ABOUT HALLIBURTON

Government disclosure reports show Halliburton has reduced its lobbying expenses in Washington by 50 percent since Dick Cheney became vice president (see documents below). During the last two years of the Clinton administration, Halliburton spent $1.2 million lobbying Congress and the Executive Branch. But during the first two years of the Bush administration, Halliburton spent only $600,000.

Considering that Halliburton's government contracts increased four times in value after Cheney moved to Washington, the reduction in lobbying expenses seems logical. James Thurber, an American University professor who studies lobbying, told the Boston Globe, "They're already in," referring to Halliburton's influence at the White House. "[T]hey don't need to lobby any more," he said.

Halliburton's lobbying expenses are disclosed in documents submitted under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, which requires Congressional and executive branch lobbyists to disclose their lobbying activities twice per year.

Despite the drop in lobbying expenses, Halliburton still maintains a lobbying staff in Washington. The company hired a new chief lobbyist in 2001, the year Cheney became vice president of the United States. His name is Charles Domini, a retired three-star general who was first hired by Cheney in 1995 to work as vice president of business development for Kellogg Brown & Root.

Domini has played both sides of the revolving door between Halliburton and the military. He was a general with the Army in 1992 when it first awarded Halliburton its most lucrative contract, known as LOGCAP. Then, after Halliburton was fired by the Army in 1997, Domini was an employee of Halliburton when the Army re-hired the company to handle the LOGCAP contract.

Domini is only one example of the symbiotic relationship between Halliburton and the military. His promotion to chief lobbyist in 2001 occurred because the former chief lobbyist, Dave Gribbin, retired from Halliburton to join Cheney in the Bush administration. Gribbin has a long history with Cheney that includes working for him in Congress, the Pentagon, Halliburton and now in the White House.

The value of Halliburton's government contracts increased by nearly 100 percent, from $1.2 billion to $2.3 billion, during Cheney's tenure as CEO. The Cheney-Domini-Gribbin "axis of power" has played a big role in procuring lucrative government contracts for Halliburton, both as employees for the military and for the company. And those contracts quadrupled in value after Cheney became vice president of the United States.

In 1961, President Eisenhower warned against a "conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry." He said, "In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist."

Eisenhower's words are prophetic considering that Halliburton has profited tremendously in Iraq in what is widely believed to be a war of choice, not necessity. The military's failure to prove an imminent threat posed by weapons of mass destruction helps fuel suspicion that the war was less about national security than defense contractor profits. If so, Eisenhower's fear of an "unwarranted influence" of the military over public policy has been realized.


HALLIBURTON/KBR GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS: OUTSIDE LOBBYISTS & LOBBYING EXPENSES

Year: 2004 Jan. - June

Firm & lobbyists:

Covington & Burling
DeArment, Roderick A.
Gold, Martin B.
Eizenstat, Stuart E.
Pemberton, Alan A.
Marchick, David M.
Schenendorf, Jack L.
Flanagan, Peter
Plitsch, Jennifer
Razi, Benjamin J.

Total lobbying expenses: $520,000 (first 6 months of 2004 only)


HALLIBURTON'S CO.'s IN-HOUSE LOBBYISTS & LOBBYING EXPENSES

Year: 2004 Jan. - June

Deline, Donald A.
Domini, Charles
Jones, Barbara
Sigalos, George P.

Total Lobbying Expenses: $250,000 (first 6 months of 2004 only)

Year: 2003 Jan. - June | July - Dec.

Deline, Donald A.
Domini, Charles
Jones, Barbara

Total Lobbying Expenses: $300,000

Year: 2002 Jan. - June | July - Dec.
Deline, Donald A.
Domini, Charles
Jones, Barbara

Total Lobbying Expenses: $300,000

Year: 2001 Jan. - June | July - Dec.

Deline, Donald A.
Domini, Charles
Jones, Barbara

Total Lobbying Expenses: $300,000

Year: 2000 Jan. - June | July - Dec.

Deline, Donald A
Gribbin, David James IV
Hoehn, Katherine
Jones, Barbara

Total Lobbying Expenses: $600,000

Year: 1999 Jan. - June | July - Dec.

Deline, Donald A
Gribbin, Dave
Hoehn, Katherine
Jones, Barbara

Total Lobbying Expenses: $600,000


Source: United States Senate Office of Public Records