I'm shocked, shocked, to find out that steering has occured in Washington DC.
Welcome to DC. Kirk McLoren wrote: > http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/09/10/katrina.contracts.reut/index.html > > > > Firms with White House ties get Katrina contracts > > > FEMA taps Halliburton subsidiary, Shaw Group, Bechtel for cleanup > > Saturday, September 10, 2005; Posted: 1:26 p.m. EDT (17:26 GMT) > > > > > > > SPECIAL REPORT > > <http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2005/katrina/> > > > > > *WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Companies with ties to the Bush White House > and the former head of FEMA are clinching some of the administration's > first disaster relief and reconstruction contracts in the aftermath of > Hurricane Katrina.* > > At least two major corporate clients of lobbyist Joe Allbaugh, > President Bush's former campaign manager and a former head of the > Federal Emergency Management Agency, have already been tapped to start > recovery work along the battered Gulf Coast. > > One is Shaw Group Inc. and the other is Halliburton Co. subsidiary > Kellogg Brown and Root. Vice President Dick Cheney is a former head of > Halliburton. > > Bechtel National Inc., a unit of San Francisco-based Bechtel Corp., > has also been selected by FEMA to provide short-term housing for > people displaced by the hurricane. Bush named Bechtel's CEO to his > Export Council and put the former CEO of Bechtel Energy in charge of > the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. > > Experts say it has been common practice in both Republican and > Democratic administrations for policy makers to take lobbying jobs > once they leave office, and many of the same companies seeking > contracts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina have already received > billions of dollars for work in Iraq. > > Halliburton alone has earned more than $9 billion. Pentagon audits > released by Democrats in June showed $1.03 billion in "questioned" > costs and $422 million in "unsupported" costs for Halliburton's work > in Iraq. > > > Watchdog groups take notice > > But the web of Bush administration connections is attracting renewed > attention from watchdog groups in the post-Katrina reconstruction > rush. Congress has already appropriated more than $60 billion in > emergency funding as a down payment on recovery efforts projected to > cost well over $100 billion. > > "The government has got to stop stacking senior positions with people > who are repeatedly cashing in on the public trust in order to further > private commercial interests," said Danielle Brian, executive director > of the Project on Government Oversight. > > > Bush appointees at Halliburton > > Allbaugh formally registered as a lobbyist for Halliburton subsidiary > Kellogg Brown and Root in February. > > In lobbying disclosure forms filed with the Senate, Allbaugh said his > goal was to "educate the congressional and executive branch on > defense, disaster relief and homeland security issues affecting > Kellogg Brown and Root." > > Melissa Norcross, a Halliburton spokeswoman, said Allbaugh has not, > since he was hired, "consulted on any specific contracts that the > company is considering pursuing, nor has he been tasked by the company > with any lobbying responsibilities." > > Allbaugh is also a friend of Michael Brown, director of FEMA who was > removed as head of Katrina disaster relief and sent back to Washington > amid allegations he had padded his resume -- which he denies. > > A few months after Allbaugh was hired by Halliburton, the company > retained another high-level Bush appointee, Kirk Van Tine. > > Van Tine registered as a lobbyist for Halliburton six months after > resigning as deputy transportation secretary, a position he held from > December 2003 to December 2004. > > On Friday, Kellogg Brown & Root received $29.8 million in Pentagon > contracts to begin rebuilding Navy bases in Louisiana and Mississippi. > Norcross said the work was covered under a contract that the company > negotiated before Allbaugh was hired. > > > Cheney's relationship with Halliburton > > Halliburton continues to be a source of income for Cheney, who served > as its chief executive officer from 1995 until 2000 when he joined the > Republican ticket for the White House. According to tax filings > released in April, Cheney's income included $194,852 in deferred pay > from the company, which has also won billion-dollar government > contracts in Iraq. > > Cheney's office said the amount of deferred compensation is fixed and > is not affected by Halliburton's current economic performance or earnings. > > Allbaugh's other major client, Baton Rouge-based Shaw Group, has > updated its Web site to say: "Hurricane Recovery Projects -- Apply Here!" > > Shaw said on Thursday it has received a $100 million emergency FEMA > contract for housing management and construction. Shaw also clinched a > $100 million order on Friday from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. > > Shaw Group spokesman Chris Sammons said Allbaugh was providing the > company with "general consulting on business matters," and would not > say whether he played a direct role in any of the Katrina deals. "We > don't comment on specific consulting activities," he said. > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Yahoo! for Good > Watch the Hurricane Katrina Shelter From The Storm concert > <http://advision.webevents.yahoo.com/shelter> > >------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >_______________________________________________ >Biofuel mailing list >Biofuel@sustainablelists.org >http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org > >Biofuel at Journey to Forever: >http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html > >Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): >http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ > > > _______________________________________________ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
