Pelosi: 'Reconstruction Contracts in Iraq Should Be Geared to Accomplish Our Mission, Not to Punish Those Who Disagreed With This Administration'

November 12, 2003

Washington, D.C. -- House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today on the Bush Administration’s Iraq reconstruction efforts, including President Bush’s decision to bar countries who opposed the war in Iraq from receiving contracts for reconstruction projects and revelations that Halliburton may have significantly overcharged for their services in Iraq:

"The President should reverse his decision to ban certain countries from participating in the reconstruction effort and focus on the job at hand. The President had the opportunity to reach out to the countries that we want to assist with our goals in the region. Instead, this decision says: most of the countries of the world need not apply.

"We cannot rebuild relationships with the countries that opposed the war by dismissively telling them they cannot help rebuild Iraq. It is particularly arrogant since the Administration began the reconstruction effort by awarding no-bid contracts to Halliburton and other friends.

"Reconstruction contracts should be geared to accomplish our mission, not to punish those who disagreed with this Administration or to be no-bid plums for their friends. We should focus on getting the job of reconstruction done as successfully as possible, while striving to work with countries that have been our allies in the past and that we will need as allies in the future."

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