Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009

Floor Speech

DUNCAN HUNTER NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2009 -- (House of Representatives - September 24, 2008)

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Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my disappointment that the provision I drafted, that would prohibit private security contractors from performing inherently governmental functions in combat areas, was stripped from this bill. The House unanimously adopted this provision, and the Senate bill contained a nearly identical provision.

I am extremely disappointed that the Bush administration threatened to veto this bill over this commonsense provision, forcing the Armed Services Committee to only include a sense of Congress on the use of private military contractors in this legislation.

The horrible incidents like that involving Blackwater Worldwide in which 17 Iraqi civilians were killed, for which no one has yet been held accountable, have damaged our already tattered image in the eyes of the Iraqi people. Private contractors are being tasked with extremely sensitive jobs like gathering intelligence and providing armed security, and they severely damage the credibility of our military with their sometimes violent and almost always unaccountable behavior.

Inherently government functions should be performed by people in the U.S. military or who are U.S. Government personnel, people who proudly wear the badge of the U.S. and pledge their allegiance to it.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. I thank the gentleman.

Despite the administration's senseless decision to protect Blackwater and companies like it, I will continue to fight to make sure this won't happen.

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