Firms linked with Bush get Katrina clean-up work

[struggle4progress]

By Katherine Griffiths in New York
Published: 17 September 2005

<snip> There are concerns that some of the early contracts have followed the pattern of reconstruction work in Iraq, where little or no competition has taken place. The situation has prompted senators including Hillary Clinton to call for an independent watchdog to be set up to oversee contract awards. <snip>

Halliburton, which used to be chaired by the vice-president, Dick Cheney, is doing much of the US government's work in Iraq. Its subsidiary, Kellogg Brown & Root, has been awarded a multimillion-dollar contract to rebuild naval bases in Louisiana and Mississippi.

Bechtel, which has won major deals in Iraq, has also been awarded work in the area devastated by Hurricane Katrina, including providing short-term housing.

The Louisiana-based engineering company, Shaw, has also been given a large mandate to rebuild its local area. All three companies have close links to the Bush administration and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema), the national body charged with handling the crisis, the total cost of which cost could reach $200bn (£110bn). <snip>

http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/article313271.ece

[Just Me]

1. It's not merely rampant cronyism, it's exploitation of human tragedy.

It makes me sick!!! :puke:

[asjr]

2. And watch the money disappear.

[emulatorloo]

3. kicking, because I am so surprised

:sarcasm:

[struggle4progress]

5. Yeah ... who'd a-thunk it? eom

[...of J.Temperance]

4. Shaw's CEO is Jim Bernhard, Chair of the Louisiana Democratic Party

He's tight with Governor Blanco.

I don't mind Halliburton and Bechtel getting contracts to clean up the oil stuff and the levee stuff. Please don't beat up on me for that comment.

What I DON'T want happening, that's the ACTUAL rebuilding projects being given to Bush cronies. The rebuilding projects within Orleans Parish NEED to be done by local Louisiana companies and local Louisiana architects and local Louisiana workers...NO outside workers and NO Bush cronies.

I'm hoping that Baton Rouge has a good plan regarding this.

[blossomstar]

6. Here chimpy goes again, says one thing, does another

just hearing the name Halliburton makes me want to throw up. I have literally had it with all of the corporate rip offs this country has suffered under this administration. Enron is right behind them... wish there was some way these criminals could be brought to justice. Seems to me like every disaster just makes them richer and more powerful. I wonder how many employees of Enron that lost their total life savings and retirements voted for chimpy?

[buzzsaw_23]

7. Joe Allbaugh

has a lot of fingers in a lot of pies.

He's a crook.

[ShockediSay]

8. The name of the game

Break the bank of the public treasury; slide the bulk of the money in the direction of the fat rat porkers' pockets with a few crumbs of trickle down so insignificant as to be meaningless; break entitlements and push that whole market in the direction of private insurance companies and Wall Street for those who can afford them. Those living from paycheck to paycheck sooner or later end up on desolation row, and might as well sign up for the military.

Reagan did the same thing.

[VPStoltz]

9. I heard some bushie talking about accounting for the every penny.

I could have jumped into the screen and strangled the fuck. He's bean counting regarding the NOLA reconstruction and there is up to $10 billion missing from the Iraq reconstruction. I read somewhere that fully 25% of military spending is completely unaccounted for. These pukes are beyond disgusting.