Reply #2: Yes but look what the House and Senate have done.

[underpants]

"What we're seeing is waste and gold-plating that's enriching Halliburton and Bechtel while costing taxpayers billions of dollars and actually holding back the pace of reconstruction in Iraq," said Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.), a leading critic of the administration's handling of Iraq. "We need greater transparency."


Driven by those concerns, the Senate last week added provisions to its version of the president's request that would increase penalties for war profiteering and demand a more open and competitive bidding system.


House Appropriations Committee Chairman C.W. Bill Young (R-Fla.) included a provision to limit noncompetitive bidding in the House version of the war-spending bill.