House Passes National Defense Reauthorization Conference Report

HOUSE PASSES NATIONAL DEFENSE REAUTHORIZATION CONFERENCE REPORT

Washington, D.C.–Today the U.S. House of Representatives passed the National Defense Reauthorization Act of 2007 by a vote of 370 to 49. The conference report included nearly all of the provisions from Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky's (D-IL) Iraq and Afghanistan Contractor Sunshine Act, which would increase oversight and transparency of private security contractors. However, Rep. Schakowsky voted against the conference report because it authorized $41.8 billion in funding to continue the war in Iraq. The conference report is expected to be approved by the U.S. Senate and signed into law by the President.

"Although this bill included some very important provisions, like the private security contracting language I fought so hard to include, I was ultimately unable to support this legislation because it authorized $41.8 billion to continue the war in Iraq,... said U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL). "It's unfortunate that this funding was attached to this bill because otherwise I would have been proud to vote for this legislation. Nevertheless, I am very proud of the provisions to increase oversight and transparency over private security contractors, which Rep. Price, Sen. Obama and I worked so hard to include in this bill....

The private security contractor provisions:

• Establish an agreement with the Department of Defense, the Department of State, and the Agency for International Development to clarify the roles and responsibilities in managing and overseeing contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan by July 1, 2008.

• Create a database on contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan, which must contain a description of each contract, the value of each contract, whether a contract was awarded competitively, the total number of personnel employed on contracts, the total number of personnel performing security functions under contract, and the total number of contractors killed or wounded. The relevant congressional committees (Armed Services, Homeland Security, Oversight and Government Reform, Foreign Affairs, Intelligence) will have access to the database.

• Require that any contract in Iraq or Afghanistan awarded after December 1, 2007 be provided to any relevant committee if they request it.

• Increase oversight by the Department of Defense and the Department of State by mandating that they create clear regulations to govern contractor conduct, weapons provided to contractors, report and investigate any violent incidents, and clarify contractors' use of force. These new regulations would have to be in place within 120 days of enactment and will govern private security contractors in any area of combat operations. This is vitally important because (1) it would regulate and clarify the rules governing contractors' use of force and (2) it would mandate that any violent incident be reported and investigated.

• Require that within 180 days of enactment, each new contract contain a clause saying that contractors must comply with the new regulations created by DOD and State. Contracts must also state that all contract personnel performing private security contracts understand that they must comply with U.S. laws and the laws of the host country, orders issued by the combatant command, rules on the use of force, and any investigation into violent incidents conducted by DOD. The contracting officer may direct the contractor to remove any personnel performing private security functions who violate the rules, at the company's expense. Further, the bill states that if the violation is "gross... or "is repeated... the contracted may be terminated.

• Create a commission on wartime contracting to develop lessons learned from the contracting problems in Iraq and Afghanistan.

• Expand the list of officials that whistleblowers can report waste, fraud and abuse and expands the kind of information they can report.

• Direct the DOD Inspector General to conduct a report on a pilot program to impose fines for personnel who violate the new rules created by DOD and State.