WASHINGTON, Oct. 18 (HalliburtonWatch.org) -- A member of Congress has opened a formal inquiry into why the Department of Labor failed to intervene when Halliburton decided to reduce the value of employee pensions.

Rep. George Miller (D-CA) sent a letter to Labor Secretary Elaine Chao demanding an explanation of the department's handling of the case.

Employees of Dresser-Rand saw the value of their pensions decline after Halliburton bought the company in 1998. The employees sought help from the Labor Department but the agency was unresponsive.

The Ad Hoc Coalition to Restore Retirement Security said Halliburton shafted Dresser-Rand employees by robbing them of the "full early retirement pensions they had spent their careers working for.� Each worker lost an average of $50,000. The Ad Hoc Coalition wants Congress to stop companies like Halliburton from using merger and acquisition laws "as a pretext to short-change employees of their promised pensions."

Nine months after reducing worker pensions, Halliburton�s board of directors, with Vice President Dick Cheney as its chairman, awarded Cheney a $20 million pension.

More Information:

New York Times: Halliburton pension inquiry

HalliburtonWatch: Plundering the Pensions

HalliburtonWatch: Halliburton sues retirees in attempt to stop paying health benefits