Jeff's Blog: Iraq Comes Home

By now you may have seen news stories about KBR, the engineering firm that wants to do work for Hays County south of San Marcos.

KBR (which stands for Kellog, Brown and Root) is a major multi-national corporation, with huge contracts around the world, including in Iraq, where the company is accused of exposing U.S. soldiers to deadly consequences because of shoddy work. Up until two years ago, KBR was a subsidiary of Halliburton.

In Hays County, KBR was recommended as a finalist for engineering based on recommendations from engineering staff and a professional consultant who were helping Commissioner Debbie Gonzales Ingalsbe design a road project.

Tuesday (March 24), the County considered a contract proposal with KBR, but before we could vote, two young veterans of Iraq spoke in opposition, detailing charges against KBR.

I don�t take every criticism I hear in Commissioners Court at face value. But the testimony of two Hays County residents � two war zone veterans � who�ve had personal experience with KBR overseas is compelling, at least to me.

Commissioner Ingalsbe offered to delay the vote on the contract � wisely so, in my opinion. This gives us all more time to review the charges and to consider whether KBR is the right fit for work in Hays County.

We can�t run a full background check on every company that wants to sell us paperclips � and we shouldn�t. It�s admittedly a slippery slope. But I think there is a threshold where it�s fair to consider the overall reputation, history and culture of a firm before choosing them to work for taxpayers � especially with professional firms, such as law firms and engineers, where by law we are charged with considering qualifications instead of just �low bid.�

Working for the federal government in Iraq, KBR blew it. Army investigators have charged the company with negligence for poor workmanship and a failure to correct documented safety problems in the field � problems that led to the deaths of U.S. soldiers, including the electrocution of a decorated Green Berets.

Some people with complaints against KBR focus on the active role they�ve played in the Iraqi war. For me, it�s not about pro or anti-war sentiment. It�s about holding government contractors responsible for their work.

Large firms that want to do business with local governments often brag about their national or even international experience, about the vast resources that back up their local teams. That�s fair. But if we are to consider all that, then it should also be fair to take into account not just the qualifications of those local teams but the over-arching worth of the network of international groups and related companies that stand behind them.

The local representatives of the company may be blameless. But the choice to work for a big company with controversial contracts brings both benefits and baggage.

I want firms that will bring value to taxpayers, build safe projects, do so as cheaply as possible. But, when I have the choice, I�d also like a firm I can have faith in -- a firm I think deserves our tax dollars.

KBR has a reputation as competent engineers for things like road projects here in Texas. It�s reasonable that staff recommended them as a finalist. But in this case I think those of us on the Commissioners Court ought to look at a bigger picture. The allegations against the parent company are serious and call into question whether KBR is the right fit for a project funded by local taxpayer dollars � dollars from you and me, dollars from young veterans who have risked their lives in Iraq only to see comrades die needlessly.

At some point, those of us here at home have to give more than just lip service to the idea that we support the troops who represent us in harm�s way overseas.

The good news is that we have choices. In the current market there are a host of good firms that want to work for the people of Hays County. We should take a hard look at KBR and what�s in its closet before we give them a local contract when there are so many qualified firms from which to choose.