Iraq Contracts: In May 2003, in response to the quickly growing no-bid contract awarded by the Bush administration to Halliburton, Senators Lautenberg, Barbara Boxer (D-CA), and John Warner (R-VA) coauthored a provision in Fiscal Year 2004 DOD Authorization bill to force all future Iraqi reconstruction contracts to be competitively bid (108th Congress, Senate Amendment No. 826, adopted on May 22, 2003, by a vote of 99-0, Record Vote No. 193, Public Law No. 108-136).
Special Inspector General for Afghanistan: Senator Lautenberg wrote the law creating a Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), modeled after the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction. After U.S. investments of nearly $20 billion for the reconstruction and security of Afghanistan, reports continue to surface raising questions about lack of progress there. The Lautenberg law was included in the FY2008 Department of Defense Authorization Act (110th Congress, Senate Amendment No. 3081 adopted on September 27, 2007 to H.R. 1585, later H.R. 4986, now Public Law No. 110-181). The President nominated a Special Inspector General on May 29, 2008. In addition, Senator Lautenberg secured $7 million for this office in the FY 2008 Supplemental Appropriations Act (Public Law No. 110-252).
