Frank Lautenberg: “I offer this amendment to correct the situation that came about as a result of Vice President Cheney's statement on…”

“I offer this amendment to correct the situation that came about as a result of Vice President Cheney's statement on ``Meet the Press'' a couple of weeks ago. First, Halliburton absolutely had a no-bid contract with the Army Corps for oil-related services in Iraq, and it has billed American taxpayers $1.4 billion so far. No other company was given the opportunity to bid. That contract occasioned a unanimous vote, led by the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, that we would not allow that kind of contract to appear again. It is stated on the record by Senator Warner from Virginia. Halliburton has other contracts that were bid, but the massive oil services contract was not. Second, I appreciated the reading of the Vice President's comments on ``Meet the Press'' because even CRS agreed that deferred compensation and stock options held by the Vice President are, in fact, financial interests in Halliburton. Third, the other member of the President's Cabinet who came into service after serving as CEO, John Snow, took his deferred compensation in a lump sum and got rid of his stock options immediately.”