[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 506 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 506

Expressing the sense of the Senate that funding provided by the United 
 States to the Government of Iraq in the future for reconstruction and 
training for security forces be provided as a loan to the Government of 
                                 Iraq.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 8, 2008

 Mr. Nelson of Nebraska submitted the following resolution; which was 
             referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of the Senate that funding provided by the United 
 States to the Government of Iraq in the future for reconstruction and 
training for security forces be provided as a loan to the Government of 
                                 Iraq.

Whereas the United States has been engaged in Iraq for more than 5 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 $600,000,000,000 to fight the war 
        in Iraq and that expenditure has contributed greatly to the Nation's 
        debt;
Whereas taxpayers in the United States have provided $45,000,000,000 in funding 
        for reconstruction to the country and the Government of Iraq;
Whereas world oil prices have reached more than $100 a barrel;
Whereas consumers in the United States are paying record gas prices of 
        approximately $3.29 a gallon;
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, 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, 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 $10,100,000,000 
        investment budget as of August 2007;
Whereas Iraq has not made satisfactory progress toward achieving the political 
        benchmarks established by Congress; and
Whereas the Government of Iraq needs to invest in the future of Iraq by paying a 
        larger share of the costs of reconstruction: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that any funding 
provided by the United States to the Government of Iraq for 
reconstruction and training for security forces after the date on which 
the Senate agrees to this resolution be provided as a loan to the 
Government of Iraq.
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