http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/reuters11-25-133104.asp?reg=MIDEASTWASHINGTON, Nov. 25 — Three U.S. Democratic lawmakers asked the Pentagon inspector general on Tuesday to investigate alleged overpricing of gasoline sent to Iraq by Halliburton, the firm once run by Vice President Dick Cheney.
Sen. Joseph Lieberman from Connecticut, Rep. Henry Waxman from California and Rep. John Dingell from Michigan, also urged the Pentagon to look into the use of money from a humanitarian account, the Development Fund for Iraq, to buy gasoline and possibly weapons.
''We hope you will help restore transparency and accountability to this process by undertaking the important investigations described in this letter,'' the lawmakers wrote.
A subsidiary of Texas-based Halliburton has been importing gasoline into Iraq under a contract with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers until the oil-rich country's refineries are running at full capacity.
Halliburton, where Cheney served as chief executive from 1995 to 2000 when he left to become U.S. President George W. Bush's running mate, has denied claims of overbilling and says the dangerous security situation has elevated prices.
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