U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., is accusing U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Bangor, of allowing war profiteering to occur when she denied his request to investigate Halliburton in her role as chairwoman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

Now, U.S. Rep. Tom Allen, who hopes to unseat Collins in November, has joined him.

Lautenberg formally endorsed Allen during a press conference in Portland today (Thursday), where both attacked Collins for blocking the hearing.

From 2003 to 2006, Lautenberg made numerous requests that Halliburton be investigated, along with other contractors, for wasting billions in taxpayer money, all of which were blocked by the committee. The contractors were hired through a no-bid process, he said.

Staff for Susan Collins said today that the committee had bigger priorities – including the Hurricane Katrina hearings and the 9-11 Commission report. A “politically motivated request” simply wasn’t a priority. Click here for reaction from the Collins campaign.

Lautenberg said Sen. Collins’ seat is a critical one for the Democrats to pick up, if they want to attain a working majority. He said he is willing to travel to endorse other Democratic candidates, though Allen is the only one he’s endorsed so far.

According to Lautenberg, the money was wasted by overcharging the government for gasoline, meals, repairs and operation costs, among other things. In one letter, he mentions that bribes to Kuwaiti officials were paid on the taxpayer’s dime.

“I was eager to get to the bottom (of the dealings with) Halliburton, but the chair of the committee refused to look into it.”

Lautenberg accuses Collins of protecting Vice President Cheney, whom he wanted subpoenaed. Cheney, a former chairman of Halliburton, was still getting a salary and stock options from the company, Lautenberg said.

Lautenberg praised Allen’s record of wanting stricter standards for contracting oversight in Iraq. Allen said he was glad to have Lautenberg’s support.

“There is no excuse for allowing Halliburton and other contractors to rip off taxpayers while failing to serve our troops,” Allen said.