[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 90 (Friday, June 25, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1258-E1259]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          INTELLIGENCE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2005

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. CHRISTOPHER SHAYS

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 23, 2004

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 4548) to 
     authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2005 for 
     intelligence and intelligence-related activities of the 
     United States Government, the Community Management Account, 
     and the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability 
     System, and for other purposes,

  Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Chairman, from its inception in 1996, the United 
Nations' Oil-for-Food Program (OFF) was susceptible to political 
manipulation and financial corruption. Trusting Saddam Hussein to 
exercise sovereign control over billions of dollars of oil sales and 
commodity purchases invited the illicit premiums and kickback schemes 
now coming to light.
  But much is still not known about the exact details of Oil-for-Food 
transactions. That is one reason my Subcommittee on National Security, 
Emerging Threats, and International Relations convened a hearing on 
April 21st to help pierce the veil of secrecy that still shrouds the 
largest humanitarian aid effort in history.
  This much we know: The Hussein regime reaped an estimated $10.1 
billion from this program: $5.7 billion in smuggled oil; and $4.4 
billion in oil surcharges and kickbacks on humanitarian purchases 
through the Oil-for-Food Program. There is no innocent explanation for 
this.
  At the hearing, the Subcommittee heard the program, while successful 
in many ways, was riddled with corruption and the independent efforts 
of the Iraqis to investigate the fraud was being stifled by the 
Coalition Provisional Authority.
  We want the State Department, the CPA, the intelligence community, 
and the U.N. to know there has to be a full accounting of all Oil-for-
Food transactions, even if that unaccustomed degree of transparency 
embarrasses some members of the Security Council.
  Two months ago, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan assured me he wants 
to get to the bottom of this scandal and restore faith in the ability 
of the U.N. to do its job. Subsequently, the Secretary General 
appointed Paul Volcker to lead an independent panel to look into the 
Oil-for-Food Program.
  While Mr. Volcker brings expertise and prestige to the task, we are 
concerned about the slow pace of the U.N. investigation. The Volcker 
panel has just announced the hiring of senior staff. Nevertheless, they 
continue to say an interim report, possibly this summer, will address 
the conduct of UN employees and allegations about the Secretary 
General's son's involvement.
  But we also need to know more than what just happened at the U.N. We 
also need to know what happened at the US Mission. We

[[Page E1259]]

need to know what our intelligence community knew and knows.
  Many of the allegations are true, we just don't know which ones yet. 
We should be long past asking whether something went wrong in OFF. It's 
time to find out exactly what went wrong and who is responsible.
  Our staff has been through the minutes of the U.N. ``661 (six-six-
one) Committee'' of Security Council members responsible for sanctions 
monitoring and oversight of OFF. Those minutes tell a story of 
diplomatic obfuscation and an obvious, purposeful unwillingness to 
acknowledge the program was being corrupted. Questions about oil or 
commodity contracts were dismissed as dubious media rumors beneath the 
dignity of the U.N. to answer, while Saddam was given the undeserved 
benefit of every doubt.
  We cannot ignore the profoundly serious allegations of malfeasance in 
the Oil-for-Food Program. To do so would be to deny the Iraqi people 
the accounting they deserve and leave the U.N. under an ominous cloud. 
This is the Iraqi's money we're talking about, so the Iraqi Governing 
Council and its successor should get cooperation from the CPA and the 
State Department in conducting its inquiries.
  In Iraq, and elsewhere, the world needs an impeccably clean, 
transparent U.N. The dominant instrument of multilateral diplomacy 
should embody our highest principles and aspirations, not 
systematically sink to the lowest common denominator of politics 
profiteering.
  This emerging scandal is a huge black mark against the United Nations 
and only a prompt and thorough accounting, including punishment for any 
found culpable, will restore U.N. credibility and integrity.
  That is why it is critical to get to the bottom of the corruption. In 
order to do that we need to the intelligence community to better assist 
the Congress in its investigations.
  Mr. Chairman, this Sense of Congress will help address the 
difficulties many committees have had obtaining information and 
documents--especially from the intelligence community--pertaining to 
the Iraq Oil-for-Food Program. This amendment should reinforce the 
importance Congress places on the Oil-for-Food investigations.

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