KBR Corruption, As In "More of"

Here we go again.

The Washington Post is reporting that Dick Cheney's Halliburton subsidiary, Kellogg Brown Root, is in trouble again, this time for skimping on materials and workmanship when they were awarded a contract to make repairs at a Navy base after a hurricane.

La plus ca change, etc.

Efforts by defense contractor KBR to repair hurricane-damaged Navy facilities were deemed shoddy and substandard, and one technical adviser alleged that the federal government "certainly paid twice" for many KBR projects because of "design and workmanship deficiencies," the Pentagon's inspector general reported in an audit released yesterday.

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After Hurricane Ivan struck the Gulf Coast that September, and Hurricane Katrina a year later, KBR was given a number of tasks. They included removing water-damaged carpet and drywall; applying temporary roofing; removing debris; and building trailer parks for displaced families at naval air stations in Pensacola, Fla., and Gulfport, Miss., the Stennis Space Center in southern Mississippi and other facilities in the region.

The inspector general reported that its audit of KBR's work found:

· The Navy entered into an illegal "cost-plus-percentage-of-cost" contract with the company. Higher costs meant more profit for KBR, which rewarded the company for "inefficiency and non-economical performance," the report said.

· KBR paid $4.1 million for services and meals that should have cost $1.7 million, and it awarded sole-source or limited-competition subcontracts that overpaid hourly rates to roofers.

· The company was paid nearly all contract amounts despite "marginal-to-average performance."

The inspector general recommended that the Navy try to recoup about $8.4 million in "excessive" equipment lease payments and material profits, and another $1.4 million for more than 110,000 meals that were paid for and thrown away over a 34-day period.

After Charles Smith's experience, I suppose I can expect to read in a few weeks that this inspector general has been transferred to Guam as Latrine Inspector.

The disgusting part of this is that it's standard Halliburton/KBR. It's hard to think of a single govt contract they've won where the exact same charges weren't made. KBR cuts unacceptable corners because it can - it's protected by our thoroughly corrupt Vice President. The contracts - lucrative, no-bid, no accountability - just keep piling up and KBR keeps turning in indifferent or downright pathetically shoddy work because it saves them $$$ and they know there will still be another contract because Cheney will see to it.

An arrogant, corrupt piece o' work, Li'l Dick.

Comments

[Hanns Kovacs]

Here we go again.

Back to the Middle East, this time in Ras Laffan , Qatar.
Where KBR were awarded the Management contract on the SHELL GTL Project.
The Project is managed area by area, and there are 10 “C” areas in Total.
Under area “C7”, piping installation works are carried out by a company called “Nassar”
Due to mistakes by the KBR Project Management Team, a lot of remedial works took place in Area “C7”.. In order to repay “Nassar” KBR decided to award them a new scope of work in the “C1” area. But this scope of work had already been awarded to a Contractor by the name of “Strabag”.
Without “Strabag`s” consent , “Nassar” carried out the works to completion.
KBR now face a serious contractual problem and another mess to clean up.