Cheney told the newspaper in an interview that Bush had asked him if he would serve again as his running mate, and said that he has agreed to do that.

Cheney has been one of Bush's closest advisers and a major power in the White House, where he has been a leading hawk on Iraq.

On November 2002, Bush quashed speculations that he would replace Cheney as his running mate, who has had four heart attacks, and take a running mate who could run to succeed him in 2008 if the president wins a second term.

Cheney, whose most recent heart attack was in 2000, said his health would not prevent him from being on the presidential ticket, adding that his health is monitored 24 hours.

While Cheney was making this announcement, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) issued a call that Halliburton Co.'s emergency, no-bid contract to work on Iraq's oil wells, must be fully disclosed, pointing to the Army's admission that the company has a far more lucrative role than originally believed.

Earlier reports had stated that Vice President Dick Cheney's former company would fight oil fires. Waxman, however, citing information he received from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on May 2, which awarded the contract, said that the contract also lets the company operate the oilfields for a time and distribute the petroleum.

Cheney's office has repeatedly denied that the vice president has a role in Halliburton's operations or its government contracts.

The Corps wrote to Waxman that the contract included not only extinguishing fires but also "operation of facilities and distribution of products."

The lawmaker also said the Corps' proposal to replace the Halliburton contract with another long-term deal was at odds with administration statements that Iraq's oil belongs to the Iraqi people.

In a contract that was made public in March 2003, Halliburton subsidiary KBR was given the right to extinguish the oil fires under an existing, contingency contract amounting to $7 billion for up to two years.

Waxman’s letter has not received immediate response from the Corps of Engineers.

Halliburton, however, insisted that the company's announcement of the contract in March revealed the extent of the work, and that included providing for the “continuity of operations of the Iraqi oil infrastructure.”

In this capacity, the Halliburton subsidiary KBR is assisting Iraq's oil ministry to get the oil system operating.