As part of President Bush's revised strategy for Iraq, he appears likely to propose giving large sums of taxpayer dollars to decrepit and possibly corrupt state-owned Iraqi companies.
The Administration has already spent over $30 billion in U.S. taxpayer funds and another $20 billion in Iraqi funds under its control. Yet despite the vast expenditures, the reconstruction effort has produced little of lasting value. The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office reported yesterday that “Iraq’s oil production and exports have consistently fallen below U.S. program goals” and that “10 percent to 30 percent of refined fuels is diverted to the black market or is smuggled out of Iraq and sold for a profit.” Reconstruction efforts have also faltered in the electricity, health, and other sectors.
In a letter to his colleagues, Chairman Waxman proposes that Congress answer several key questions regarding the President's new spending proposal.
http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1151&Issue=Iraq+Reconstruction
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