Cord Byrd: “I suggest my statement in support of this amendment be entitled ``Too Much Money, Too Little Accountability.'' This is…”

“I suggest my statement in support of this amendment be entitled ``Too Much Money, Too Little Accountability.'' This is an amendment about accountability. This is an amendment to ensure that those administration officials charged with spending taxpayer funds are held accountable to the American people and to their representatives in the Congress. To date, the Coalition Provisional Authority, CPA, has not been held accountable for the money it spends, and that is your money. That is your money, I say to the taxpayers of this great country. Those who spend it should be held accountable. Not until the President requested $20 billion in reconstruction aid for Iraq did the CPA make any effort to inform the Congress and the public about the administration's reconstruction plans. Let me say that again. This is an amendment about accountability. This is an amendment to ensure that those administration officials charged with spending taxpayer funds are held accountable to the American people and to their representatives in the Congress.”