WASHINGTON, DC—Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Russ Feingold (D-WI)
along with a number of their Senate Colleagues, have introduced legislation to
extend the term of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction
(SIGIR). Without this legislation, the SIGIR’s term would expire next year, on
October 1, 2007. The Senators’ legislation would enable the SIGIR to continue
his critical oversight work until late 2008.
Specifically, the legislation, which the Senators will try to move during
the lame duck session of Congress, would reinstate the SIGIR’s previous
termination schedule of ten months after 80 percent of funds for Iraq
reconstruction have been expended. A recently enacted defense spending bill
includes a provision that would end the SIGIR’s oversight responsibilities
next year. The Senators believe that the work of the SIGIR’s office, led by
Stuart Bowen, is critical and has effectively rooted out millions of dollars
of waste, fraud, and abuse, and therefore, must be continued.
Senator Collins said, “There is no question that the Special Inspector
General's office has proven to be a much-needed watchdog, auditing
reconstruction contracts in Iraq and spotlighting numerous cases of waste,
fraud, and abuse. We must keep the watchdog on the job. This office is
responsible for providing the American taxpayer a benefit of more than $25 for
every dollar it has spent on oversight and investigations. Its work has
resulted in indictments and convictions of individuals who ripped off the
taxpayer. It is inconceivable that we would remove this aggressive oversight
while the American taxpayer is still spending billions of dollars on Iraq
reconstruction projects.”
Senator Feingold said, “We're introducing this bill to prevent the SIGIR
from being prematurely shut down and to ensure that U.S. taxpayer dollars for
Iraq reconstruction efforts will not be vulnerable to even more waste, fraud
and abuse,” Feingold said. “Without this commonsense, bipartisan legislation,
Americans will not know where billions of their taxpayer dollars are going in
this costly war.”
The SIGIR’s office is responsible for oversight of approximately $32
billion in Iraq reconstruction contracts and grants. As a result of his work,
the SIGIR estimates that the financial impact of his audits, investigations,
and inspections, is approximately $1.87 billion, far exceeding the offices
expenses of $72 million.
The SIGIR’s office has issued 73 audit reports and 65 project
assessments, and the office’s work has resulted in the arrest of five people,
and the convictions of four, with more than $17 million in assets seized.
Additional cosponsors of the bill include Senators Joseph Lieberman (D-
CT), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Norm Coleman (R-MN), John
Kerry (D-MA), Ken Salazar (D-CO), Tom Coburn (R-OK), John Sununu (R-NH),
Edward Kennedy (D-MA), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Diane Feinstein (D-CA), Byron
Dorgan (D-ND), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Joe Biden (D-DE).