[JURIST] US Army Corps of Engineers' top contracting official Bunnatine Greenhouse testified [opening statement PDF] Monday at a hearing [PDF] before the Senate Democratic Policy Committee [official website] that after "exhausting all internal avenues" she had to "disclose to appropriate members of Congress serious and ongoing contract abuse" by Halliburton [official website] subsidiary Kellogg Brown and Root (KBR) [official website]. Greenhouse cited government favoritism for KBR and overcharging for goods and services. Greenhouse's statement came as the minority staff of the House Government Reform Commitee and the staff of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee released a report [PDF] detailing results of an investigation by the Defense Contract Audit Agency [official website]. According to the report, Halliburton's total "questioned" and "unsupported" costs exceed $1.4 billion. Halliburton strongly rejected the accusations voiced at the hearing, and the Pentagon and the Corps have denied any special treatment for KBR. Reuters has more.
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