US Congress saves watchdog on Iraq reconstruction

[sabra]

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N07336178.htm

US Congress saves watchdog on Iraq reconstruction

WASHINGTON, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Congress on Friday voted to keep open the agency that has spotlighted waste and fraud in taxpayer-funded reconstruction projects in Iraq and sent the bill to President George W. Bush for signing.

The Office of the Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, which oversees some $32 billion in rebuilding grants and contracts, had been set to end its work on Oct. 1, 2007, under a defense bill Congress passed earlier this year.

But senators such as Maine Republican Susan Collins said they were unaware of the office's termination until it turned up in media reports, and they demanded it be saved. The Senate passed a measure doing so earlier this week.

House of Representatives lawmakers denied on Friday that there had been anything secretive about the earlier decision to close the office, which is headed by Stuart Bowen. But on a bipartisan voice vote, they approved the bill to keep it open.

"I don't care if we extend the special inspector general, although I will object if we end up keeping that in place after all the money has been spent and there is nothing for them to do," said Rep. Duncan Hunter, a California Republican and chairman of the Armed Services Committee.

[central scrutinizer]

1. NOW they are bipartisan

bwah hah hah - nothing like the wrath of the voters to shake things up a little. Any bets on how this would have fared if Rove's election tampering had worked in November, 2006?

[Eugene]

2. Noting for them to do... except save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.

House Repugs nearly let this bill die last night.
They only changed their minds at the last minute.
They just don't see the urgency of stopping billions
of dollars of profiteering, waste, and outright fraud.