New Report: Cheney's current Halliburton Ties

posted by ewing2001 on Friday September 26, @10:54AM

Cheney may still have Halliburton ties

Congressional report finds Vice President still has financial interest in his old company

CNN -September 25, 2003

WASHINGTON (CNN) - A congressional report concludes that, under federal ethics standards, Vice President Dick Cheney still has a financial interest in Halliburton, the energy services company he used to run.

The report, by the Congressional Research Service, came at the request of Sen. Frank Lautenberg, a New Jersey Democrat and former player in the corporate world who has pushed Cheney on the issue.

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The report says that the deferred compensation that Cheney receives from Halliburton as well as the more than 433,000 stock options he possesses "is considered among the 'ties' retained in or 'linkages to former employers' that may 'represent a continuing financial interest' in those employers which makes them potential conflicts of interest."

"As this C.R.S. report shows," Lautenberg said, "The ethics standards for financial disclosure is clear. Vice President Cheney has a financial interest in Halliburton."

On Sept. 14, Cheney said on the NBC News program "Meet the Press" that "Since I left Halliburton to become George Bush's vice president, I've severed all my ties with the company, gotten rid of all my financial interest. I have no financial interest in Halliburton of any kind and haven't had, now, for over three years."

The Iraq Reconstruction Bonanza

NY Times -October 1

“Vice President Dick Cheney has insisted that he severed his financial ties to Halliburton, his former employer and holder of an exclusive contract in Iraq. Just two weeks ago, he said on television that he has "no financial interest" in Halliburton.

But a recent report by the Congressional Research Service suggests that this is true only if you don't count the stock options Mr. Cheney continues to hold and $367,690 in deferred compensation he has reported receiving so far while vice president — on top of the $20 million severance package awarded in 2000.

Mr. Cheney's aides argue that he does not participate in the awarding of contracts, that he has insurance guaranteeing his deferred salary if things go badly for Halliburton and that he will give his after-tax proceeds from the sale of options to charity.

But Mr. Cheney has not disclosed the full options agreement. His aides also note that he has complied with existing ethics rules. Unfortunately, that still leaves the unsavory image of the vice president cashing checks from a former employer while it profits from a huge no-bid contract.

On Tuesday, The Times reported that President Bush's former campaign manager and other businessmen with close ties to the White House have formed a business designed to use their connections to help other companies share the postwar bounty.

Senator Frank Lautenberg and other Democrats are right to call for hearings on Halliburton's contract. But Congress should look beyond that deal and work out fair and clear rules for awarding future contracts with public disclosure.

Unless Congress puts an end to this kind of profiteering, American taxpayers are almost certain to be saddled with much higher long-term reconstruction costs.“

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