Washblog

WHEREAS the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) has warned of a "gap" between expected costs and actual costs of Iraq relief and reconstruction (SGIR testimony before the House Subcommittee for National Security, Emerging Threats, and International Relations, October 18, 2005);

WHEREAS the SIGIR has estimated that completion of ongoing reconstruction projects could take "another three to four years" (SGIR testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, February 8, 2006);

WHEREAS the SGIR has stated that the Iraq government has a fraction of the funds necessary even to maintain the existing infrastructure (SGIR testimony before the House Subcommittee for National Security, Emerging Threats, and International Relations, October 18, 2005);

WHEREAS in the most recent Iraq relief and reconstruction supplemental the US government allocated $784 million to the health sector but absolutely nothing to essential medicines (personal correspondence from USAID, December 16, 2005; SIGIR Quarterly Report, January 30, 2005);

WHEREAS the Minister of Industry and Minerals, Usama Abdulaziz, estimates that Iraq's pharmaceutical companies meet 50% of the country needs (Azzaman, January 25, 2006);

WHEREAS Iraqi hospitals and clinics have been experiencing chronic shortages of basic medicines since at least summer of 2005 (personal correspondence from USAID, December 16, 2005; personal correspondence from Dr. Jenan Hassan, director of the University of Basra's Children's Clinic, January 14, 2006 ; the Guardian Observer, January 15, 2006; and various Iraqi newspapers, February 13, 2006 ); and

WHEREAS in testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations committee Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld testified that the Department of Defense would not seek additional Iraq relief and reconstruction funding after 2006 because "it was up to Iraqis to rebuild their own country to avoid 'creating a dependency'" (Reuters, February 7, 2006);

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the 36th District Democrats call upon Senator Cantwell, Senator Murray and Congressman Jim McDermott to demand funding in the 2007 Defense Appropriations bill for continuing Iraq reconstruction and humanitarian relief; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the 36th District Democrats call upon Senator Cantwell, Senator Murray and Congressman Jim McDermott to demand that the Department of Defense redirect some of the $544.6 million in unapportioned relief and reconstruction funds to pay for essential medicines.