In a letter to the director of the Office of Management and Budget dated October 15,2003, Congressmen Henry A. Waxman and John D. Dingell repeated their call for an explanation of an unexpected cost increase of $2.1 Billion dollars for oil reconstruction funds.
The letter reveals that according to the evidence that the congressmen have that Halliburton has overcharged so much for the gasoline needs of Iraq that one expert privately called it 'Highway Robbery".
The letter quotes figures that allege that Halliburton is charging $1.62 to $1.70 per gallon of gasoline that is in turn sold in Iraq at a price of between 4 to 15 cents per gallon. The letter charges that the American taxpayer in effect is subsidizing Iraq's gasoline by about 90%. According to their figures Halliburton has imported about 192 million gallons and the taxpayer loses $1.50 per gallon sold at the subsidized price.
One expert is cited as saying that a normal transportation costs should be only be about 15 to 25 cents per gallon while another expert estimated the cost as low as 10 cents per gallon. The 'understanding' of the congressmen is that Halliburton doesn't even deliver the gasoline to Iraq's service stations and consumers, rather it is the Iraqi Oil Ministry that is charged with final distribution.
The letter further notes that during the relevant period price of gasoline in the mideast region was only about 71 cents per gallon.
The letter concludes with a statement that the underlying problem is a complete lack of transparency and further complains that the Office of Management an Budget has repeatedly failed to respond to the congressmen's request for a justification for the additional $2.1 billion dollar infrastructure and production contracts.
