Halliburton connected to the Walter Reed scandal

Seems like some in the administration pushed for the privatization of some of our Veterans health care.

From "The Raw Story".

A five-year, $120 million contract awarded to a firm run by a former executive
from Halliburton – a multi-national corporation where Vice President Dick Cheney
once served as CEO – will be probed at a Subcommittee on National Security and
Foreign Affairs hearing scheduled for Monday.

The foul stench of Halliburton seems to permiate everywhere in this war.

"We have learned that in January 2006, Walter Reed awarded a five-year $120
million contract to a company called IAP Worldwide Services for base operations
support services, including facilities management," Waxman continues. "IAP is one of the companies that experienced problems delivering ice during the response to Hurricane Katrina."

Waxman notes that IAP "is led by Al Neffgen, a former senior Halliburton official who testified before our Committee in July 2004 in defense of Halliburton's exorbitant charges for fuel delivery and troop support in Iraq."

Before the contract, over 300 federal employees provided facilities management services at Walter Reed, according to the memorandum, but that number dropped to less than 60 the day before IAP took over.

"Yet instead of hiring additional personnel, IAP apparently replaced the remaining 60 federal employees with only 50 IAP personnel," Waxman writes.

Waxman adds that "the conditions that have been described are disgraceful," and that the Oversight Committee will "investigate what led to the breakdown in services."

So the mold and mice situation is attributable to a Halliburton spin off? Say it isn't so.

With Democrats now having subpoena power, this could make for interesting times at CSPAN, not that their is ever anything boring there.