[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 5996]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 WHY IS BUSH SPENDING BILLIONS IN IRAQ

  (Mr. YARMUTH asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. YARMUTH. Madam Speaker, as our constituents put the finishing 
touches on their tax returns, many of them are probably wondering just 
how much we will be sending to Iraq.
  Taxpayers are rightfully outraged, as are many Members of this body, 
by the massive levels of waste, fraud and corruption documented in 
large government contracts to well-connected firms. Under the Bush 
administration, the use of no-bid contracts has doubled and the Defense 
Contract Audit Agency believes that $10 billion of the taxpayers' money 
has been spent on questionable or unsupported costs in Iraq contracts.
  Madam Speaker, House Democrats are bringing much-needed 
accountability to the government contracting business by cracking down 
on no-bid contracts, protecting Federal whistleblowers, and withholding 
Federal contracts from tax-delinquent companies.
  While Democrats would like to see a change of policy in Iraq, we, 
like the average taxpayer, want to prevent our money from being wasted. 
We are taking the steps necessary to ensure that no longer happens.

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