Turns out he has! Only they're all in Iraq.
On May 22, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a hearing on payments made by the Department of Defense to parties in Iraq without enough documentation to explain exactly who was being paid, and why.
The centerpiece of the hearing was a report by the DoD Inspector General's office (PDF) which found that, between April 2001 and June 2006, the Department of Defense paid out $1.4 billion (yes, that's "billion" with a "b") in payments without accurate accounting control -- and that's after the Inspector General decided to leave out half of the regulations that usually apply to Federal contracts because these payments were being made in a war zone, where it's not always possible to follow the regulations to the letter. (If you get nitpicky and count violations of all the regulations, the total zooms to $6.3 billion.)
One incident in the report in particular caught my eye:
Our sample included a $320 million cash payment to an Iraqi representative for Iraqi salary payments. The only supporting documentation in the payment voucher were two “Purchase Request and Commitment” forms to obligate the funds and another document that indicated the amount of funds being requested. These documents did not account for how the funds were used for salaries or the benefit of the Iraqi people. The name of the Iraqi ministry to whom the funds were to be provided and the number of Iraqi civil servants to be paid were omitted from the voucher. This information could have been provided by attaching a spending plan or budget.
That $320 million payment was supposedly for salary for Iraqi workers -- but the only documentation provided for whose salary was being paid was a one-page receipt (PDF) indicating that it was to pay 1,000 unnamed workers $320,800 each. The kicker? It doesn't even bother to explain what those workers were being paid $300 grand to do. The only explanation provided is three words: "Iraqi Salary Payments".
Here at home, workers have to fight to earn a paycheck that can support a family -- but in Iraq, we'll pay 1,000 people $320,800 each without even bothering to ask them what they're doing to earn the money.
What's wrong with this picture?
Comments (1)
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I here what you are saying. That it why again we need labor friendly candidates in Washington that understand the TRUTH behind this monitary global chess game. I volunteered for such a candidate in the 2007 election cycle that understands these truths, Tammy Duckworth for the 6th Congressional seat here in Chicago, IL. She is a shero in the eyes of many and I would stand behind her in a political again!
Posted by Tamera Guilinger on June 5, 2008 at 8:19 AM
Posted on June 5, 2008 at 8:19 AM