SAINT PAUL [9/25/08] - United States Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) issued the following statement today regarding Senator Norm Coleman’s record as Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.

“I served as a member of Norm Coleman’s subcommittee while he was chairman. I was eager to get to the bottom of the serious allegations against Halliburton and other contractors – potentially the biggest wartime rip-off in our country’s history.

But Norm Coleman and the Republican leadership of the committee simply refused to to investigate. Even after multiple requests from me and my colleagues to get the committee to do its job and get to the bottom of it – they refused.

As an Army veteran, the committee’s failures were infuriating, especially because it was undermining the well-being of our troops in Iraq.

By turning a blind eye to Halliburton’s transgressions in Iraq, Norm Coleman refused to protect billions in taxpayer dollars. And the reason he refused is tragic: merely to protect Vice President Cheney from embarrassment.

The people of Minnesota deserve a leader in the Senate who will stand up for what’s right – not just for what party leaders want you to do. I know Al Franken will stand up for everyday people in the U.S. Senate.

Al Franken cares as deeply about this issue as I do. We both know that when taxpayers’ money is wasted – in this case billions of dollars – we need to take action.

While Norm Coleman sat on the sidelines, Halliburton and the Bush Administration committed a series of outrageous transgressions:

• The Bush-Cheney Administration gave Halliburton a no-bid contract to run Iraq’s oil fields. Halliburton eventually charged taxpayers two-point-four (2.4) billion dollars under that sweetheart deal. No hearing or investigation.
• Halliburton bills the taxpayers one-point-four billion dollars in what the Defense Department’s auditors deemed to be questionable charges. No hearing or investigation.
• There were credible allegations that Halliburton charged taxpayers for meals it never served the troops. No hearing or investigation.
• Halliburton burned new trucks on the side of the road because they didn’t have the right wrench to change a tire. No hearing or investigation.
• The Army Corps of Engineer’s top contracting official is demoted after blowing the whistle on improper Halliburton contracts. No hearing or investigation.

The list goes on and on.

Even after I wrote nine letters to the committee leadership, no action was taken – not by Committee Chairman Susan Collins nor Subcommittee Chairman Norm Coleman.

When it was time to choose between protecting taxpayer dollars and our troops or protecting Dick Cheney from embarrassment, Norm Coleman chose Dick Cheney.”

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 25th, 2008 at 11:35 and is filed under Press Releases. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.