III 110th CONGRESS 2d Session S. RES. 494 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES April 1 (legislative day, March 13), 2008 Mr. Casey (for himself and Mr. Corker) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations April 23, 2008 Reported by Mr. Biden, without amendment and with an amendment to the preamble May 1, 2008 Considered, amended, and agreed to with an amended preamble RESOLUTION Expressing the sense of the Senate on the need for Iraq’s neighbors and other international partners to fulfill their pledges to provide reconstruction assistance to Iraq.

Whereas a sustained flow of international economic reconstruction assistance to the Government of Iraq and provincial and regional authorities in Iraq is essential to the restoration of basic services in Iraq, job creation, and the future stabilization of that country; Whereas reconstruction assistance should be administered in a transparent, accountable, and equitable manner in order to help alleviate sectarian grievances and facilitate national political reconciliation; Whereas the United States has already spent approximately $18,500,000,000 on reconstruction assistance and Congress has authorized the expenditure of $24,000,000,000 for reconstruction assistance; Whereas, on December 18, 2007, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported that, as of October 2007, international donors had pledged a total of approximately $16,400,000,000 in support of Iraq’s reconstruction since 2003, of which roughly $13,600,000,000 was pledged at an October 2003 donor conference in Madrid, Spain; Whereas the GAO reported that international donors have provided only approximately $7,000,000,000 for reconstruction assistance, or less than half of the original pledged amount; Whereas the conclusion reached by the Iraq Study Group (ISG) in December 2006 that [i]nternational support for Iraqi reconstruction has been tepid remains true and reinforces the ISG’s subsequent recommendation that [a]n essential part of reconstruction efforts in Iraq should be greater involvement by and with international partners, who should do more than just contribute money. . . . [t]hey should also actively participate in the design and construction of projects; Whereas Iraq’s regional neighbors, in particular, carry a special imperative to bolster reconstruction assistance efforts to Iraq, given the vital importance of a peaceful and secure Iraq to their security interests and overall regional stability; and Whereas those countries have prospered in recent years due to the rising price of their oil exports and enjoy expanded government revenue from which funds could be allocated for reconstruction assistance to Iraq: Now, therefore, be it

That it is the sense of the Senate that— (1)Iraq’s neighbors and other key international partners should fully carry through on previous pledges of reconstruction assistance to the Government of Iraq, working to mitigate and circumvent, where necessary, potential obstacles to the effective implementation of those pledges; and (2)the United States should consider a recommendation proposed by the Iraq Study Group to coordinate United States reconstruction assistance funds, in whatever form they are provided, with funds from international donors and Iraqi participants to help ensure that assistance projects in Iraq are carried out in the most rapid and efficient manner possible.