Lynn C. Woolsey: “American contractors in Iraq have lived by their own rules for far too long. While American taxpayers fund the equipping…”

“American contractors in Iraq have lived by their own rules for far too long. While American taxpayers fund the equipping and training of these private military contractors, companies like Blackwater continue to escape accountability to international, Iraqi or even American laws. Today, the Democratic Congress will put an end to the question of whether we are training mercenaries and murderers in place of our Nation's warriors. By passing H.R. 2740, we can ensure that contractors in Iraq are held accountable under American criminal law. There is no excuse to allow private contractors and subcontractors to exist without legal accountability. Madam Chairman, we must never forget that the way to end the abuses by contractors in Iraq is to bring our troops and our military contractors, 180,000 of them, home from Iraq as soon as practicable.”