Bush (Press Conf, MSNBC) says we suspect there was overcharge (Iraq)

[pinto]

and we expect the money to be repaid.

[roguevalley]

1. Uncle Dick will send him to the woodshed for this. :)

[tameszu]

6. An Undisclosed Woodshed

Of course.

[UpInArms]

2. well, you know the three great lies

and the first is "the check is in the mail"

[haele]

3. After, of course...

They get about a year's worth of interest off of it. As well as charging for contract-renegotiation on top of it.

After all, that's the way to do business, right? Easier to apologise after the fact than to contract for actual pricing and desired profit margins above and beyond that set by the government - especially if you're a favored FOBFEE company that knows all you'd get is a slap on the wrist, instead of massive fines and loss of contracts like the rest of us merely mortal non-politically affiliated companies that do business with the government.

Haele

[soothsayer]

4. they don't need to repay it

we'll just deduct these paltry millions from the $15 BILLION we're going to pay them overall

no biggie


.....CROOKS! THIEVES!!! CRETINS!!!!!!

[Faygo Kid]

5. Yeah, right, and Ken Lay will go to jail

What garbage. What utter garbage. None of this will be repaid, and the practice will continue, only with better safeguards against disclosure.

[UTUSN]

7. Was This AFTER Darth Rums Said There Was NO Overpayment

that there was a DISAGREEMENT between DoD and Halli over what was the price? Do Shrub's flying monkeys talk to one another at all?

[pinto]

16. Yep, the two dissimilar statements were made a couple of hours apart...

Makes you wonder. Crossed my mind that someone may be setting Rummy up to get left out in the cold....

[MrBenchley]

8. What was the first clue, I wonder....

[radfringe]

9. DUCK! It's going to be white-washed

run through the spin machine and then blamed on Clinton

10. suspect?

suspect?

suspect?

suspect?

SUSPECT?!?!?!?!?

I'm speechless

[imax2268]

11. This money will not be repaid...

this whole issue will be swept under the rug just like everything else that this administration has done wrong...

[underpants]

12. One of two things will ACTUALLY happen here

The US Govt. will say they deduct it from the payments to follow until the money has been recouped. Whether or not it ever is is not going to be known and this story goes way away.

OR

A tax cut for Halliburton is slipped into the next appropriations bill...hold it that would be like double paying them for overcharging.....hold it what? (Cue Lester) Today Michael Jackson's defense attorneys....

[DoYouEverWonder]

13. and Halliburton will continue to get those lucrative contracts.

Notice no mention of any sort of punishment for Halliburton deliberately ripping off the government,ie. our tax dollars.

Remember when the repugs use to rant and rave about the welfare moms ripping off the government. That's nothing compared to what Halliburton and Co are doing.

[joeunderdog]

25. The Repukes removed budget language to sanction abusers.

Bush threatened those who did not go along and he got the vote. (Way to protect the taxpayers money.)

Why would ANYONE wonder why there might be abuse? It's like telling bank robbers that the worst thing that could happen if they get caught is that they'd have to give the money back.

It's an INVITE to steal.

[Cocoa]

14. just repaid?

a company gets a lucrative no-bid contract from the taxpayers, then steals millions from them, and all they have to do is repay it?

What about firing the person that made the decision to hire this corrupt company?

What about investigations in to possible corruption involved in the decision-making process, ending with Cheney in jail?

[demgrrrll]

15. Damn good point Cocoa. Surely there was something ILLEGAL about

what they did. Words fail me.

[htuttle]

17. Q: Do they let bank robbers go free if they return the money?

A: Only if they steal the money with a pen, instead of a gun.

[phillybri]

18. Excellent call...

I'm gonna steal $61 million tax dollars and see what happens.

My guess is I'll end up in a very small cell getting cornholed by a way-too-friendly cellmate...

:dem:

[trapper914]

19. It's not as if...

...this were a simple oversight. The Halliburton contract is a "cost-plus" contract. As it was explained to me, Halliburton is reimbursed for expenses over and beyond 100 percent (an extra 5% if memory serves). If my math is correct, not only did the U.S. taxpayers get bilked out of $60 million, but we get to pay an extra $3 mil to Halliburton due to the cost-plus nature of the contract.

[jbfam4]

20. this administration thinks it is above the law

or the law doesn't apply to them. The rule of law we heard so much about during the Clinton impeachment doesn't apply to this group.

Where's all the talk now about the rule of law? Haven't heard one GOP'er mention this.....have you?

[enough]

21. Is this the oil overcharge or the mess-halls overcharge?

Got a link?

[pinto]

22. no link, live show on MSNBS this AM. Question mentioned

Haliburton contracts, didn't specify which ones. B*sh wasn't specific in his response other than Admin thinks there are overcharges and expect them to be repaid.

Interestingly, Rummy said he knows nothing of any "overpayments" (his word) only two hours earlier...says it's just a disagreement between contractors and the DOD...

[tlcandie]

27. It's the stuffing for the rubber turkey....nt

[teryang]

23. He's right on top of things isn't he?

They are about 15 billion into our pockets and our grandchildrens pockets at this point. He says they ought to pay it back IF they overcharged!!!!!!!!! They ought to be barred from all government contracts. I believe that is the appropriate sanction.

I'm so glad dip shit is looking after the taxpayers interests so zealously! :puke:

[tabasco]

24. Did Bush say he'd get the overchargers dead or alive?

Sounds like he's right on the case, as usual.

[Skittles]

26. did he call them evildoers ?

he's such an asshole

[Ramsey]

28. Link?

Is there any link on this yet??

[Dr Fate]

29. Prosecution makes more sense than just making them pay it back...

...is that what Bush does with criminals- just makes them "give it back" when they rip off us tax payers???

Note: The media would call me a "Bush-hater" for saying this.

[truthisfreedom]

30. it's all about bush. there is no justice, no systematic examination of

anything. it's just all about bush. bush pushes the go button, bush pushes the stop button. all democratic action has been brought to a halt. all transparent investigation has been brought to a halt. it's all about bush and his power to push his buttons. and his sneer as he does it. or doesn't, most of the time.

we Americans relinquished all of democracy to one white-knuckled cokehead frat boy, driven by the intuitions of a homicidal wife. if we win this game of world twister, all we get is the reward of a few more shots of jaegermeister. and when we wake up in the morning? in the world of bushco, there is no morning. only mourning.