Guest/ Mars, if you think the democrats overcharge, take a look at what's going on in Iraq.

The Houston, Texas-based Halliburton is apparently overcharging the US government between 65 and 75 cents for every gallon of gasoline it sells in Iraq, Waxman and Dingell said in a letter to White House budget director Joshua Bolten.


"The overcharging by Halliburton is so extreme that one expert has privately called it 'highway robbery,'" the lawmakers wrote.

And here is all that Halliburton has done in response:

The head of Halliburton has pleaded with his own employees for help in orchestrating a media campaign in defense of the embattled oil and gas service company facing congressional accusations of overcharging US taxpayers.

In an internal memorandum sent out on October 17 and leaked on the Internet this weekend, Halliburton chairman and chief executive officer Dave Lesar asked company workers to write letters to news organizations to "show pride in your work and your co-workers."

"Please add your voice to mine, so we can be heard over those who are distorting our efforts," the memo says. "Please write from the heart and use your own words, and, where possible, use first-hand stories."

Lesar rattles off a list of Halliburton's achievements, including its help in building US warships during World War II, providing laundry services for American troops in Iraq (news - web sites) and cleaning up 45,000 gallons of spilled oil in the US-occupied country.

But the memo does not directly address specific charges leveled by Democratic Congressmen Henry Waxman and John Dingell, who alleged earlier this month that the Houston, Texas-based corporation might be overcharging the US government between 65 and 75 cents for every gallon of gasoline it sells in Iraq.