Schakowsky Introduces Legislation to Shed Light on Private War Industry

SCHAKOWSKY INTRODUCES LEGISLATION TO SHED LIGHT ON PRIVATE WAR INDUSTRY

WASHINGTON, DC--U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky, a member of the Select Committee on House Intelligence, will today introduce legislation that would expose the extent to which the federal government is relying on private contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan to carry out quasi-military functions. The Washington Post reported that approximately 100,000 private contractors, about 25,000 of which are security contractors, are operating in Iraq alone. No exact number has been reported by the Defense Department.

"For too long, the Bush Administration has relied on guns-for-hire to carry out inherently governmental functions,... said Schakowsky. "Contractors have operated under a veil of secrecy, without a public debate about the nature and scope of their operations. We still do not have evidence that they are reporting to military commanders in charge of the regions where they are deployed. This legislation will shed light on the war business, so that Congress and the American people can determine when and where the outsourcing of our security to private firms is warranted....

The Iraq and Afghanistan Contractor Sunshine Act would require the Department of Defense (DoD), Department of State (DoS), Department of Interior (DoI), and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to provide Congress with copies and descriptions of work performed in Iraq and Afghanistan that are part of contracts and task orders in excess of $5 million.

The bill also has a reporting requirement that would require those agencies to report to Congress:

• The number of contractors and subcontractors (at any tier) that are employed in Iraq and Afghanistan;
• The total costs of those contracts;
• The total number of dead and wounded contractors;
• Any host country, international, and U.S. laws that have been broken by contractors; and
• The disciplinary actions that have been taken against contractors by the U.S. government, their employers or a host nation.

A December 2006 GAO report revealed that "DOD continues to have limited visibility over contractors because information on the number of contractors at deployed locations or the services they provide is not aggregated by any organization within DOD or its components.... The Houston Chronicle reported in January that as many as 770 contractors have died, and another 7,761 have been injured in Iraq alone since the war began. The Department of Defense has not reported casualty statistics for contractors operating in Iraq.

"After billions of taxpayer dollars spent, hundreds of causalities, and dozens of reports of waste, fraud, and abuse, the time has come for accountability and transparency over security contractors,... added Schakowsky. "Our troops deserve a discussion of whether civilians who are deployed at their sides should be allowed higher wages and looser protocols....