110 HRES 1111 IH: Expressing the sense of the House of U.S. House of Representatives 2008-04-16 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

IV 110th CONGRESS 2d Session H. RES. 1111 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES April 16, 2008 Mr. Klein of Florida submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs RESOLUTION Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that any funding provided by the United States to the Government of Iraq for reconstruction, training for Iraqi security forces, and fuel for United States operations in Iraq should be provided in the form of loans.

Whereas the United States has been engaged in Iraq for more than five years at a great cost to the United States in both lives and resources; Whereas, March 19, 2008, marked the fifth anniversary of the engagement of the United States in Iraq; Whereas the United States Government has spent $600 billion to fight the war in Iraq and that expenditure has contributed greatly to the Nation's debt; Whereas United States taxpayers have provided $45 billion in funding for the reconstruction in Iraq; Whereas world oil prices have reached more than $111 a barrel; Whereas consumers in the United States are paying record gas prices of approximately $3.29 a gallon; Whereas the United States Government spends $153 million per month on fuel in Iraq, at approximately $3.23 per gallon for gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel while Iraqis pay $1.30 per gallon for fuel; Whereas when the war began, Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz said, We're dealing with a country that can really finance its own reconstruction, and relatively soon; Whereas Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld testified before the Senate Appropriations Committee on March 27, 2003, that, When it comes to reconstruction, before we turn to the American taxpayer, we will turn first to the resources of the Iraqi government and the international community; Whereas Iraq has the world’s second largest proven oil reserves that hold more than 112 billion barrels of oil; Whereas, due to high oil prices and expanded oil production, it has been predicted that the Government of Iraq is likely to experience an enormous revenue windfall; Whereas, based on oil revenues, it is predicted that the Government of Iraq’s budget surplus is expected to top $180 billion over the next three years; Whereas in January 2008, the Government Accountability Office issued a report stating that, according to Iraq's official expenditure reports, the Government of Iraq had spent only 4.4 percent of its $10.1 billion investment budget as of August 2007; Whereas Iraq has not made satisfactory progress toward achieving the political benchmarks established by the United States Congress; and Whereas the Government of Iraq needs to invest in the future of Iraq by paying all future costs of reconstruction, training of security forces and fuel: Now, therefore, be it

That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that— (1)any funding provided by the United States to the Government of Iraq for reconstruction, training for Iraqi security forces, and fuel for United States operations in Iraq should be provided in the form of loans; and (2)the United States Government should work with the Government of Iraq to ensure that the Government of Iraq obligates its own budget surplus for reconstruction projects before reconstruction aid from the United States is obligated.