Reuters Finds Another Bush Scandal

Could this be the first scandal of the Hurricane Katrina Saga? Reuters seems to think so.

Firms With Bush Ties Snag Katrina Deals

Companies with ties to the Bush White House and the former head of FEMA are clinching some of the administration's first disaster relief and reconstruction contracts in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

One is Shaw Group Inc. and the other is Halliburton Co. subsidiary Kellogg Brown and Root. Vice President Dick Cheney is a former head of Halliburton.

Shocker! A construction and engineering company getting construction contracts! Call out the special council. Next thing you know, Boeing will be getting government aircraft contracts!

Experts say it has been common practice in both Republican and Democratic administrations for policy makers to take lobbying jobs once they leave office, and many of the same companies seeking contracts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina have already received billions of dollars for work in Iraq.

Let’s connect the dots. Since Bush orchestrated the Iraq War so as to help Dick Cheney make money off of his Halliburton stock, he must have set up the hurricane to do the same. It could not be clearer. Bush saw the hurricane coming and determined to help out his rich buddies on the backs of the poor in New Orleans.

The article goes on, but the gist seems to be that Reuters finds it scandalous that some former Bush administration officials are now lobbyists for various companies that have received some hurricane recovery contracts. In addition, there is this…

Halliburton continues to be a source of income for Cheney, who served as its chief executive officer from 1995 until 2000 when he joined the Republican ticket for the White House. According to tax filings released in April, Cheney's income included $194,852 in deferred pay from the company, which has also won billion-dollar government contracts in Iraq.

Cheney's office said the amount of deferred compensation is fixed and is not affected by Halliburton's current economic performance or earnings.

Dots connected. In sum, Hurricane Katrina was Cheney’s fault. You heard it here first. You would think that Bush and Cheney invented lobbying from reading this article. Perhaps we should make our elected officials declare a vow of poverty.

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