WASHINGTON, March 2 (UPI) -- U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., has subpoenaed a fired Army officer to testify on whether management of Walter Reed Army Medical Center was outsourced.
The Pentagon is trying to block testimony by former Walter Reed chief, Maj. Gen. George W. Weightman, before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which Waxman chairs.
Waxman wants to ask Weightman about a contract to manage the medical center, awarded to a company with a history of failing to deliver ice to victims of Hurricane Katrina, ABC News reported.
In a letter to Weightman, posted on the committee's Web site, Waxman said contract may have affected the quality of care by pushing dozens of healthcare workers to leave their jobs at Walter Reed.
Waxman charged that the Army used an unusual process to award a contract to manage the facility to a company owned by a former executive of Halliburton -- a company formerly headed by Vice President Dick Cheney. Halliburton has been involved in numerous scandals in providing services in Iraq, ABC said.
Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey resigned Friday and President George W. Bush said he would appoint a commission to look into conditions at Walter Reed.
