WASHINGTON, Dec. 6 (HalliburtonWatch.org) -- U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan announced Thursday the Senate Democratic Policy Committee (DPC) will conduct a hearing to examine the extent to which the Bush Administration is safeguarding U.S. tax dollars spent in the Iraq war effort. Dorgan said the hearing is prompted by reports from government auditors which found that questioned and unsupported costs associated with Iraq reconstruction and military support contracts exceed $10 billion. That's more than one in six tax dollars audited.

The hearing will take place Friday, December 7, at 9:30 AM in Room 608 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C.

As President Bush demands even more money for Iraq and threatens to layoff Defense Department employees if Congress does not comply, witnesses at this hearing will examine the wasteful spending practices that have become the hallmark of the war effort. Two whistleblower witnesses will give first-hand testimony about waste, fraud and abuse in Iraq. Two additional witnesses, who are former Defense Department officials, will discuss the wasteful budget systems at the department and recommend reforms to improve these systems.

Since the start of the war in Iraq, the Senate DPC has held eleven hearings to examine allegations of waste, fraud and abuse in Iraq contracting. Throughout these hearings, a common theme has become apparent: eyewitness accounts of waste, fraud and abuse in Iraq are not being taken seriously by federal contractors or the Bush Administration. This lack of accountability has been compounded by system-wide deficiencies in budgeting practices at the Department of Defense, which analysts believe result in billions of dollars in wasted taxpayer money every year.

Witnessess: Barry Godfrey, former KBR employee who witnessed and reported fraudulent activity in Iraq; Beth Hanken, an Iowa beef exporter who witnessed and reported fraudulent practices with regard to supplying meat in Iraq; Philip Coyle, Senior Advisor to the Center for Defense Information and former Assistant Secretary of Defense and Director of its Operational Test and Evaluation unit from 1994 to 2001. Larry Korb, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress and a Senior Advisor to the Center for Defense Information. From 1981 to 1985, Korb served as Assistant Secretary of Defense (Manpower, Reserve Affairs, Installations and Logistics), where he administered approximately 70 percent of the Department of Defense budget.


More Information:

Senate Democratic Policy Committee