[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 665 Introduced in House (IH)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 665

       Commending the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan 
    Reconstruction, John Sopko, and his office for their efforts in 
  providing accountability for taxpayer dollars spent in Afghanistan.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 23, 2016

     Mr. Jones (for himself, Mr. Massie, Ms. Speier, Mr. Duncan of 
  Tennessee, Mr. Garamendi, and Mr. McGovern) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and 
  in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
  of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
                               concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
       Commending the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan 
    Reconstruction, John Sopko, and his office for their efforts in 
  providing accountability for taxpayer dollars spent in Afghanistan.

Whereas the Office of Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction 
        (SIGAR) was created in 2008 ``to provide independent and objective 
        analysis and supervision of audits and investigations'', ``to promote 
        economy, efficiency, and effectiveness'' and ``prevent and detect waste, 
        fraud, and abuse'' with regards to ``amounts appropriated or otherwise 
        made available for the reconstruction of Afghanistan'';
Whereas the Office of Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction 
        has, under the leadership of SIGAR John Sopko, been a strong voice for 
        the good stewardship of taxpayer dollars;
Whereas Special Inspector General Sopko has provided testimony 11 times before 
        Congress;
Whereas the recommendations of SIGAR have resulted in more than $1,000,000,000 
        in potential savings;
Whereas one investigation revealed contract bid-rigging and price-fixing that 
        led to the termination of a $1 billion Afghan Ministry of Defense fuel 
        contract, resulting in $214 million in contract savings to the United 
        States Government;
Whereas their investigations into waste, fraud, and abuse have led to nearly 700 
        contractors being prohibited from future United States Government 
        contracts;
Whereas SIGAR exposed mismanagement and fraud within the United Nations-
        administered Law and Order Trust Fund for Afghanistan, which provides 
        billions in payments to the Afghan National Police;
Whereas SIGAR has further exposed poor attendance and accounting procedures that 
        allow the existence of non-existent Afghan ``ghost'' soldiers and 
        police, whose salaries are pocketed by corrupt officials;
Whereas SIGAR discovered the expenditure of $6,000,000 on 9 goats meant to start 
        a cashmere industry in Afghanistan, and whose whereabouts are now 
        unknown;
Whereas SIGAR has attempted to provide accountability to $210,000,000 spent on 
        the construction of health care facilities in Afghanistan, discovering 
        that nearly 80 percent of facilities have incorrect location data, where 
        13 facilities were built outside of Afghanistan, including one in the 
        Mediterranean Sea; and
Whereas SIGAR also investigated the circumstances that led to the construction 
        of a $36,000,000 United States military command and control facility at 
        Camp Leatherneck that the commanders on the ground stated they neither 
        wanted nor needed, and which was never occupied: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) commends the Office of the Special Inspector General 
        for Afghanistan Reconstruction for its ongoing role in 
        identifying and reducing waste, fraud, and abuse; and
            (2) calls on Special Inspector General for Afghanistan 
        Reconstruction John Sopko to brief the House Armed Services 
        Committee on matters described in paragraph (1); and
            (3) calls on House leadership to facilitate debate on the 
        continued United States presence in Afghanistan and the 
        resulting waste, fraud, and abuse of United States tax dollars.
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