Corporate Interests Are Distorting U.S. Policies

News and Opinion for Democrats Against Bush -- Part II

Corporate Interests Are Distorting U.S. Policies

"WHILE BUSH ACKNOWLEDGED that many Americans had yet to reap positive benefits from Cheney’s explosive growth, he said that it was only a matter of time before the Vice President’s surging wealth trickled down to the rest of the country."

-- Humorist Andy Borowitz

apolloalliance.org

A Special Report: Bush’s Investment Plan

Profits for Halliburton: Nothing for Workers

By: Bracken Hendricks and Skye Perryman

November 6, 2003

To see the complete article, click on-- http://www.apolloalliance.org/strategy_center/halliburton_report.cfm [found through a Google search by article title on 3/27/04]

Quote, and topics covered--

Republican allegiance to corporate interests has distorted the direction of US policies both at home and abroad. But there is a better way: it is time for a new vision on energy policy and national security. It is time for an Apollo Project that reinvests in American communities, creates jobs at home, and ends our dependence on foreign oil and its corrupting political influence once and for all.

I. Summary

In a victory for civic participation and government accountability, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced today that it would cancel its contract with Halliburton Corporation for oil transportation into Iraq. This comes after several weeks of pressure by Democratic Congressmen Waxman and Dingell, who have led the charge to uncover the truth about Halliburton’s no-bid contract with the U.S. Government. Reports suggest that Halliburton has been charging the US government more than twice the actual cost of importing fuel into Iraq, a move that has cost millions in taxpayer dollars.

In a convenient coincidence, the cancellation of Halliburton’s contract comes just two days after House Republicans stripped the Iraq supplemental bill of an anti-profiteering provision which would have held companies holding contracts with the U.S. government criminally accountable for price gouging. Once again, the Republicans have failed to hold businesses accountable.

II. What exactly is Halliburton doing? Here’s the scoop: ....

III. The Need for a Congressional Investigation ...

IV. A Better Way: A New Energy and Jobs Strategy ...

http://www.apolloalliance.org/strategy_center/halliburton_report.cfm

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NEWSWEEK WEB EXCLUSIVE

The Borowitz Report [satire]

Cheney Inc. Expanding Faster Than the Economy

The Vice President created 20,000 jobs for Halliburton in the last quarter

Andy Borowitz

The complete article is currently (3/27/04) available on the MSN.com website at-- http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3475000/

Nov. 11 — The White House had yet another piece of good economic news to trumpet today, announcing that Vice President Dick Cheney had expanded even faster than the U.S. economy in the quarter just ended. “Our economic policy, including our program of tax cuts for the highest-income brackets, has resulted in the most dramatic expansion of a Vice President in U.S. history,” President George W. Bush said.

WHILE BUSH ACKNOWLEDGED that many Americans had yet to reap positive benefits from Cheney’s explosive growth, he said that it was only a matter of time before the Vice President’s surging wealth trickled down to the rest of the country.

According to figures released by the White House, Cheney expanded at a torrid 11.2 percent rate in the last quarter, creating over 20,000 new jobs, most of them for Halliburton. ...

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