Waste in the Reconstruction of Iraq
An audit tells us what's been happening during the "see no evil" years of Republican congressional rule:
"Our troops are going without even as government funds go to pay for such boondoggles as an Olympic-size swimming pool in an unused training camp," said a statement issued by the Senate Democratic Communications Center directed by Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. ...The quarterly audit released Wednesday by Stuart Bowen Jr., the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction, found the $300 billion U.S. war and reconstruction effort continues to be plagued with waste, spiraling violence and corruption.
Now that Congress is in an oversight mode, it will be fun to watch as tough questions are asked and avoided.
Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, plans three days of hearings next week on Iraq contracts. One area of focus: Halliburton Co., the oilfield-services company that Vice President Dick Cheney once headed that has received millions of dollars of government contracts.
Audits prepared for Congress by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction are available here.
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