Congressional Record: October 15, 2003 (Senate)
Page S12579-S12599


 
EMERGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS FOR IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN SECURITY 
                  AND RECONSTRUCTION, 2004--Continued

[...]

                           Amendment No. 1846

  Mr. BYRD. Madam President, I send an amendment to the desk on behalf 
of myself, Mr. Levin, Mr. Dorgan, Mrs. Clinton, and Ms. Landrieu.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, the pending amendments are 
set aside. The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from West Virginia [Mr. Byrd], for himself, Mr. 
     Levin, Mr. Reed, Mr. Corzine, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Dorgan, Mrs. 
     Clinton, and Ms. Landrieu, proposes an amendment numbered 
     1846.

  Mr. BYRD. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of 
the amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

    (Purpose: To modify the report requirements with respect to the 
                    Coalition Provisional Authority)

       At the appropriate place insert the following:
       Sec. 2309. (a) Reports of Coalition Provisional 
     Authority.--Not later than January 1, 2004, and every 90 days 
     thereafter, the Administrator of the Coalition Provisional 
     Authority (CPA) shall submit to the Committees on 
     Appropriations and Armed Services of the Senate and the House 
     of Representatives a report on all obligations, expenditures, 
     and revenues associated with reconstruction, rehabilitation, 
     and security activities in Iraq during the preceding 90 days, 
     including the following:
       (1) Obligations and expenditures of appropriated funds.
       (2) A project-by-project and program-by-program accounting 
     of the costs incurred to date for the reconstruction of Iraq, 
     together with the estimate of the Authority of the costs to 
     complete each project and each program.
       (3) Revenues attributable to or consisting of funds 
     provided by foreign nations or international organizations, 
     and any obligations or expenditures of such revenues.
       (4) Revenues attributable to or consisting of foreign 
     assets seized or frozen, and any obligations or expenditures 
     of such revenues.
       (5) Operating expenses of the Authority and of any other 
     agencies or entities receiving funds appropriated by title.
       (b) Comptroller General Audit, Investigations, and 
     Reports.--(1) The Comptroller General of the United States 
     shall

[[Page S12586]]

     conduct an on-going audit of the Coalition Provisional 
     Authority, and may conduct such additional investigations as 
     the Comptroller General considers appropriate, to evaluate 
     the reconstruction, rehabilitation, and security activities 
     in Iraq.
       (2) In conducting the audit and any investigations under 
     paragraph (1), the Comptroller General shall have access to 
     any information and records created or maintained by the 
     Authority, or by any other entity receiving appropriated 
     funds for reconstruction, rehabilitation, or security 
     activities in Iraq, that the Comptroller General considers 
     appropriate to conduct the audit or investigations.
       (3) Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment 
     of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit to the 
     Committees on Appropriations and Armed Services of the Senate 
     and the House of Representatives a report on the audit and 
     any investigations conducted under paragraph (1). The report 
     shall include information as follows:
       (A) A detailed description of the organization and 
     authorities of the Authority.
       (B) A detailed description of the relationship between the 
     Authority and other Federal agencies, including the 
     Department of Defense, the Department of State, the Executive 
     Office of the President, and the National Security Council.
       (C) A detailed description of the extent of the use of 
     private contractors to assist in Authority operations and to 
     carry out reconstruction, rehabilitation, or security 
     activities in Iraq, including an assessment of--
       (i) the nature of the contract vehicles used to perform the 
     work, including the extent of competition used in entering 
     into the contracts and the amount of profit provided in the 
     contracts;
       (ii) the nature of the task orders or other work orders 
     used to perform the work, including the extent to which 
     performance-based, cost-based, and fixed-price task orders 
     were used;
       (iii) the reasonableness of the rates charged by such 
     contractors, including an assessment of the impact on rates 
     of a greater reliance on Iraqi labor or other possible 
     sources of supply;
       (iv) the extent to which such contractors performed work 
     themselves and, to the extent that subcontractors were 
     utilized, how such subcontractors were selected; and
       (v) the extent to which the Authority or such contractors 
     relied upon consultants to assist in projects or programs, 
     the amount paid for such consulting services, and whether 
     such consulting services were obtained pursuant to full and 
     open competition.
       (D) A detailed description of the measures adopted by the 
     Authority and other Federal agencies to monitor and prevent 
     waste, fraud, and abuse in the expenditure of appropriated 
     funds in the carrying out of reconstruction, rehabilitation, 
     and security activities in Iraq.
       (E) A certification by the Comptroller General as to 
     whether or not the Comptroller General had adequate access to 
     relevant information to make informed judgments on the 
     matters covered by the report.
       (4) The Comptroller General shall from time to time submit 
     to the Committees on Appropriations and Armed Services of the 
     Senate and the House of Representatives a supplemental report 
     on the audit, and any further investigations, conducted under 
     paragraph (1). Each such report shall include such updates of 
     the previous reports under this subsection as the Comptroller 
     General considers appropriate to keep Congress fully and 
     currently apprised on the reconstruction, rehabilitation, and 
     security activities in Iraq.

  Mr. BYRD. Madam President, 1 year ago this week, the President signed 
the congressional resolution authorizing him to go to war against Iraq. 
That signing was a historic moment for the United States. For the first 
time in our history, the President asked Congress for authority to 
launch an invasion against a sovereign nation that did not constitute a 
clear and imminent threat to the safety of the American people. And for 
the first time in our history, the President demanded that Congress 
give him unconditional power to initiate war whenever he wanted, 
limited by nothing but his own judgment. The President wanted war on 
his own terms, and Congress granted him everything he asked for.
  For the next 5 months, the President and his top advisors turned a 
deaf ear to growing concerns about the administration's judgment. When 
intelligence analysts warned that the White House was acting on 
questionable conclusions, those analysts were ignored. When Members of 
Congress dared to ask questions about the President's war plans, they 
were branded as unpatriotic. When our oldest allies disagreed with the 
argument that immediate war was the only answer, they were dismissed 
and called irrelevant. Top administration officials who publicly 
contradicted the President's rosy predictions were fired, and the 
American public was kept in the dark about what Iraq would look like 
after the war.
  On several occasions, I stood on the floor and asked: After Iraq, 
what? What shall we expect the morning after the war?
  Confident that the reconstruction of Iraq was a job that could be 
handled without involving Congress too much or the United Nations, 
President Bush delegated the task to retired GEN Jay Garner, who 
quietly went to work with support from the Pentagon. The American 
people were not told much about General Garner or what he was doing in 
Iraq. Most Members of Congress didn't know anything more about him than 
what they read in the papers. So when General Garner was given his 
walking papers and replaced with Ambassador Paul Bremer without 
explanation or fanfare, Congress had no real information to judge what 
the shake-up would mean for the United States occupation of Iraq.
  In the days after President Bush made his flamboyant landing on the 
aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln to announce to the world that the 
United States had accomplished its mission in Iraq--that was the banner 
headline over and above his head--most of the country was too 
distracted celebrating the military triumph to think much about the 
President's appointment of Paul Bremer to serve as a Presidential envoy 
in Iraq. With the President declaring victory and the administration 
continuing to assure the public that we would be welcomed as 
liberators--a la Vice President Cheney--and that Iraq's oil revenues 
would pay for reconstruction, the administration hoped that no one 
would bother to notice the management changes it was making in Iraq.
  The administration moved quickly to set up a reconstruction team on 
the ground in Iraqi that would answer only to the President and the 
Secretary of Defense. In May, the President issued a classified 
National Security Directive creating the Coalition Provisional 
Authority, CPA. That document remains classified, and the 
administration has provided very little public information about the 
powers and authorities of the CPA. All we really know from the White 
House is that Ambassador Bremer, as administrator of the CPA, reports 
to the President through the Secretary of Defense. But after the recent 
announcement that National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice will be 
coordinating reconstruction policy from within the White House, who 
knows what the chain of command looks like today or will look like 
tomorrow? Getting a clear picture of how the CPA operates has proved to 
be difficult, but it is clear Ambassador Bremer wields an extraordinary 
amount of power and independence in Iraq. And, if you don't believe it, 
listen to this. On May 16, the CPA issued its first regulation in Iraq 
in which it spelled out its authority in no uncertain terms. Section 1 
of that regulation stated:

       The CPA is vested with all executive, legislative, and 
     judicial authority necessary to achieve its objectives, to be 
     exercised under relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions, 
     including resolution 1483, and the laws and usages of war. 
     This authority shall be exercised by the CPA Administrator.

  That is broad, broad, virtually without limitation, if the reading 
means what it says. Let's read that again.

       The CPA is vested with all executive, legislative, and 
     judicial authority.

  Take a look at the Constitution of the United States. Let's see what 
it says, in the very first article, the very first section of that 
article, and then compare that authority with the authority I have just 
read. Here is what article I, section 1, of the Constitution says about 
the legislative authority.

       All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a 
     Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a 
     Senate and House of Representatives.

  That is one sentence, and it vests all legislative powers in a 
Congress of the United States.
  Well, section 1 of the regulation, which I have just read, says it is 
the CPA that is vested with all executive, legislative, and judicial 
authority necessary to achieve its objectives. My, what authority that 
is. It does not stop with just legislative authority. It talks about 
executive, legislative, and judicial authority.
  Read that again.

       The CPA is vested with all executive, legislative, and 
     judicial authority necessary to achieve its objectives, to be 
     exercised under

[[Page S12587]]

     relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions, including 
     resolution 1483, and the laws and usages of war. This 
     authority shall be exercised by the CPA Administrator.

  There is a man mountain for you, with all that authority. That is a 
powerful statement, especially for an agency that has never been 
authorized by Congress and an administrator who was not confirmed by 
the Senate for his position. How about that?
  The CPA under Paul Bremer has the power to run the Iraqi Government 
ministries, the power to appoint Iraqi officials, the power to award 
lucrative private contracts for reconstruction. The CPA also oversees 
local police and even sets public curfews in Baghdad.
  Now the CPA is looking to further consolidate its powers with an 
unprecedented request to spend over $20 billion of your money. I say to 
you out there who are looking at this Chamber through those electronic 
lenses there: It is your money, your money. But here we are going to 
consolidate the powers of the CPA with an unprecedented request to 
spend over $20 billion of the American taxpayers' money, your money, 
with little oversight by the Congress.
  Until now, the CPA has financed its various activities from a number 
of different sources, including billions of dollars in seized Iraqi 
assets. The CPA was not accountable to Congress for much of this 
spending, and it made very little effort to keep Congress and the 
public informed about the administration's reconstruction plans.

  So, the White House let Paul Bremer maintain a low profile for months 
in Iraq before the President finally spoke to the American people about 
what was happening on the ground in Iraq.
  But now the President has admitted that rebuilding Iraq will be a 
much tougher job than he had promised, and it will come with a bigger 
pricetag. I must say, however, the pricetag had never been mentioned. 
We attempted to find out from the administration what the pricetag 
would be, but the administration chose to stay mum about that. But now 
we find this business of rebuilding Iraq is going to come with a big, 
big pricetag. That means Paul Bremer needs more money, more of your 
money. It is your money that Paul Bremer needs. So the administration 
was forced to loosen its grip of secrecy, just long enough to send 
Ambassador Bremer to testify before Congress about the need for 
additional funding. And in one instance, when I asked Mr. Bremer when 
he was before the Appropriations Committee, ``Will you find it possible 
to appear before this committee again if the chairman so directs,'' 
what was Mr. Bremer's answer?

       I'm too busy. I am too busy. I'm too busy.

  I regret we don't have those hearings printed, but the transcripts 
are around and those were his words:

       I'm too busy.

  Don't be fooled. The public relations campaign with Congress will 
last only as long as it takes to get this massive bill pushed through 
both Houses in one piece. In typical fashion, the administration has 
been willing to say whatever Congress wanted to hear in order to get 
its way. We heard a lot of talk about plans and accountability, but the 
information given to Congress was long on rhetoric, short on substance.
  After all of the detailed spending requests and so-called plans from 
the CPA, what we are left with today is a bill before the Senate that 
gives Paul Bremer a blank check. Did you hear it? Did you hear it? A 
blank check, that is what it is. Give to Mr. Bremer a blank check, a 
blank check to spend $20 billion as a start. However, once this bill 
leaves Congress, the administration can throw its plans out the window 
and restore tight controls over information to prevent any meaningful 
oversight or scrutiny of its activities.
  Is that the way you want your money managed? Congress cannot simply 
trust the CPA to voluntarily cooperate with oversight of reconstruction 
spending. This administration has a long track record. It would not 
even take an elephant to remember how long that track record is. It has 
a long track record of stonewalling Congress. And, so far, Iraq has 
been no exception. The CPA took over the reins of Iraq's government 5 
months ago, yet Congress still has very little useful information to 
evaluate its progress in Iraq thus far, let alone the merits of future 
spending needs. If Congress has any hope of holding the administration 
accountable for the reconstruction plans it is proposing today, 
Congress needs a mechanism to ensure accountability from the CPA.

  Ambassador Bremer testified before Congress that the activities of 
the CPA will be fully transparent and accountable, but some of his own 
statements suggested that he was reluctant to cooperate with committee 
oversight. In particular, I was troubled by comments he made about 
congressional access to the CPA's financial records. When he testified 
before the Appropriations Committee, Ambassador Bremer told the 
committee that the CPA had detailed records of all of its receipts and 
outlays that could be audited by Congress. However, when he appeared 
before the Armed Services Committee only 3 days later, he said the 
Office of Management and Budget was responsible for maintaining those 
records, and Congress would have to go to the White House for access to 
the CPA's records.
  Throughout my long years in Congress, I have seen the White House 
occupied by Presidents of both parties, and I know from experience that 
one needs to be skeptical when referred to the White House for 
oversight information. There is no reason why any arm of the executive 
branch charged with making such significant spending decisions should 
not be working directly with Congress. When we are talking about 
handing over another $20 billion to the CPA, there is a real need for 
Congress to confirm that the CPA has its finances in order and that the 
CPA is managing the taxpayers' money--your money--responsibly.
  The amendment that I and other Senators are offering will require the 
Coalition Provisional Authority to report to Congress--how about that? 
That is not asking too much--on its receipts and expenditures as the 
reconstruction efforts move forward in Iraq.
  Let me say that again.
  This amendment will require the Coalition Provisional Authority, the 
CPA, to report to Congress--yes; the people's branch of government--to 
report to Congress on the CPA's receipts and expenditures as the 
reconstruction efforts move forward in Iraq. These reports will be 
submitted on a quarterly basis beginning on January 1, 2004. Building 
on the reporting requirements already in the bill, this amendment calls 
for an accounting of both appropriated funds and other sources, such as 
oil revenues and foreign contributions. This is information that the 
CPA is already tracking. So it shouldn't be too much of a burden to 
share that information with Congress, especially given the CPA's 
extraordinary flexibility in spending taxpayer dollars. Ambassador 
Bremer assured the committee during the committee hearing that he would 
comply with any reporting requirements Congress chose to include in 
this legislation.
  This amendment also directs the Comptroller General of the United 
States to audit the spending records of the CPA. What is wrong with 
that? How about that? The amendment also directs the Comptroller 
General of the United States to audit the spending records of the CPA--
we should all be for that--so that the General Accounting Office can 
provide Congress with a clear understanding of how reconstruction 
activities are being managed in Iraq. In its report to Congress, the 
General Accounting Office must outline the authorities and organization 
of the CPA, the CPA's relationship to the White House and other 
executive agencies, and the CPA's use of private contractors to perform 
critical reconstruction services in Iraq.

  I think most people would agree with the purpose here. Let me say it 
again.
  In its report to Congress, the GAO must outline the authorities and 
organizations of the CPA, the CPA's relationship to the White House and 
other executive agencies--and get this--and the CPA's use of private 
contractors to perform critical reconstruction services in Iraq.
  The most important power vested in Congress by the Constitution is 
the power over the purse. Englishmen spent centuries and shed blood to 
wrest that power from tyrannical monarchs and vest it in the people's 
branch, the House of Commons. And our forbearers in our own country 
brought with them that legacy, brought with them to these shores that 
principle, that power over the purse vested in the people's

[[Page S12588]]

branch. So they wrote it in this Constitution which I hold in my hand. 
Our Framers wrote it in there. Article I, section 9 of this 
Constitution vests the power of the purse in this branch. That is where 
it has been. That is where it is.
  This power carries with it the duty to ensure that the people's 
money--your money--is being spent wisely. Congress must be able to 
follow that money wherever it goes, but right now our money may soon 
disappear into a whirling storm of White House rhetoric and wartime 
profiteering.
  Without this amendment, following the money will only get harder as 
the President continues to reorganize the chain of command in Iraq and 
avoid straight answers to tough questions about the success of our 
reconstruction efforts.
  If the constitutional power of the purse means anything at all, it 
must at least require that the people's elected representatives here in 
Congress have a right to know how the Government is spending the 
Nation's treasury. I urge the Senate to protect its own powers and live 
up to its oversight responsibilities, and I urge Senators to support 
this amendment.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Cornyn). The Senator from Alaska.
  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, there are a series of reporting 
requirements in this bill already. I have conferred with the 
leadership. We don't have any objection to this amendment by the 
Senator from West Virginia. I am certain that in conference the House 
is going to insist on consolidating some of these reports. We will be 
glad to review that matter with the Senator when that occurs. But we 
are happy to accept the amendment.
  Mr. BYRD. I thank the distinguished Senator. May we have a vote on 
it?
  Mr. STEVENS. Does the Senator want a rollcall vote?
  Mr. BYRD. Yes. I would like a rollcall. It shows that it is a serious 
amendment.
  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the order for the 
quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, if the Senator wants a vote on this 
amendment, he is entitled to a vote. I shall not object to that. But I 
want the Senate to know we have a Boxer amendment to require a report 
on replacing troops with Iraqi forces or other non-U.S. forces to 
secure areas in Iraq. We have an amendment by Mr. Feingold to provide 
transparency and accountability with respect to the Coalition 
Provisional Authority. He wishes to have an office of inspector general 
in the Coalition Provisional Authority. As I understand it, he will 
offer that amendment. We have an amendment offered by Senator McCain 
and Senator Biden. They wish to have a GAO review on the effectiveness 
of the Coalition Provisional Authority relief and reconstruction 
activities, and a report quarterly to the congressional committees on a 
similar matter to that suggested by Senator Byrd's amendment.
  So if the Senator wishes a vote on his amendment, I am prepared to 
agree to that; that will be the case. It would be my intention to 
accept all of these amendments and take them to conference and see what 
we can do to come out with a concept of a process of having adequate 
information and transparency in the Coalition without burdening the 
Coalition with a series of different types of reports and different 
types of officers who will be looking over their shoulders and 
demanding access to their offices and interviews of their personnel 
when we are trying to get the business done over there.
  I do not think a provisional authority, within an area with the kind 
of suicide bombers we are seeing there on a daily basis, is something 
we have to burden with a series of duplicating types of reports and 
inspectors general and the comptroller general and his people there at 
the same time.
  So again I state to my friend I will not oppose the amendment. I will 
vote for it. I assume it will get 100 votes. But in conference I intend 
to see it to these reports are consolidated, and we have a concise--
concise--concept of the type of reports Congress needs to oversee the 
activities of the Provisional Authority.
  Does the Senator wish to renew his request for the yeas and nays?
  Mr. BYRD. Yes. May I say, prior to doing that, this is not just one 
more report. It is like the making of our laws, Mr. President. We have 
the books full of laws, but we always see the need for enacting more 
and more laws.
  There are Ten Commandments. If we listen to the argument of the 
distinguished Senator from Alaska--and he is a very distinguished 
Senator--then one Commandment should have been enough; the others would 
have been repetitive. That is not the case.
  This is an important reporting requirement. I hope the Senate will 
approve it. We are talking about $20 billion here. So I ask for the 
yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I state again, I have serious question of 
whether the Comptroller General of the United States is a replacement 
for the Inspector General. That, in effect, is what the Senator's 
amendment does. It creates the comptroller general as a constant 
inspector general of everything that is going on under the Coalition 
Provisional Authority.

  I am going to reserve my opportunity to consolidate all of these 
reports in conference. But I do agree we have the yeas and nays.
  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, the Comptroller General, General Accounting 
Office is an arm of the Congress. Let the Congress carry out its proper 
role of oversight under the Constitution. That is all I am asking for 
here.
  I thank the Senator.
  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I do not want to belabor the point. It is 
an arm of the Congress, but this is an executive function concerning an 
audit. We have created offices of the inspector general. Two Senators 
have suggested inspectors general. I do not think this is the place for 
a continuing presence of an arm of the Congress. But I will vote for 
the Senator's amendment to take it to conference. As the Chair said, 
there is a sufficient second.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is a sufficient second.
  Is there further debate on the amendment? If not, the question is on 
agreeing to the amendment. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. REID. I announce that the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. 
Edwards), the Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. Kerry), and the Senator 
from Connecticut (Mr. Lieberman) are necessarily absent.
  I further announce that, if present and voting, the Senator from 
Massachusetts (Mr. Kerry) would vote ``aye.''
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 97, nays 0, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 383 Leg.]

                                YEAS--97

     Akaka
     Alexander
     Allard
     Allen
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Bennett
     Biden
     Bingaman
     Bond
     Boxer
     Breaux
     Brownback
     Bunning
     Burns
     Byrd
     Campbell
     Cantwell
     Carper
     Chafee
     Chambliss
     Clinton
     Cochran
     Coleman
     Collins
     Conrad
     Cornyn
     Corzine
     Craig
     Crapo
     Daschle
     Dayton
     DeWine
     Dodd
     Dole
     Domenici
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Fitzgerald
     Frist
     Graham (FL)
     Graham (SC)
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Hollings
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Inouye
     Jeffords
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Kohl
     Kyl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lincoln
     Lott
     Lugar
     McCain
     McConnell
     Mikulski
     Miller
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nelson (FL)
     Nelson (NE)
     Nickles
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Roberts
     Rockefeller
     Santorum
     Sarbanes
     Schumer
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Smith
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stabenow
     Stevens
     Sununu
     Talent
     Thomas
     Voinovich
     Warner
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--3

     Edwards
     Kerry
     Lieberman
  The amendment (No. 1846) was agreed to.
  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, in view of the vote on the Byrd 
amendment, I announce that we have a Durbin amendment, a Corzine 
amendment, a Boxer amendment, and a Feingold amendment that pertain to 
reporting. If those Senators are willing to offer

[[Page S12589]]

them now, I am prepared to accept them, and we will put them all 
together when we get to conference. They have not been filed.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Chambliss). The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. STEVENS. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum 
call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the two 
lists of amendments I now send to the desk be the only remaining first-
degree amendments in order to the bill other than those pending at the 
present time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. STEVENS. And provided that second-degree amendments be in order 
and they be relevant to the amendment to which they are offered.
  Mr. REID. Reserving the right to object, I thought we had on this 
list--and I may have a different list--Senator Leahy has an amendment.
  Mr. STEVENS. There are two Leahy amendments here.
  Mr. REID. We have no objection.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. STEVENS. In just a moment we will ask for a rollcall vote on 
Senator Graham's amendment, but I would like to yield to my friend, 
Senator Feingold, to introduce an amendment, then to approve a series 
of reporting amendments.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, through the Chair, to my friend from 
Wisconsin, it is my understanding the Senator has two amendments.
  Mr. FEINGOLD. That is right.
  Mr. REID. One is a reporting amendment and one is on another subject. 
I ask, since he has been waiting for such a long time, that he send his 
reporting amendment to the desk. Then it is my understanding there are 
a number of matters you wish to dispose of dealing with reporting 
amendments. Then he would like to offer his amendment. If there is a 
vote, we would vote on that and the Graham amendment at the same time.
  Mr. STEVENS. I am not sure about voting on his amendment until we 
know what it is. Is it on the list?
  Mr. REID. Yes. At least he could offer it and we could vote later. He 
has been waiting a long time.
  Mr. STEVENS. I have a series of issues I wish to handle before we get 
to any votes.
  Mr. REID. That is fine.
  Mr. STEVENS. Let me yield for the Senator to introduce his amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wisconsin is recognized.


                           Amendment No. 1847

  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I offer an amendment to the bill 
concerning the inspector general for authority for Iraq. My 
understanding is it is going to be accepted.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, the pending amendments are 
set aside.
  The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Wisconsin [Mr. Feingold] proposes an 
     amendment numbered 1847.

  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the reading 
of the amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

 (Purpose: To provide transparency and accountability with respect to 
                  the Coalition Provisional Authority)

       On page 22, between lines 12 and 13, insert the following:
       Sec. 316. (a) Of the amounts appropriated by chapter 1 of 
     this title under the heading ``Operation and Maintenance, 
     Army'' and available for the operating expenses of the 
     Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), $10,000,000 shall be 
     available for the establishment of the Office of the 
     Inspector General of the Coalition Provisional Authority and 
     for related operating expenses of the Office.
       (b) The Office of the Inspector General of the Coalition 
     Provisional Authority shall be established not later than 30 
     days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
       (c)(1) The head of the Office of the Inspector General of 
     the Coalition Provisional Authority shall be the Inspector 
     General of the Coalition Provisional Authority.
       (2) The Inspector General shall be appointed by the 
     President in accordance with, and shall otherwise be subject 
     to the provisions of, section 3 of the Inspector General Act 
     of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.), except that the person nominated for 
     appointment as Inspector General may assume the duties of the 
     office on an acting basis pending the advice and consent of 
     the Senate.
       (3) The Inspector General shall have the duties, 
     responsibilities, and authorities of inspectors general under 
     the Inspector General Act of 1978. In carrying out such 
     duties, responsibilities, and authorities, the Inspector 
     General shall coordinate with, and receive the cooperation 
     of, the Inspector General of the Department of Defense.
       (d)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), not later than 
     75 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and 
     every 10 days thereafter, the Inspector General of the 
     Coalition Provisional Authority shall submit to the 
     Committees on Appropriations and Foreign Relations of the 
     Senate and the Committees on Appropriations and International 
     Relations of the House of Representatives a report that sets 
     forth--
       (A) an assessment of the financial controls of the 
     Coalition Provisional Authority;
       (B) a description of any financial irregularities that may 
     have occurred in the activities of the Authority;
       (C) a description of--
       (i) any irregularities relating to the administration of 
     laws providing for full and open competition in contracting 
     (as defined in section 4(6) of the Office of Federal 
     Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 403(6))); and
       (ii) any other irregularities related to procurement;
       (D) a description of any actions taken by the Inspector 
     General to improve such financial controls or address such 
     financial irregularities;
       (E) a description of the programmatic goals of the 
     Coalition Provisional Authority; and
       (F) an assessment of the performance of the Coalition 
     Provisional Authority, including progress made by the 
     Coalition Provisional Authority in facilitating a transition 
     to levels of security, stability, and self-government in Iraq 
     sufficient to make the presence of the Coalition Provisional 
     Authority no longer necessary.
       (2) The Inspector General of the Department of Defense 
     shall prepare and submit the reports otherwise required to be 
     submitted by the Inspector General of the Coalition 
     Provisional Authority under paragraph (1) until the earlier 
     of--
       (A) the date that is 150 days after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act; or
       (B) the date on which a determination is made by the 
     Inspector General of the Coalition Provisional Authority that 
     the Office of the Inspector General of the Coalition 
     Provisional Authority is capable of preparing timely, 
     accurate, and complete reports in compliance with the 
     requirements under paragraph (1).
       (3) The reports under this subsection are in addition to 
     the semiannual reports required of the Inspector General by 
     section 5 of the Inspector General Act of 1978 and any other 
     reports required of the Inspector General by law.
       (4) The Inspector General of the Coalition Provisional 
     Authority (or the Inspector General of the Department of 
     Defense, as applicable) shall publish each report under this 
     subsection on the Internet website of the Coalition 
     Provisional Authority.
       (e) The Office of the Inspector General of the Coalition 
     Provisional Authority shall terminate on the first day that 
     both of the following conditions have been met:
       (1) the Coalition Provisional Authority has transferred 
     responsibility for governing Iraq to an indigenous Iraqi 
     government; and
       (2) a United States mission to Iraq, under the direction 
     and guidance of the Secretary of State, has undertaken to 
     perform the responsibility for administering United States 
     assistance efforts in Iraq.

  Mr. FEINGOLD. My understanding is the chairman intends to accept this 
amendment.
  Mr. STEVENS. I yield to the Senator from Nevada to put in an 
amendment for Senator Corzine to include in these amendments.


                           Amendment No. 1851

  Mr. REID. I send an amendment to the desk on behalf of Senator 
Corzine.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, the pending amendments are 
set aside.
  The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Nevada [Mr. Reid], for Mr. Corzine, 
     proposes an amendment numbered 1851.

  Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment 
be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

   (Purpose: To require the President to submit periodic reports to 
 Congress on the total projected costs of United States operations in 
Iraq, including military operations and reconstruction efforts, through 
                           fiscal year 2008)

       On page 38, between lines 21 and 22, insert the following 
     new section:
       Sec. 3001. Not later than 30 days after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act, and every 90 days thereafter until 
     December 31, 2007, the President shall submit to each Member

[[Page S12590]]

     of Congress a report on the projected total costs of United 
     States operations in Iraq, including military operations and 
     reconstruction efforts, through fiscal year 2008. The 
     President shall include in each report after the initial 
     report an explanation of any change in the total projected 
     costs since the previous report.


                  Amendments Nos. 1844, 1847, and 1851

  Mr. STEVENS. I now call up amendments Nos. 1844, 1847, and 1851: 
Senator Feingold's amendment, the Boxer amendment, and Senator 
Corzine's amendment. They are all reporting amendments, requiring 
reporting. I ask unanimous consent that they be considered en bloc and 
agreed to en bloc.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendments were agreed to en bloc.
  Amendment No. 1844 is as follows:

   (Purpose: To require a report on replacing U.S. troops with Iraqi 
        forces or other non-U.S. forces in secure areas of Iraq)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC  . REPORT ON REPLACEMENT OF U.S. TROOPS.

       (a) Findings.--The Senate finds that--
       (1) The Coalition Provisional Authority states that 80 
     percent of Iraq is a permissive environment with people 
     returning to a normal pace of life, while 20 percent is less 
     permissive with entrenched Saddam loyalists, international 
     terrorists and general lawlessness hindering recovery 
     efforts.
       (2) On September 9, Deputy Secretary of Defense John 
     Wolfowitz testified, ``. . . the predominantly Shia south [or 
     Iraq] has been stable and I would say far more stable than 
     most pre-war predications would have given you. And the mixed 
     Arab, Turkish, Kurdish north has also been remarkably stable, 
     again, contrary to fears than many of us had that we might 
     face large-scale ethnic conflict.''
       (3) On September 14, Secretary of State Colin Powell 
     stated, ``We see attacks against our coalition on a daily 
     basis . . . but in many parts of the country things are quite 
     secure and stable.''
       (4) The Coalition Provisional Authority states that a major 
     focus of its security efforts has been to increase Iraqi 
     participation in and responsibility for a safe and secure 
     Iraq.
       (5) On September 14, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld 
     stated, ``90 percent of the people in Iraq are now living in 
     an area that's governed by a city council, or a village 
     council.''
       (6) The Coalition Provisional Authority reports that 60,000 
     Iraqis are now assisting in security, including 46,000 Iraqi 
     police nationwide.
       (7) Of the 160,000 coalition military personnel serving in 
     Iraq, 20,000 are comprised of non-U.S. forces.
       (b) Report.--Beginning 30 days after the enactment of this 
     Act, the President or his designee shall submit a monthly 
     report to Congress detailing--
       (1) the areas of Iraq determined to be largely secure and 
     stable; and
       (2) the extent to which U.S. troops have been replaced by 
     non-U.S. coalition forces, U.N. forces, or Iraqi forces in 
     the areas determined to be largely secure and stable under 
     this subsection.

  Mr. STEVENS. I move to reconsider the vote.
  Mr. REID. I move to lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.


                    Amendment No. 1805, As Modified

  Mr. STEVENS. I call up an amendment numbered 1805 introduced by 
Senator Graham and send a modification of that amendment to the desk.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The 
amendment is so modified.
  The amendment (No. 1805), as modified, is as follows:

       On page 38, between lines 20 and 21, insert the following:
       Sec. 2313. (a) Congress finds that--
       (1) in a speech delivered to the United Nations on 
     September 23, 2003, President George W. Bush appealed to the 
     international community to take action to make the world a 
     safer and better place;
       (2) in that speech, President Bush emphasized the 
     responsibility of the international community to help the 
     people of Iraq rebuild their country into a free and 
     democratic state;
       (3) for a plan for Iraq's future to be appropriate, the 
     provisions of that plan must be consistent with the best 
     interests of the Iraqi people;
       (4) premature self-government could make the Iraqi state 
     inherently weak and could serve as an invitation for 
     terrorists to sabotage the development of a democratic, 
     economically prosperous Iraq.
       (b) It is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) arbitrary deadlines should not be set for the 
     dissolution of the Coalition Provisional Authority or the 
     transfer of its authority to an Iraqi governing authority; 
     and
       (2) no such dissolution or transfer of authority should 
     occur until the ratification of an Iraqi constitution and the 
     establishment of an elected government in Iraq.

  Mr. STEVENS. I ask for adoption of the amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the amendment.
  The amendment (No. 1805), as modified, was agreed to.
  Mr. STEVENS. I move to reconsider the vote.
  Mr. REID. I move to lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.


                           Amendment No. 1836

  Mr. STEVENS. I ask that Senator Reid's amendment No. 1836 be laid 
before the Senate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The amendment is now pending.
  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I ask for the adoption of that amendment. 
It is a sense-of-the-Senate amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the amendment 
numbered 1836.
  The amendment (No. 1836) was agreed to.
  Mr. STEVENS. I move to reconsider the vote.
  Mr. REID. I move to lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
  
  
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