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Washington, D.C.--U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), a member of the House Intelligence Committee, delivered the following statement on the House floor this morning about the State Department's recent decision to renew Blackwater's contract for another year. Congresswoman Schakowsky is the sponsor of H.R. 4102, the Stop Outsourcing Security (S.O.S.) Act, which would begin phasing out the use of private security contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"Last Friday, the State Department decided to renew Blackwater's $1.2 billion contract for another year.
It has been over six months since Blackwater contractors killed 17 innocent Iraqi civilians, 16 months since the Christmas Eve murder in the Green Zone, and 35 months since a Blackwater helicopter dropped CS gas on a traffic jam in Baghdad.
Yet, there have been no arrests, no charges, no trials, no convictions…Nothing
The Department of Justice, the FBI and the State Department have remained completely silent about those investigations.
Meanwhile, those contractors are still working side-by-side with our troops in Iraq.
But what is even more appalling is that our government has ignored those abuses and renewed Blackwater’s contract.
If you owned a company, would you rehire someone who has killed dozens of innocent people?
The State Department’s decision not only puts the lives of innocent Iraqi civilians at risk, but it threatens the safety of our troops and jeopardizes our mission in Iraq.
I urge my colleagues to sign onto my bill, H.R. 4102, the Stop Outsourcing Security (S.O.S.) Act to begin phasing out the use of private security contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan."
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