Washington, D.C. - Rep. Howard Berman joined Democrats on the House International Relations Committee today in unanimously insisting that the committee conduct more responsible oversight of U.S. operations in Iraq, starting with hearings into reconstruction efforts and charges of waste, fraud and abuse.

 

In a letter to Chairman Henry Hyde, Berman and other committee Democrats wrote, "Given the billions of dollars of U.S. taxpayer funds now flowing to Iraq each year, it is imperative that the Congress conduct careful oversight over Iraq reconstruction funds to ensure that they are producing tangible results that benefit the Iraqi people and are being spent in an open and transparent manner. ... The corruption and incompetence surrounding the rebuilding of Iraq has badly damaged America’s image, not just in Iraq, but throughout the world.  Our nation’s reputation for honesty, efficiency, and good government has been badly tarnished and respect for our power has been undermined."

 

The Democrats pointed out that recent reports by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) have cast grave doubts on the results and effectiveness of the United States reconstruction plan, including the failure to complete three-quarters of oil and gas reconstruction projects, half of all electricity projects and about 40% of water and sanitation projects financed with U.S. support.

 

"This is an outrageous waste of American taxpayers' money," said Berman.  "And even worse, the many reconstruction failures have helped fuel anti-Americanism, create opportunities for terrorists, and obstruct U.S. public diplomacy efforts in Iraq." 

 

“Congress is failing in its Constitutional responsibility to conduct full and aggressive oversight of our post-war Iraq rebuilding efforts," he continued.  "As a result, hundreds of millions of taxpayers’ dollars have been misspent or stolen from taxpayers in the course of our operations in Iraq and we have failed to meet the pressing daily needs of Iraqis”