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WYDEN, DORGAN WIN APPROVAL OF
AMENDMENT TO END OUTSOURCING OF IRAQ RECONSTRUCTION OVERSIGHT
Senators’ legislation accepted
into Dept. of Defense authorization bill
June 14, 2004
Washington, DC - U.S. Senators
Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) today won Senate
approval of an amendment prohibiting the renewal of any current
contract outsourcing the oversight of Iraq reconstruction to non-governmental
entities. The amendment, accepted for inclusion in the Department
of Defense reauthorization bill, also prohibits future private
oversight contracts unless the U.S. government is entirely unable
provide personnel to perform direct oversight, and prohibits the
letting of private contracts if there is even an appearance of
conflict of interest for the private company. In every case, the
amendment requires appropriate military or civilian personnel
to supervise and evaluate contractor performance in Iraq reconstruction.
Dorgan and Wyden first called
on the Pentagon last month to stop outsourcing the oversight of
large Iraq reconstruction contracts to private companies, saying
$130 million worth of current contracting arrangements are rife
with potential conflicts of interest and open the door to significant
additional waste of taxpayer dollars in Iraq.
“Oversight should be performed
by the government and not private contractors, particularly those
with apparent conflicts of interest,” said Wyden. “The
outsourcing of oversight on Iraq reconstruction is a costly, unsound
practice that never should have been permitted in the first place
and it’s time to close the door on it now. This amendment
can save American taxpayers untold additional dollars by placing
accountability for Iraq reconstruction squarely with the Department
of Defense.”
“This is a real victory
for taxpayers,” said Dorgan. “Our amendment makes
clear that oversight of how billions of taxpayer dollars are spent
is a fundamental responsibility of the government, not something
to be handed off to other private contractors. Making sure tax
dollars are spent honestly and wisely is a top priority and anyone
in government who might have thought otherwise just got a wake
up call from the Senate.”
Wyden, Dorgan and U.S. Reps.
Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) and John Dingell (D-Mich.) last month
unveiled a joint report from the House Government Affairs Committee
and the Senate Democratic Policy Committee detailing nearly $130
million in spending on reconstruction oversight contracts for
seven private contractors.
Today, Wyden and Dorgan also
encouraged Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner
(R-Va.) and Ranking Member Carl Levin (D-Mich.) in their efforts
to extend the term of the Coalition Provisional Authority Inspector
General (CPA-IG) to allow additional oversight of current Iraq
reconstruction contracts by the Federal government. Consideration
of the Department of Defense authorization bill continues this
week in the Senate.
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