Iraqis, Stand Up
Press Release
When the war in Iraq was first proposed by the Bush Administration nearly six years ago, those affiliated with the Administration and the Defense Department, including President Bush, former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and former Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, emphasized that the Iraqis had the means to finance the reconstruction of their own country. More recently, at a speech in June of 2005, President Bush said, "As the Iraqis stand up, we will stand down."
After five years and over half a trillion dollars spent in Iraq, I believe that it is time for the Iraqi government to step forward to meet more of its security and reconstruction expenses. It is clear to me that doing so should be a source of pride for the Iraqis, and it should be a point of insistence for the United States.
Recently, I renewed efforts that would require the Iraqi government to take more responsibility for its security and reconstruction costs by introducing the Iraq Shared Investment Act. This legislation calls on the Iraqi government to utilize its expected $12 billion budget surplus and estimated $56 billion oil revenue stream to help pay for its own security and reconstruction. Under the Iraq Shared Investment Act, funding provided by the U.S. to Iraq for training and equipping of Iraq Security Forces would be treated as a loan, rather than a grant, to be repaid to the American taxpayers.
The Iraq Shared Investment Act also creates a shared pot of money for the Iraqi and U.S. governments to contribute funding for mutually agreed upon reconstruction projects. If the Iraqi government does not contribute funding to this trust fund, then the money provided by the U.S. government for Iraq reconstruction costs would be used to pay down the nearly $10 trillion U.S. national debt.
Our own country's economic troubles are no secret, and the billions we have spent in Iraq, largely borrowed from foreign countries like China, have contributed to our lagging economy and have worsened the fiscal health of our country. We must look for ways that will allow the Iraqi government to pick up more of the tab for their own security and reconstruction costs. The Iraq Shared Investment Act is legislation that will do just that by making the Iraqi government less financially dependent on the U.S.
Additionally, the Iraqi people benefit from increased involvement in the future of their own country. Having the Iraqis pay more for security, rebuilding, and stabilization will give them a greater stake in the success of this work.
In the coming weeks, I will be working with my colleagues on the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee to push for the inclusion of the Iraq Shared Investment Act in the emergency supplemental bill that Congress is drafting. While we may not be able to change our policy in Iraq under the current Administration, I believe that this common sense loan proposal is something that both sides of the aisle can support.
The Iraq Shared Investment Act is simply about responsibility and commitment. The Iraqis must take responsibility for their country and demonstrate a commitment to their own success by assuming more of the security and reconstruction costs. The Iraqi government has a burgeoning budget surplus and a surging oil income. It just makes sense for the Iraqis to bear a larger share of the costs of securing and rebuilding their country. I encourage the President to uphold the statement he made in 2005now is the time for the Iraqi people to stand up, so that the American taxpayers can start to stand down.
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