Mark Dayton Blasts Administration

[dflprincess]

I received an email of this press release from the DFL office today. There is a locked thread about this over in LBN started by DemonFighterLives (locked because it wasn't LBN):

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=267145

Here's the press release and a link to Mark's website:

http://dayton.senate.gov/~dayton/releases/2003/12/2003C10840.html

Dayton Blasts Administration for Continuing to Put Corporations Before Taxpayers

Senator calls on Coleman to fulfill Truman legacy and hold Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations hearing on Halliburton price gouging.
December 10, 2003

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Mark Dayton today blasted the Administration for electing to have corporations profit over what is best for American taxpayers. According to a New York Times article today, the U.S. government is paying the Halliburton Company an average of $2.64 a gallon to import gasoline and other fuel to Iraq from Kuwait. This amount is more than twice what others are paying to truck in Kuwaiti fuel, government documents show. Dayton is calling on Senator Norm Coleman, Chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, to hold a hearing on the Hailliburton contract in 2004. (Dream on, Mark )

"The Halliburton deal is legalized greed at the expense of the American taxpayers. Vice President Cheney's former company was given a noncompetitive bid contract, which lets them charge almost anything for the cost of transporting fuel 50 miles from Kuwait into Iraq," said Dayton. "The Republicans certainly take great care of their friends; it is too bad they don't care about the rest of the American people. The Administration gave huge guaranteed profits to the drug companies when they passed the Medicare bill last week, and now we have learned that the huge energy companies are receiving the same benefits.

"I am calling on Senator Coleman, Chairman of the Investigations Subcommittee, a committee on which I also serve, to hold a hearing in 2004 on this price gouging. When Harry Truman, a former member of the United States Senate, was the Chairman of the same committee he used his position to investigate wartime profiteering during World War II. The same type of profiteering that appears to be going on now. "

In March, Halliburton was awarded a no-competition contract to repair Iraq's oil industry, and it has already received more than $1.4 billion in work. That award has been the focus of Congressional scrutiny in part because Vice President Dick Cheney is Halliburton's former chief executive officer. The Vice President left that position to become George W. Bush's running mate. As part of its contract, Halliburton began importing fuel in the spring, when gasoline was in short supply in large Iraqi cities.

Dayton is a cosponsor of the Sunshine in Iraq Reconstruction Contracting Act of 2003. This legislation directs the head of an executive branch agency that enters into a contract for the repair, maintenance, or construction of infrastructure in Iraq without full and open competition to publish in the Federal Register: (1) the amount of the contract and a brief description of its scope; (2) the justification for using procedures other than those that provide for full and open competition.

[suegeo]

1. Go Sen Dayton!!

KICK for the DFLPrincess and Dayton.

However, I agree with DFLP: There is no way that Norm Coleman (Tuna Sandwich-MN) is gonna do squat about this.

BTW: I wrote to Mr. Ramsted re: the Valerie Plame affair. He assures me that he is aghast about the outing and that he feels confident that Mr. Ashcroft (Karl Rove's former boss) will get to the bottom of it.

Why do I even bother writing to Ramsted (or is it Ramstad?) anymore?

CIAO!

[LTR]

2. Kick from me, too

Mark Dayton is a man of class.

[dflprincess]

5. It's Ramstad

I just love the way he gets portrayed as a moderate but, if you watch his voting, he's not a whole lot better than that Weasel Coleman. I've given up writing either one of them - unless they really provoke me.

[suegeo]

3. Another kick

Jesus H. Christ: Harry Truman chairs same committee as Norm Coleman.

This is no longer America.

[PsN2Wind]

4. Just e-mailed my senator

McCain. Asked him how many millions Halliburton and its subs would be allowed to steal before he and other "fiscal conservatives" pointed out to Cheney that it was getting a bit unseemly. Also mentioned that since it had been said that the war would require sacrifice it seemed that friends of this administration seemed to be engaged in major
profiteering. Pointed out that it would be cheaper to just give their friends a huge amount of money and quit sacrificing lives of GIs.