November 13th, 2006 - Washington, D.C. - Washington, D.C.— Recognizing the need to continue the ongoing oversight of the Iraqi reconstruction efforts, Senator Norm Coleman announced his support for legislation introduced today that will extend the office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction beyond the recently-established termination date of December 31, 2007. Since 2004, the Special Inspector General for Iraqi Reconstruction (SIGIR), an independent inspector general designated solely to audit all Iraqi reconstruction projects and investigate alleged incidents of wrongdoing, has provided 130 detailed reports on every aspect of reconstruction. Among these are quarterly and semi-annual reports to Congress, audit reports, on-site assessment reports, and “lessons learned” reports. Coleman is an original cosponsor of this legislation, which was introduced today by Senators Collins (R-ME) and Feingold (D-WI).
“As we continue working to stabilize Iraq, we in Congress must not rest in our oversight efforts,” said Coleman. “The commendable work of the Special Inspector General has been indispensable to these efforts. I don’t want to see these oversight efforts end prematurely. So long as we are continuing to spend taxpayer dollars in Iraq, it is vital that we have the kind of oversight this office provides.”
As Chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Senator Coleman has investigated incidents of wrongdoing in the Iraqi reconstruction process. Recently, Coleman investigated allegations that claimed Iraqi contractor Kellogg, Brown & Root (KBR) had provided contaminated water to U.S. troops and personnel at a base in Ar Ramadi. While these allegations proved to be unsubstantiated, Coleman worked to ensure that KBR and the military enacted new standard operating procedures for the testing and treatment of potable and non-potable water for their theater-wide operations in Iraq. In addition, Army field manuals relating to water purification and distribution were amended.
Senator Coleman’s Subcommittee has also monitored the Iraqi reconstruction process by reviewing the reports and audits issued by the Special Inspector General’s office and its predecessor, the Coalition Provisional Authority Inspector General.
To date, SIGIR has issued 66 publicly available audit reports on various reconstruction projects, 52 publicly available assessment reports and two comprehensive “lessons learned” reports. SIGIR also has provided ten publicly available quarterly reports to Congress. In addition to these reports, SIGIR conducts audits to determine whether programs and operations funded by the Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund are being managed efficiently, effectively, economically, and are achieving the desired outcomes.
Contact(s):
Leroy Coleman, (202) 224-5641
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