Will Congress Stop War Profiteers In Iraq?

‘The American people…ought to at least know that their tax dollars are being spent the way they should be.’Will Congress Stop War Profiteers In Iraq?By Cliff Montgomery – Aug. 18th, 2007The Senate Judiciary Committee held a March 20th, 2007, hearing on what has become a glaring problem: War profiteering in Iraq. But will Congress really do anything about it?We quote from the introductory speech of Senate panel chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT):“The efforts to combat war profiteering have a long history. They go back almost as far as the practice itself.”During the Civil War, President Lincoln fought against war profiteers, denouncing them as ‘worse than traitors.’ He pushed for the first Federal laws curbing this abuse.”In World War II, President Roosevelt spoke out against ‘war millionaires’ who made excessive profits exploiting the calamity of war. President Truman, when he served in the Senate, crossed this country holding now famous public hearings to expose gross fraud, waste, and abuse by military contractors…”We continue to face war profiteering in [the Iraq War]. As Iraq Study Group Co-Chair Lee Hamilton testified before this Committee just a few weeks ago, contracting fraud and abuse significantly undermine the current efforts in Iraq.”Our Nation has sent nearly a half a trillion dollars to Iraq–and we are on track to send a trillion dollars–with few or no controls over how that money has been spent.”The Bush Administration has chosen to use private contractors in this war to a greater extent than at any time in our history. The trend has raised the cost of this military action by untold billions. Predictably, these actions have led to widespread fraud, waste, and abuse in Iraq on a scale that may be unprecedented in our history.”The Inspectors General before this Committee today have reported that billions of dollars spent in Iraq are unaccounted for and may have been lost to fraud or other misconduct.”Billions of dollars. And if any of you are making out your tax returns for this time of the year, just think about that. It is your money.”These Inspectors General have opened hundreds of investigations into fraud, waste, and abuse in Iraq, Kuwait, and Afghanistan involving illegal kickbacks, bid rigging, embezzlement, and fraudulent overbilling.”These investigations have uncovered crimes committed by employees of the largest government contractors in Iraq, including Kellogg, Brown & Root, a wholly owned subsidiary of Halliburton.”Many of these matters involve abuse of the now infamous ‘cost-plus’ and ‘no-bid’ contracts so often used by the Bush Administration to award huge sums to many who, it turns out, have close ties to the administration.”Despite these investigations and mounting evidence of fraud, the administration has committed precious few resources to investigate and prosecute those who have illegally exploited this war for profit.”I think they relied upon a Congress that would not ask questions. In fact, that same Congress–and it has changed–attempted to limit the investigation of fraud in Iraq, and they actually wanted to shut down the office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction.”I am pleased that better sense prevailed and the Inspector General’s authority was reinstated after the people spoke last November.”During the nearly 4 years of war, the Department of Justice [also] has failed to move aggressively enough in prosecuting fraud in Iraq.”Today, the Inspectors General before us have opened hundreds of investigations, they still have more than 70 open and active cases in contracting fraud and abuse in this war. But so far, the U.S. Justice Department has only brought eight criminal cases involving 25 individuals over the last 3 years.”The crimes in a number of these cases were committed by employees of Kellogg, Brown & Root, one of the largest contractors in Iraq–as I said, a wholly owned subsidiary of Halliburton.”In these cases, the employees have admitted to receiving kickbacks, inflating costs, embezzling money, and stealing millions from the American people. But so far, the Justice Department has brought no legal action, civil or criminal, against KBR or Halliburton.”A new law to combat war profiteering in Iraq and elsewhere is sorely needed, and long overdue. There are anti-fraud laws to protect against the waste of U.S. tax dollars at home, but no law to specifically cover when it is spent overseas.”So we want to send one message: Any act to exploit the crisis situation in Iraq or elsewhere overseas for excessive profit is unacceptable, is reprehensible, is criminal, and the American people will not stand for it. That kind of deceit demeans and exploits the sacrifices that our military personnel are making in Iraq and Afghanistan and around the world. “Combating war profiteering is not a Democratic issue or a Republican issue. It is an American issue.”The American people…ought to at least know that their tax dollars are being spent the way they should be.”Like what you’re reading so far? Then why not order a full year (52 issues) of thee-newsletter for only $15? A major article covering an story not being told in the Corporate Press will be delivered to your email every Monday morning for a full year, for less than 30 cents an issue. 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