Good News for American Taxpayers

[DeadCanDance]

Finally. This is a legitimate and important area of congressional oversight. I can't imagine why this wasn't done years ago.

Freshmen Senate Democrats seek panel to probe Iraq contracting

Summoning the ghost of Harry Truman, the Senate's freshman Democrats on Wednesday called for the creation of an independent, bipartisan commission to investigate wartime profiteering in Iraq.

Truman was a freshman senator from Missouri in 1941 when he led an inquiry into waste and abuse in government contracting during World War II.

Under the 2007 version of his effort, spearheaded by Sens. Claire McCaskill of Missouri and Jim Webb of Virginia, the proposed commission would investigate the mismanagement of private contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan, which has resulted in $9 billion in taxpayer dollars unaccounted for.

McCaskill, a former state auditor who uses Truman's old Senate desk, said at a press conference of freshmen lawmakers, "I realized we had the same problem in this war that Harry Truman found in World War II, except that it's on steroids. It's out of control."


http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/18141.html

 

[dilloduck]

Finally. This is a legitimate and important area of congressional oversight. I can't imagine why this wasn't done years ago.

If they discover fraud do we all get our money back?

 

[Gunny]

If they discover fraud do we all get our money back?

No, it will be spent on the latest, greatest excuse for a witchhunt.

 

[dilloduck]

No, it will be spent on the latest, greatest excuse for a witchhunt.

AHHHHH I get it----we nail someone after a bazillion dollar "investigation" and then Bush pardons "whoever". Whats' wrong with this picture ?

 

[DeadCanDance]

AHHHHH I get it----we nail someone after a bazillion dollar "investigation" and then Bush pardons "whoever". Whats' wrong with this picture ?

Don't take my word for it.

Take the word of these prominent conservatives and republicans:

-Larry Kudlow: Conservative economist, CNBC cable show host
-Wall Street Journal: America's leading conservative-leaning mainstream newspaper
-Stuart Bowen: President Bush's special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction
-Susan Collins: Republican senator from Maine

Where's Harry Truman?

By Lawrence Kudlow
Saturday, August 5, 2006

Stuart Bowen, the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction, now estimates that corruption costs in Iraq have reached a startling $4 billion per year. This is vital taxpayer war money -- money you'd think would be safeguarded by the GOP Congress. But nothing, it seems, could be further from the truth.

A Wall Street Journal story on the subject states that "the Bush administration continues to wind down its ambitious Iraq reconstruction program, which has spent tens of billions of dollars on rebuilding efforts that have largely failed to restore basic services such as water or electricity to pre-war levels."

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, chair of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee that overseas the war money, says this is a story of "mistakes made, plans poorly conceived or overwhelmed by ongoing violence, and of waste, greed and corruption that drained dollars that should have been used to build schools, improve the electrical grid and repair the oil infrastructure.

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/...truman&ns=LawrenceKudlow&dt=08/05/2006&page=1

Republicans used to claim to be for fiscal responsibility and fiscal prudence. Are suggesting that either you don't care about this, or that its all just some fake partisan theatrics?

 

[JeffWartman]

Finally. This is a legitimate and important area of congressional oversight. I can't imagine why this wasn't done years ago.

 

[pegwinn]

Finally. This is a legitimate and important area of congressional oversight. I can't imagine why this wasn't done years ago. Agreed

If they discover fraud do we all get our money back?Nope

AHHHHH I get it----we nail someone after a bazillion dollar "investigation" and then Bush pardons "whoever". Whats' wrong with this picture ? It won't be anyone who is liable for fraud. It'll be someone who couldn't remember the details of a conversation. He'll get a quartermil fine and jail. GWB will commute the jail time.

Republicans used to claim to be for fiscal responsibility and fiscal prudence. Are suggesting that either you don't care about this, or that its all just some fake partisan theatrics? No one on this board except for Chips Ahoy "doesn't care" about being fiscally restrained and responsible. The problem is that the Democrats are historically big spenders and this is a game the Republicans are rookies at. And, yeah, it is partisan as hell. Read my lips... All pols are crooks and liars to some degree.

The government investigating the government ....... It would be funny if it wasn't so transparently pathetic.

 

[DeadCanDance]

The government investigating the government ....... It would be funny if it wasn't so transparently pathetic.

Incorrect.

It's the government investigating private contractors who were given lucrative contracts involving taxpayer money.

 

[dilloduck]

Incorrect.

It's the government investigating private contractors who were given lucrative contracts involving taxpayer money.

Who gave them lucrative contracts ? The tooth fairy?

 

[Paulie]

The government investigating the government ....... It would be funny if it wasn't so transparently pathetic.

Incorrect.

It's the government investigating private contractors who were given lucrative contracts involving taxpayer money.

Right...Like he said...

The Government.

A section of government is investigating another section of the government, for their awarding of those lucrative contracts to the private contractors...some of which, members of the administration involved in planning the Iraq War themselves sat on the boards of, or were executives of.

How anyone wouldn't consider that a conflict of interest, is completely beyond me.

 

[DeadCanDance]

Amazing to see Bush fans still running cover for BushCo. on this - an area where tens of billions of taxpayer dollars have been wasted. Partisan hackery at its finest: "We don't care if tens of billions were wasted - as long as it was republicans wasting it!"


PS: Auditing isn't done by congressmen and women. It is done by independent audit agencies, like GAO. Congress merely holds hearings based on GAO findings.

 

[dilloduck]

Amazing to see Bush fans still running cover for BushCo. on this - an area where tens of billions of taxpayer dollars have been wasted. Partisan hackery at its finest: "We don't care if tens of billions were wasted - as long as it was republicans wasting it!"


PS: Auditing isn't done by congressmen and women. It is done by independent audit agencies, like GAO. Congress merely holds hearings based on GAO findings.

Quit being such a ninny. I'm not defending anyone and do not support wasting tax revenue. Until our government proves it can use it wisely there shouldn't BE any tax revenue.

 

[pegwinn]

Amazing to see Bush fans still running cover for BushCo. on this - an area where tens of billions of taxpayer dollars have been wasted. Partisan hackery at its finest: "We don't care if tens of billions were wasted - as long as it was republicans wasting it!"

Where is the partisan commentary? I didn't catch it.

PS: Auditing isn't done by congressmen and women. It is done by independent audit agencies, like GAO. Congress merely holds hearings based on GAO findings.

The GAO is a government agency. A government agency let the contract and failed to account for the $$$ passing thru itself to the contractors.

Like I said, Pathetic and Partisan.

 

[Nevadamedic]

Damn I saw the title of this thread and thought that a miracle happened and all the Liberals were out of Congress!

 

[dilloduck]

Damn I saw the title of this thread and thought that a miracle happened and all the Liberals were out of Congress!

Are you Gabby's alter ego ?

 

[manu1959]

If they discover fraud do we all get our money back?

are they going to check all the no bid contracts in the balkans rawanda and somalia clinton let during the blow job years?

 

[Nevadamedic]

Are you Gabby's alter ego ?

Gabby?

 

[manu1959]

Gabby?

now where is that popcorn smilie when ya need it....

 

[dilloduck]

Gabby?

Ya Gabby---the other partisan hack who spends all her time posting embarassingly dumb things about the "other" party. Got any substance to ya? If not, you may as well just get your 'puter to post "liberals suck" 40 times a day and you can do something else productive.

 

[manu1959]

Ya Gabby---the other partisan hack who spends all her time posting embarassingly dumb things about the "other" party. Got any substance to ya? If not, you may as well just get your 'puter to post "liberals suck" 40 times a day and you can do something else productive.

but liberals do suck.......she proved it