congressional committee today that Halliburton regularly threatens
government officials who complain about contracting abuse.
Christy Watts, who was Chief of Contracting at USACE in Louisville,
Kentucky, said Halliburton and USACE "habitually" violate contracting
regulations and demand employees conceal it from the public. She
described a culture of fear and intimidation designed to protect
Halliburton's bottom line.
"One point I need to make very clear: in my 18 years in contracting,
I had never, with any other company except Halliburton, been treated
in such a demeaning and intimidating manner," Watts told the Senate
Democratic Policy Committee. "When pointing out to Halliburton
personnel their contractual non-compliances, I was threatened
verbally and physically intimidated for performing my job," she
said.
Watts told the committee about frightening examples of Halliburton
officials throwing temper tantrums or telephoning her home after
midnight to scream at her for awarding contracts to competitors.
In one instance, she was verbally accosted after informing the
company that it violated regulations by failing to award 20 percent
of subcontracts in Alaska to small businesses.
Watts, who worked for USACE for 12 years, is a self-described
Republican who voted both times for President George W. Bush. She
says contracting abuse and intimidation by her employer occurred
in the Clinton administration as well.
"The problems are systemic and have been occurring for decades -
through both Republican and Democrat administrations," she said.
"Please serve the interests of the American people and address this
as an issue of right and wrong - nothing more, nothing less."
Her superiors apparently have contempt for the government. She said
USACE "views contracting professionals as a drag on their ability
to do what they want." If a contracting officer speaks out against
abuse, "they can expect to be terminated," she said.
When Watts left her employment with USACE, her superiors were worried
she might go public with her allegations. So, they demanded a
settlement agreement which banned her from contacting the U.S.
Office of Special Counsel, which would be tasked with investigating
her complaints. "I have concluded that the act of preventing me
from communicating my concerns of contract abuse and unlawful
activity freely to the Special Counsel is evidence of waste, fraud,
abuse and corruption," she said.
Watts also disclosed an internal Army memorandum from her superior
who admitted that Watts could make USACE "look really bad, if all
the problems are found that I think they will find."
Another USACE whistleblower, Bunnatine H. Greenhouse, also spoke
before the committee. Greenhouse's allegations of contracting abuse
are being investigated by the Justice Department and the Pentagon's
inspector general.
Nevertheless, USACE recently demoted her after she disclosed her
complaints to Congress. "I was removed because I steadfastly resisted
and attempted to alter what can be described as casual and clubby
contracting practices by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers commanders,
and because I presented testimony before this body on June 27,
2005," she said.
Although USACE officials were invited to the committee hearing,
they declined to appear.
Halliburton's KBR subsidiary stands to gain additional contracts
to repair damage left by Hurricane Katrina. Estimates of the federal
government's reconstruction costs have been as high as $200 billion.
USACE has already utilized KBR's Navy contract, or CONCAP, to hire
the company for Katrina clean-up work. The Navy has currently
provided two task orders to KBR, one worth $12 million for cleaning
up and repairing navy installations in Pascagoula and Gulfport,
Mississippi. The other, worth $15 million, will be used by USACE
and KBR for pumping water and building temporary morgues in New
Orleans.
But some members of Congress are demanding an oversight committee
to prevent contracting abuse. Sens. Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) and
Susan Collins (R-ME), who is chairman of the Senate Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs Committee, announced a bill that would
expand the role of the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction
to include oversight of contracts awarded in response to Katrina.

2005," she said.
Affermazioni non dimostrabili.
-Stefano