Feingold Calls Latest Special Inspector General For Iraq Reconstruction Audit "Deeply Troubling" SIGIR Audit Report Released This Morning Shows Once Again Misuse of Millions of Taxpayer Dollars April 22, 2005 Washington D.C. -- U.S. Senator Russ Feingold made the following statement on the latest report from the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR). The SIGIR's audit of a nearly $300 million contract awarded to Aegis Defense Services Limited found that Aegis did not comply with the terms of the contract, did not perform all of the tasks required by the contract, and "did not provide sufficient documentation to show that all of its employees that were issued weapons were qualified to use those weapons or that its Iraqi employees were properly vetted to ensure they did not pose an internal security threat." "This report is deeply troubling, and only reaffirms the desperate need for vigorous, independent oversight of the way taxpayer dollars are being spent in Iraq," Feingold said. "Aegis was supposed to be providing security for government and reconstruction contractor personnel in Iraq. Not only does it appear that U.S. dollars were not well spent, but the consequence of the haphazard practices revealed in this report, like arming personnel without adequate training and failing to perform background checks on Iraqis employed to assist in the security effort, could very well be deadly." The position of IG was created thanks to an amendment that Feingold offered to a 2003 supplemental bill. Earlier this week, Feingold had offered an amendment to the current Iraq and Afghanistan supplemental bill to extend the mandate of the SIGIR. Currently the SIGIR's work is set to wind down once the bulk of the reconstruction funds for Iraq have been obligated. But the rate of obligations is now dramatically outpacing the rate of expenditures. Unfortunately, Feingold's amendment was defeated on a point of order. "If we let the Special IG sunset after the bulk of the money is obligated but not expended, we will not have clear picture of what these billions of US taxpayer dollars actually achieved on the ground," Feingold said. "The imminent disappearance of auditors can also create a real incentive for cutting corners in actually implementing projects. So we need to make sure that Congress signals its support for the Special IG continuing to see this reconstruction effort through. While I am disappointed that the managers of supplemental bill did not see fit to devote any effort to this important amendment, I will continue working to ensure that the mandate of the SIGIR is extended." A fact sheet on Senator Feingold's work on this issue is attached. Senator Feingold's Efforts to Create and Extend the Office of the Iraq Inspector General Senator Russ Feingold has led the effort to create and extend the Office of the Inspector General (IG) for Reconstruction in Iraq. The IG serves as a watchdog over the billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars allocated for Iraq reconstruction. The IG's office has been effective in its role, uncovering a wide range of problems with the use of taxpayer funds in Iraq. The IG will be issuing its next quarterly report on April 30, and it is also expected to issue a number of other audit reports in the month of April. Senator Feingold will be offering legislation to ensure that the work of this IG continues until the lion's share of the reconstruction dollars has been disbursed. As of March 2, 2005, less than $6 billion of the nearly $21 billion that Congress appropriated for reconstruction in Iraq has been disbursed. Creation and Extension of the Office of the Inspector General Creation of the IG, October 2004: During the debate on the $87 Iraq Supplemental Appropriations Bill, Senator Feingold added language creating the IG to oversee the operations of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA-IG). A modified version of the amendment was retained in conference and signed into law. Extension of the IG, October 2004: Senator Feingold authored provisions, which passed as part of the FY 2005 Defense Appropriations Bill, to ensure that the independent IG continues to monitor U.S. dollars meant for reconstruction, even though the CPA has dissolved. Without the Feingold amendment, that oversight would have disappeared at the end of 2004. The office is now known as Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction. Highlights of Accomplishments of the Office of the Inspector General June 2004: In one of its first reports, the IG found that the CPA did not know how many employees were working there, more than a year after deployment of personnel to support the CPA had begun. November 2004: The IG called for some payments to be withheld from Halliburton for its work in Iraq after finding that the company's record-keeping was so bad that auditors could not even judge whether the firm had fulfilled its obligations to the U.S. government. January 2005: An IG report found that the U.S. occupation authority in Iraq was unable to keep track of $8.8 billion it transferred to government ministries, which lacked financial controls, security, communications and adequate staff.

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