WASHINGTON, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- The special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction says Halliburton has been abusing a law allowing it to keep proprietary information secret.
Stuart Bowen Jr., in a report released Friday, said Halliburton subsidiary KBR, for example, listed the number of meals served at dining halls where it is the contractor as proprietary, the Houston Chronicle reported. KBR also handed over information in formats that were difficult to work with.
"In effect, KBR has turned provisions designed to protect truly proprietary information ... into a mechanism to prevent the government from releasing normally transparent information, thus potentially hindering competition and oversight," Bowen said.
Cathy Mann, a spokeswoman for Halliburton, said the company has classified most of its information as proprietary for at least a decade. She said items like the dining hall head count could be used by competitors to try to get Halliburton's contracts.
