Sunshine in Iraqi Reconstruction Contracting Act

Mrs. CLINTON. Mr. President, will my distinguished colleague yield for a question?

Mr. WYDEN. I will.

Mrs. CLINTON. Mr. President, it is a great privilege to be working in this bipartisan coalition with the chairman of the Governmental Affairs Committee, Senator Collins, and with a long-time champion of taxpayers and consumers like Senator Wyden.

Is it the understanding of the Senator from Oregon that the buck really stops with Congress? It is the Congress's responsibility to ensure the funds we appropriate for reconstruction in Iraq are spent in a fair and open manner?

Mr. WYDEN. The Senator from New York has summed it up. This is Congress's call. The buck in fact does stop with the Congress.

What we are talking about here is making sure Congress keeps in place vigorous oversight about the process. The process is what has, in our view, put taxpayers' dollars in some peril. People have focused on one company or another. There are inquiries underway. What we are going to do is protect the process that ensures, as the Senator from New York suggests, that the taxpayers are protected and Congress in fact has the last word in making sure this money is spent responsibly.

Mrs. CLINTON. Mr. President, that is an eloquent summation as to why I have joined with my colleagues in introducing the Sunshine In Iraqi Reconstruction Contracting Bill.

Tonight President Bush will address our Nation and will tell the world that Operation Iraqi Freedom's military action is over, at least insofar as major military engagements may be required. We know we will have continuing problems, like those we have seen in the last few days. But it is true we are now moving toward the second phase, which is the rebuilding of Iraq. So this colloquy we are having today is especially timely because of the President's announcement this evening.

With respect to our going forward, I think the important points the Senator from Oregon has made need to be underscored because, for many of us, we want to see the plans that have been explained in the last several weeks about the rebuilding effort move forward as expeditiously and cost-effectively as possible.

We know, as we just heard from the distinguished Senator, that a number of contracts have already been let. They have been no-bid or closed-bid contracts. As one follows the information about these contracts in the press, it has become clearer and clearer this has been in the planning for quite some time and it has been largely the province of a rather small group of insiders.

I think it is imperative, not only for the integrity of our procurement process, for the integrity of the congressional appropriation and oversight process, but for the integrity of the entire operation that has been undertaken in Iraq, to be transparent and open before the world.

If I may ask the Senator from Oregon another question, is it correct the legislation we have introduced would require when contracts are awarded without a full and open competition, behind closed doors, that the awarding agency—whether it is the Department of Defense or USAID—would have to publicly explain why they could not have had an open process?

Mr. WYDEN. The Senator is correct. Again, that is what the legislation is about. There is a certain irony in that that information is in fact already available. The bipartisan legislation we have put together with the Chair of the Governmental Affairs Committee, Senator Collins, says what is already completed work, in terms of the analysis and justification, simply would be made public so as to reinforce the proposition that there be the maximum amount of transparency, the maximum amount of accountability, and so the public can see why, if necessary, a special process that doesn't involve open bids would be necessary.

Mrs. CLINTON. You know, our bill also requires as part of that transparency, letting the sunshine come in, that the agencies would make public the amount of the contract, the scope of the contract, would provide information about how contractors were identified, as well as the justification and determination of the documents that led to the decision not to use full and open competition.

I find that very reassuring. I do not understand why this would not be legislation we could literally pass by unanimous consent this afternoon. I don't think it is in our Government's interest nor is it in America's interest that there be any doubt at all, any shadow cast over this process so people in our own country or elsewhere can say there is something funny going on, this is not being done straight.

Would the Senator agree, in addition to fulfilling what we know to be the appropriate procurement procedures, the fact that no-bid or closed-bid contracts time and time again lead to overruns, to excessive costs, that we are also, through this legislation, trying to send a warning, in a sense holding out a helping hand to the Government, to say let's do this in the open so nobody can ever go back and question motive or process with respect to what we are attempting to do with the reconstruction of Iraq?

Mr. WYDEN. The point of the Senator about the credibility of the Government I think is fundamental. I think we all know if people see something taking place behind closed doors, in secret, without the open and full process of competitive bidding, it just engenders suspicion, it just engenders a sense of skepticism and cynicism about government that just does not have to be.

It is particularly troubling here because the General Accounting Office, the nonpartisan organization of auditors, has already documented there is a problem. So we have a combination of taxpayer skepticism about work done in secret coupled with the long history of the General Accounting Office's skepticism about these reports, and here is an area that just cries out for sunshine.

I talked about sunshine being the best disinfectant, but certainly since we introduced this bill with Senator Collins over the last 21 days, the fact we have seen all these contracts—in fact, one of them where the agency just waives their own process, without an explanation—I think highlights the Senator's point that the Government's credibility is at stake.

Mrs. CLINTON. Mr. President, I hope we will have an even larger bipartisan coalition supporting this legislation, working with us, perhaps even convincing the Government agencies responsible for letting these contracts to think very hard about the process they are now following.

Again, I thank my colleague from Oregon and my colleague from Maine for providing such leadership. It is a pleasure to work with them. But it is also a duty. I think all of us feel a heavy responsibility to make sure the billions and billions of dollars—maybe as much as $100 billion that will be spent on reconstructing Iraq—is spent in the most effective way. Because, while we are looking at the extraordinary costs of this kind of task awaiting us in Iraq, we are also in this body hearing from our constituents, as many of us did over the previous 2 weeks, about what is happening to their schools, what is happening to their hospitals.

So we have to be especially conscious that this money can be justified; that we can look our constituents in the eyes when they say, I don't understand, Senator. I thought we were going to get more help for our poor schools. Senator, I don't understand. Our hospital has just closed down because we can't get enough reimbursements from the Federal Government.

This is not only about all of the good government principles. It is not even only about the integrity and credibility of our government. It is about the choices that are being made. These choices are not only important with respect to contracting, but they are important with respect to our values.

I hope our colleagues will join us in moving this piece of important legislation through so that we can begin to practice what many of us preach about transparency and openness and also making sure we get the very best deal. Our dollars are limited. If there is any excess on justified dollars going to Iraq that could go to my kids and schools in New York City, or to Ron's hospital in Oregon, that is our responsibility.

Let me again thank my colleagues. I look forward to being successful with this bipartisan coalition and getting this legislation passed at the earliest possible time.