Coleman To Introduce Bill To Investigate Potential Harm Of Australian Wheat Board On U.S. Farmers

COLEMAN TO INTRODUCE BILL TO INVESTIGATE POTENTIAL HARM OF AUSTRALIAN WHEAT BOARD ON U.S. FARMERS

In the wake of the Cole Commission Report released last week detailing the misconduct of the Australian Wheat Board (AWB), Senator Norm Coleman today will introduce legislation to investigate whether U.S. wheat farmers may have been harmed by AWB's corrupt trade practices. Specifically, the bill directs the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to investigate whether U.S. wheat farmers have suffered economic damage due to the actions of the AWB. If economic damage is found, the legislation directs USTR to go through its trade enforcement procedures to compensate U.S. wheat farmers, either through negotiated settlement or by imposing duties on certain Australian goods. According to the Cole Report, AWB took advantage of the U.N.'s Oil-for-Food program by paying over $221 million in kickbacks to Saddam Hussein through a Jordanian trucking firm between 1999-2003.

"First and foremost, we need to analyze whether the deceitful practices of AWB may have injured U.S. farmers. If we find that they have, we need to focus our efforts on making our farmers whole again. Not only will this bill help us determine the extent to which AWB's corrupt practices may have affected U.S. wheat growers, but it will also provide a mechanism to secure financial compensation if we find proof of harm," said Coleman. "The facts, as detailed in the Cole report, clearly show that AWB was awash in a culture of graft. I encourage other nations to follow the example of the Australians and investigate all evidence of misconduct associated with the Oil-for-Food Program."

As Chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee Investigation (PSI), Senator Coleman led a three-year investigation into the U.N. Oil-for-Food Program. Under Senator Coleman's leadership, the Subcommittee held numerous hearings and issued several detailed reports that exposed significant corruption associated with the U.N. Oil-for-Food Program. In particular, PSI exposed corruption involving public officials from the U.K., Russia, France and the U.N., along with corrupt transactions by companies in the U.S., U.K. and elsewhere around the world. The Subcommittee, however, faced insurmountable legal obstacles that prevented it from initiating an exhaustive investigation into AWB. Unlike other foreign entities, AWB declined to cooperate with the Subcommittee by providing documents or witnesses. Given that AWB is a foreign entity, the Subcommittee could not compel its cooperation through subpoenas. Senator Coleman has, however, pointed to the Cole Commission as a model for other nations with entities accused of corruption under the Oil-for-Food program

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