In a unanimous 99-0 vote, the U.S. Senate last week passed an amendment introduced by Senator Barbara Boxer (Democrat-California) calling for a detailed report from the Bush Administration if a sole-source contract to a subsidiary of the Halliburton Company is not ended by August 31. On March 8, a sole-source contract to provide services related to the oil industry in Iraq was awarded to the Halliburton Company subsidiary Kellogg-Brown and Root.

"This contract was first explained as an emergency contract to extinguish oil fires. But little by little, the truth became known. The contract was worth at least $7 billion and was in fact not a short term contract, but a two year contract that went well beyond the issue of oil fires," said Boxer.

Vice President Dick Cheney served as the Chairman and Chief Executive Office of Halliburton Company from 1995-2000.

The amendment to the Defense Authorization Bill requires the Department of Defense to fully comply with the Competition in Contracting Act when awarding any contract for reconstruction in Iraq. In addition, if the Department of Defense does not open the current sole-source contract by the end of August, the Secretary of Defense must present a report to Congress by September 30, detailing the reasons for allowing this sole-source contract to continue. A follow-up report shall also be submitted to Congress every 60 days thereafter until a competitive contract is in place.