Conrressman Allen Boyd (D-FL) recently introduced legislation that would require Iraq to use its ($60 billion) budget surplus and oil revenue stream to help pay its security and reconstruction costs. The Iraq Shared Investment Act would consider the U.S. funding of Iraq’s reconstruction and security a loan to be repaid to the American taxpayer; currently this funding is considered a grant (to the tune of over $500 billion).
The bill also provides for a change to the Commander’s Emergency Response Program used for mutually agreed upon reconstruction projects. This change would essentially establish a trust fund, a pool of money to be used for these reconstruction projects and the Iraqis would be required to contribute 20 percent of a project’s cost. If the Iraqis fail to contribute the cash, the money the U.S. contributed would then be used to pay down the national debt. The U.S. currently puts $1 billion to $2 billion into the fund annually. With the change: No Iraqi contribution, no project!
According to Congressman Boyd,
“This legislation is not about punishment; it’s about responsibility. It is time for the Iraqi government to invest in its own future and have a greater financial role in their country’s security and reconstruction efforts,” … “With an expected budget surplus this year of $12 billion and an estimated $56 billion from oil revenues alone, the Iraqi government has the means to step up and pay for some of its security and reconstruction costs, and now, Iraq must show that it also has the will to take control of its own country by shouldering more of these costs.”
I could not agree more! Congressman Boyd is using his position on the Defense Subcommittee to insert his legislation into the $102 billion emergency supplemental funding bill currently under development in the House.
It’s about time someone in Congress (and a democrat no less!) takes a responsible approach to the U.S. involvement in Iraq. This legislation will allow the Iraqi government to assume a joint responsibility for the cost of reconstruction and security without taking anything away from our troops. It also allows the Iraqi government to become more self-reliant by making them less financially dependent on Uncle Sam!
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