WASHINGTON, March 29 (UPI) -- New documents accuse Houston-based Halliburton Co. of repeatedly overcharging the government under its $1.2 billion contract to restore oil services in Iraq.
The internal documents were cited in a report by the staff of U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., says The Washington Post.
The Post reported the papers referred to Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown and Root, where the problems included sliding schedules, multiplying costs and not providing accurate cost estimates which led to threats from contract overseers to terminate the deal.
Among instances cited, officials in the documents had noted that KBR tried to inflate its cost estimates by paying a supplier more than it was due. In another instance, KBR reportedly cut its cost estimates in half after it was pressed on its true expenses.
Defending the company's performance, Halliburton spokeswoman Melissa Norcross told the Post that Waxman's report used old issues that have already been resolved. She said the Waxman report did not take into account the numerous changes the government requested once work was already under way.
