Tom Harkin: “more than 3 years into the Iraq war, we have had report after report documenting rampant corruption and profiteering on…”

“more than 3 years into the Iraq war, we have had report after report documenting rampant corruption and profiteering on the part of defense contractors, as well as lax oversight by government officials. A major reason why this is continuing largely unchecked is that the Department of Justice has been systematically delaying whistleblower law suits brought under the False Claims Act. Earlier today, I filed an amendment designed to break this logjam by requiring the Department of Justice to allow these cases to go forward after a maximum 1-year review period. I am pleased that Senator Johnson is co-sponsoring this amendment. The cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan has risen dramatically in each of the last 3 years. The Congressional Research Service reports that we are now spending $10 billion a month in Iraq, alone. One reason for these runaway costs is the widespread corruption in the contracting process: shoddy work, nonwork, stealing, fraud, kick-backs, bribes, insider dealings, inflated billings, and on and on. The waste of billions of dollars in taxpayer money is bad enough. But this widespread corruption is also impeding our war effort, slowing reconstruction efforts, and denying our troops in the field the quality support and equipment that they deserve. The single most important tool that American taxpayers can use to recover funds stolen through fraud by U.S. contractors is the False Claims Act.…”