[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 106 (Friday, July 29, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9437-S9438]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          IRAQ RECONSTRUCTION

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I bring to the attention of Senators the 
troubling reality in Iraq that is described in two recent Government 
reports, one by the Government Accountability Office and the other by 
the Office of the Special

[[Page S9438]]

Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction.
  Documented in these reports are assessments of the precarious and 
deteriorating security situation on the ground, which has dramatically 
slowed the pace of reconstruction and resulted in significant 
additional costs. This picture is in stark contrast to the rhetoric 
coming from the administration that we are in the last throes of the 
insurgency and that reconstruction is moving forward at a rapid pace.
  The reality is that because of the security problems in Iraq, the 
results of reconstruction are falling far short of what the 
administration optimistically predicted and what we were told to 
expect. While there has been important progress in building schools and 
hospitals and providing clean drinking water in some areas, exorbitant 
security costs are forcing the scale back or cancellation of 
reconstruction projects. Unfortunately, there is little reason to be 
optimistic that the situation will improve in the short term.
  According to today's Washington Post, the GAO reported that ``in 
March, the U.S. Agency for International Development canceled two 
electric power generation programs to provide $15 million in additional 
security elsewhere. On another project to rehabilitate electric 
substations, the Army Corps of Engineers decided that securing 14 of 
the 23 facilities would be too expensive and limited the entire project 
to nine stations. And in February, USAID added $33 million to cover 
higher security costs on one project, which left it short of money to 
pay for construction oversight, quality assurance and administrative 
costs.''
  Furthermore, the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq 
Reconstruction reported that after reviewing several reconstruction 
contracts, it determined that more money was going to Government 
contractors involved in the rebuilding process than was necessary. The 
formula used for disbursing special monetary awards, which are above 
and beyond basic fees, was producing excessively high awards. In some 
instances, contractors were paid hundreds of thousands of dollars 
despite not winning a contract or delivering a single service. Once 
again, these reports shed light on the lack of oversight and 
accountability given to contracts in Iraq.
  Given the enormous amount of money the United States is spending in 
Iraq, the many reports of waste and profiteering by unscrupulous 
contractors, and the President's request for additional hundreds of 
millions of dollars for Iraq reconstruction in the fiscal year 2006 
budget, it is incumbent on the administration to respond to these 
reports in a forthright manner so that Congress can make informed 
decisions about the use of these funds.

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