Russ Feingold: “I also want to speak very briefly regarding an amendment that I had filed, amendment No. 459. Chairman Cochran raised a…”

“I also want to speak very briefly regarding an amendment that I had filed, amendment No. 459. Chairman Cochran raised a point of order against the amendment today, but I want to spend just a few minutes to explain what this amendment was about, because it concerns the success or failure of the U.S. effort in Iraq, and it concerns every American taxpayer. In 2003 I offered an amendment to the supplemental bill for Iraq and Afghanistan that established an inspector general for the Coalition Provisional Authority so that there would be one auditing body completely focused on ensuring taxpayer dollars are spent wisely and efficiently, and that this effort is free of waste, fraud, and abuse. Then the CPA phased out and, happily, Iraqi sovereignty was transferred back into Iraqi hands. Congress agreed that continued oversight of the reconstruction effort was important, and agreed to an amendment that I offered last year to turn the CPAIG into the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction. But even today, many months after that change, in many ways the reconstruction effort has only just begun. According to the Congressional Research Service, as of about a month ago, only a little more than $6 billion of the nearly $21 billion reconstruction fund had actually been expended. The work of the Special Inspector General must continue. My amendment is simple and largely technical.…”