National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007

NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2007 -- (House of Representatives - May 11, 2006)

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Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time. I want to begin by thanking Chairman Hunter and Ranking Member Skelton and their Armed Service Committee staffs for working with me to bring this amendment dealing with private military contractors to the floor. I really appreciate your help and that of your staff.

My amendment would provide for additional oversight and accountability of the Defense Department contractors deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Contractors compose the second largest force in Iraq after the U.S. military. This amendment does not attempt to make any statement on the decision to use contractors or about the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Now that we are more than 3 years into the war in Iraq, this amendment is intended to give Members of Congress new tools so that we can exercise our oversight responsibilities on what has become a major component of our military and to clarify the role of contractors. We can all acknowledge that military contractors should require the same stringent accountability and oversight standards as the U.S. military. After all, private contractors often served side by side with our brave troops, and these same United States troops are often tasked to protect our contractors who are paid with billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars.

This amendment would help to provide increased accountability and oversight for our Defense Department contractors by, first, implementing a policy for conducting comprehensive background checks on foreign nationals hired by our contractors. We want to know who these individuals are and what their backgrounds are and if they are suitable for that role. It also prohibits the hiring of any person that has been convicted of a violent crime or a human rights violation.

Second, this amendment makes retroactive new Department of Defense rules for contractors on contracts that are already in existence or on any contract extension. For example, it makes perfectly clear that combatant commanders are in charge. It outlines carefully that relationship between combatant commanders and contractors so that there is a structure of command or part of the chain of command. The combatant commander decides whether or not they carry a gun, what uniform they would wear and that they have to respond to the combatant commander.

It also would say that anyone that is a contractor or an employee of a contractor must obey the laws of the host country, of international law and U.S. law.

Third, it requires a Department of Defense Inspector General report on contractor overcharges, requires that there are sufficient contracting officers assigned to monitor contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

I hope that in the future I can continue to work with Chairman Hunter and Ranking Member Skelton to address additional oversight issues regarding the use of military contractors. I also hope we will continue to consider the impact that utilizing contractors has on our military. And I would also like to consider additional means to make it easier for Members of Congress to see Defense Department contracts so we can better monitor them for signs of waste, fraud and abuse.

Again, I thank Chairman Hunter and Ranking Member Skelton. I appreciate your support and attention to this important issue.

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