Doris Matsui: “the Tierney amendment will establish a select committee to investigate the awarding and carrying out of war- related…”

“the Tierney amendment will establish a select committee to investigate the awarding and carrying out of war- related contracts in Afghanistan and Iraq. In 1941, with the United States engaged in a major military buildup as part of World War II, Senator Harry Truman, a Democrat from Missouri, became aware of widespread stories of contractor mismanagement in military contracts and created a committee to investigate such spending. Since 2003, there have been many examples of the misuse of American taxpayer dollars and Iraqi contracting. Nearly $9 billion on money spent on Iraqi reconstruction is unaccounted for because of inefficiencies and bad management, according to the Special Inspector General for Iraqi Reconstruction. Ensuring vigilant oversight of taxpayer dollars should not be a partisan issue. The Truman Committee was created while Democrats controlled the White House, the House, and the Senate. We owe it to American taxpayers and to our brave soldiers to oversee how the billions of taxpayer dollars are being spent in Iraq and Afghanistan. A new Truman Committee would allow us to get the facts on U.S. contracting in both military and reconstruction activities and to fix whatever problems exist. As always, Members should know that a ``no'' vote on the previous question will not stop consideration of the legislative branch appropriation bill.…”