Ron Wyden: “Senators Collins, Clinton, Byrd, Lieberman and I want the rebuilding of Iraq to be done in the best way possible-- for…”

“Senators Collins, Clinton, Byrd, Lieberman and I want the rebuilding of Iraq to be done in the best way possible-- for the Iraqi people and for the American taxpayers who will foot the bill. To ensure that happens, we're introducing bipartisan legislation today to ensure accountability in the awarding of U.S. contracts to rebuild Iraq. Usually in situations like this, open and competitive bidding is used to get the best deal for the taxpayers. The same needs to hold true here. Contracts to rebuild Iraq should be awarded in the sunshine--not behind a smokescreen. If the Federal Government chooses not to use free market competition to get the most reasonable price from the most qualified contractor, then, at a minimum, they should have to tell the American people why. The bill we're introducing today is called the Sunshine in Iraq Reconstruction Contracting Act. It's intended to shine light into the secretive practices the United States Agency for International Development, USAID, and other Federal agencies are using to hand out in Iraqi work. There are dollars-and-cents reasons for doing this. The potential cost of rebuilding Iraq has been estimated at around $100 billion. That's a lot of taxpayer money. And the U.S. General Accounting Office, GAO, reports that sole-source and limited-source contracts aren't usually the best buy.…”