Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Ron Klein (FL-22) today applauded the passage of key provisions in the supplemental war spending bill ending blank checks to Iraq. Klein has been the leading voice in the House calling for real change in the funding of reconstruction and other costs in Iraq. The legislation passed today requires Iraqis to pay for the reconstruction of Iraq, and also requires fair fuel cost negotiations to ensure that American taxpayers are no longer being overcharged for gas in Iraq.                           

“The House of Representatives has declared that the time for endless blank checks to Iraq is over, and that is something every American taxpayer can be proud of,” Klein said. “Whether you support the war or not, everyone can agree that after five years and over $600 billion in taxpayer money spent, enough is enough. The government of Iraq must stand up and take responsibility for rebuilding their own country, and the language included in today’s legislation requires them to do just that.”

Klein is the author of H. Res. 1111, which states that all future funding provided by the United States to the government of Iraq for reconstruction and fuel be provided as a loan.

“I was shocked when I found out that American taxpayers are spending $339 million every day rebuilding Iraq, and that shock caused me to take action,” Klein said. “When I share that statistic with hard-working families in South Florida, they are rightfully outraged. It was long past time to restore some fiscal sanity to this process.” 

While the reconstruction aspect of Klein’s legislation was also incorporated into the final supplemental spending bill, the fuel provision is especially noteworthy, as Klein was the first in the House to call for fuel costs to be covered by the government of Iraq. Currently, the United States spends $153 million every month on fuel in Iraq, at a cost of approximately $3.23 per gallon while Iraqis pay just $1.30 per gallon for fuel.

“Americans are spending a fortune on gas just filling up the family car, and they don’t need the added burden of paying inflated prices for gas in Iraq,” Klein said.

Klein led the entire 47-member freshman class of House Democrats in a letter to the Chairman of the Appropriations Committee and the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee asking that the supplemental include language requiring future U.S. funding for reconstruction and fuel in Iraq be repaid out of Iraqi oil revenues, a call that was reflected in the final language of the bill. The freshman class has a wide geographic reach, and includes conservative, moderate and more liberal members.

“The full House of Representatives and our leadership responded to the call of the freshman class for a common-sense, fiscally responsible change to the way American taxpayers fund the reconstruction of Iraq,” Klein said. “This freshman class represents the true face of America, and despite all of our differences, we all stood together and scored a real victory for the American taxpayer.”