CQ Today - White House Raps Contractor Bill But Stops Short Of Veto Threat

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CQ Today - White House Raps Contractor Bill But Stops Short Of Veto Threat

The White House "strongly opposes" a bill the House will vote on Wednesday to cover all contractors in Iraq and other war zones under U.S. law.

In a statement of administration policy released Wednesday, the White House said it "supports efforts to provide greater accountability for unlawful acts contractors may commit abroad" but has "grave concerns" with the House bill "in its current form."

The bill (HR 2740), by David E. Price, D-N.C., is expected to pass nonetheless. It would bring State Department and other contractors within the reach of the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (PL 106-523), which already covers Pentagon employees and contractors.

Reports that employees of Blackwater USA performing security work for the State Department have allegedly killed and wounded Iraqi civilians in shootouts added legislative momentum to the bill. The administration's heavy reliance on contractors in Iraq has drawn sharp criticism from Democrats opposed to the war.

"We owe it to our troops and to the Iraqi people to ensure that contractors are held to the same standard of justice as everyone else," Ohio Democrat Betty Sutton, a member of the Rules Committee, said during floor debate. The House adopted the rule governing floor consideration of the bill by 217-193.

The administration maintained that the legislation's "sweeping expansion of extraterritorial jurisdiction would create federal jurisdiction overseas in situations where it would be impossible or unwise to extend it. The bill would have unintended and intolerable consequences for crucial and necessary national security activities and operations."

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