Watchdog group urges Congress to investigate trafficking

by Austin on January 25, 2007

The non-governmental watchdog group, Project on Government Oversight (POGO), recently released a list of 13 suggested oversight priorities for the new Congress in 2007.

Top of the list? “Addressing Federal Contractor Misconduct”.

Announcing new research that documents “hundreds of instances of misconduct by the government’s top 50 contractors, resulting in over $10 billion in fines, penalties, settlements and restitution” POGO points out that “while federal prosecutors and investigators pursue companies for fraud, faulty weapons parts, Arms Export Control Act violations, and other cases of misconduct, federal contracting officers continue to dole out billions of taxpayer dollars to those same companies.” How does this happen? According to POGO, repeat offenders “continue to circumvent contracting responsibility laws” through the use of political clout. This clout is largely underwritten by a ‘revolving door’ between the industry and government.

The report goes on to highlight the paucity of Congressional oversight for “occurrence of Human Trafficking by Pentagon Contractors in Iraq” despite the fact that the State Department’s official trafficking report described a DoD investigation as finding “Some of these abuses are indicative of trafficking in persons, and include: illegal confiscation of TCNs’ [Third Country Nationals] passports; deceptive hiring practices and excessive recruitment fees; substandard living conditions; and circumvention of Iraqi immigration procedures.”

The report leaves little doubt as to what the next step should be: Congressional oversight, ideally in the form of an official investigation and formal hearings. To date Congress has chosen to simply believe the Administration, the State Department and the Pentagon when they each declare their support for the President’s ‘zero tolerance’ policy. The WarSlavery Campaign joins POGO in calling for hearings into how, exactly, this policy is being implemented.

Now is the time for Congressional action, especially when, according to POGO, “commercial contractors are now pressuring the Pentagon to weaken new regulations concerning human trafficking.”

Join Free the Slaves and the WarSlavery Campaign in demanding that our representatives hold to account any company no matter how large or politically well-connected involved in trafficking in Iraq.

~ Austin Choi-Fitzpatrick