Ensign: Iraqis Should Share in Reconstruction Cost

Press Release

ENSIGN: IRAQIS SHOULD SHARE IN RECONSTRUCTION COST

Senator John Ensign today cited Iraq's record-breaking oil revenue as further evidence that Iraqis should pay for more of their own reconstruction efforts. As the Senate prepares to debate our spending policies in Iraq, Ensign is working with a select bipartisan group on legislation to place more of the financial burden on Iraqis.

"New reports project that Iraq's oil revenue could reach a record $70 billion this year," said Ensign, who in 2003 authored an amendment with Senator Evan Bayh on the issue of loans versus grants for Iraq. "Today's report shows that Iraq's oil exports are the highest they've been since the start of the war. Now is the time to require Iraqis to invest more in their own future."

A report by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction was released this week and cites a windfall of profits in Iraq from oil exports. If Iraq is able to maintain its current production levels and exports for the remainder of the year, revenues will double previous expectations.

Ensign, long a leading advocate on Capitol Hill for providing loans to Iraq instead of grants, signed a letter to the President emphasizing this concern.

"The time has come to end this blank check policy," Ensign and ten senators wrote to the President. "To address this problem, we are working on legislation that will require many of these costs to be provided in the form of a loan."

The Senate is preparing to debate a war spending bill and the annual defense authorization bill in the coming weeks. Ensign is considering legislative options to ensure that language is included that requires Iraqis to share in the financing of reconstruction efforts.

"It is becoming clear that support for this is growing in the Senate," Ensign added. "It's a matter of responsibility with American tax dollars now that Iraq's oil is producing significant revenue."

The Bayh-Ensign 2003 amendment would have required a portion of reconstruction funds for Iraq to be provided in the form of a loan. The amendment passed the Senate 51 - 47, but was not signed into law.

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