[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 18]
[House]
[Page 24683]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        PRIVATIZATION OF IRAQI OIL--SPOILS OF WAR TO BUSH ALLY?

  (Mr. KUCINICH asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KUCINICH. The recent oil deal between the U.S.-based Hunt Oil 
Company and the Kurdistan Regional Government raises questions since 
Hunt Oil, a privately held oil company based in Texas and its founder, 
Ray Hunt, have close ties to Vice-President Cheney and are large donors 
to President Bush. The deal also appears to undercut the goal of oil 
revenue sharing but is predictably consistent with the administration's 
attempt to privatize Iraqi oil assets. Both Hunt Oil Company and 
Kurdistan are strong allies with the Bush administration.
  As I have said for 5 years, this war is about oil. The Bush 
administration desires private control of Iraqi oil, but we have no 
right to force Iraq to give up control of their oil. We have no right 
to set preconditions for Iraq which lead Iraq to giving up control of 
their oil. The Constitution of Iraq designates that the oil of Iraq is 
the property of all Iraqi people.
  I am calling for a congressional investigation to determine the role 
the administration may have played in the Hunt-Kurdistan deal, the 
effect the deal could have on the oil revenue sharing plan and the 
attempt by the administration to privatize Iraqi oil.

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