[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 144 (Monday, October 12, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H10642]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SAUDI GOVERNMENT ATTEMPTING TO CHEAT AMERICAN COMPANY FOR JOB WELL DONE

  (Mr. SMITH of New Jersey asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, 14 years after the successful 
completion of the Yanuba Power and Desalination plant in Saudi Arabia, 
New Jersey-based Hill International is still fighting for payment for 
the work done by its former subsidiary Gibbs and Hill.
  As many of my colleagues know, historically, U.S. firms have had 
difficulty collecting payment from the Saudi government for work done 
in Saudi Arabia.
  It got so bad that, in 1993, Congress ordered the Department of 
Defense to investigate the claims and report on all outstanding 
billings. Of all the claims identified by former Secretary of Defense 
Les Aspin, only one, the Gibbs and Hill claim, remains unpaid.
  Mr. Speaker, nobody in Saudi Arabia claims that the work done by 
Gibbs and Hill was inadequate nor was it incomplete. In fact, the Saudi 
government points with pride to the plant. They just do not want to pay 
for it.
  Mr. Speaker, both the House and the Senate have passed my legislation 
requiring the Department of State, Commerce, and Defense to 
aggressively pursue a resolution with the Saudi government and report 
back to Congress. Recently, Secretary of State for Near Eastern 
Affairs, Ambassador Martin Indyk, assured me and the full Committee on 
International Relations he will aggressively press this. The time has 
long come to pay this bill.
  In 1993 the Saudis promised Secretary Aspen that they would ``spare 
no efforts in resolving these additional claims in a fair and 
expeditious manner.'' Many here in Congress have worked hard to get the 
Saudis to make good on their promise. As Chairman of the Subcommittee 
on International Operations and Human Rights, I have raised the issue 
of unpaid bills to every appropriate member of the Clinton 
Administration at the State Department and DOD. I've spoken with our 
Ambassador in Saudi Arabia, Wyche Fowler. And my colleagues and I have 
pushed this issue directly with Saudi officials, including Saudi 
Ambassador Prince Bandar.
  Yet, the bill still goes unpaid.
  I hope that will be enough. It is time the Saudis get the message, 
not just from Congress, but from the Clinton Administration as well, We 
will not sit idle as the Saudi government tries to cheat an American 
company for a job well done.

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