WASHINGTON, DC - To loosen the grip that firms such as Halliburton have on the Iraqi reconstruction effort and to ease the burden of reconstruction on the American taxpayer, Reps. Carolyn Maloney (NY-14), Henry A. Waxman (CA-30) and Maurice Hinchey (NY-22) today introduced the "Clean Contracting in Iraq Act of 2003" (H.R. 3275). The bill would achieve the following:

Ensuring fair competition among multiple firms for rebuilding contracts

Encouraging the awarding of contracts to Iraqi firms, particularly when such action would reduce costs

Establishing transparency (through notification of Congress) in the awarding of contracts

A summary of the legislation is included below.

"We need to make sure that the reconstruction of Iraq is not just a Halliburton-controlled operation, as appears to be the case. We need competitive bids, Iraqi involvement and transparency," said Rep. Maloney. "The best way we can win the peace in Iraq is to give the Iraqi people ownership of their reconstruction, and this bill does that. The best way we can reduce the sticker shock of the billions of dollars going to Iraq is to loosen Halliburton's stranglehold on the reconstruction - a stranglehold that squeezes the American taxpayer. This bill does that. The best way to ensure that American taxpayer money is well-spent is to establish transparency for the reconstruction contracts. This bill does that, too."

"We need to inject transparency and competition to protect the taxpayer and stop sweetheart deals for companies like Halliburton and Bechtel," said Rep. Waxman. "This bill contains commonsense safeguards that everyone should support."

Said Rep. Hinchey: "The effort in Iraq is being run like a private enterprise without any opportunity for public scrutiny. That has to stop. The Clean Contracting in Iraq Act is absolutely necessary if we're to ensure fair competition among multiple firms, including Iraqi firms. Failing to accomplish the goals of this bill will perpetuate the world-wide suspicion that we went to war in Iraq for reasons that were not entirely honorable."

BACKGROUND

Rep. Henry A. Waxman, Ranking Minority Member of the Government Reform Committee, has led congressional efforts to examine the nature of Halliburton and Bechtel's involvement in the reconstruction of Iraq and their seeming monopoly on the process (see chronology on Waxman's webpage: http://www.house.gov/reform/min/inves_admin/admin_contracts.htm ). On September 30, 2003, Rep. Waxman wrote to Office of Management and Budget Director Josh Bolten with concerns about the lack of information being disseminated about reconstruction contracts, the participation of Haliburton and Bechtel and the costs for the American taxpayer (September 30th Letter).

SUMMARY OF LEGISLATION

This bill is based upon four basic principles: (1) transparency, (2) competition, (3) Iraqi involvement, and (4) legal status.

This legislation requires notification to the chairman or ranking member of relevant congressional committees of contracts and task orders valued at over $1M. It also mandates that upon request of the chairman or ranking member of any of these committees, the agency shall provide within 7 days unredacted copies of documents that pertain to these contracts.

The legislation prohibits sole-source contracts and requires that contracts of $1 M or more must be by multiple-award contracts. There is an exemption for emergencies.

The legislation requires each contracting agency shall develop a plan to minimize costs to the U.S. taxpayer by using Iraqi contractors and subcontractors; the contracting agencies may use Iraqi contractors or subcontractors where use of such contractors or subcontractors would be cost effective.

This legislation makes clear that the Coalition Provisional Authority is an executive agency, and it, therefore, must follow United States federal procurement law, freedom of information law and financial management statutes.

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