U.S. SENATOR PATRICK LEAHY

…Similar Measure Passed By The Senate Last Year Now Draws Republican Opposition

WASHINGTON (Wednesday, June 16) – In a party-line vote late Wednesday, the United States Senate rejected a measure authored by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) that would have made it a crime to overcharge the government for goods and services in military contracts and agreements while intending to excessively profit.

Leahy’s proposal, which was offered as an amendment to the Department of Defense Authorization Bill, was narrowly defeated in a vote of 52-46.  The amendment, similar to a Leahy proposal that passed the Senate last year, would have created a new criminal prohibition against war profiteering.  The legislation prohibited any fraud or false statements involving war contracts and the supply of goods or services in connection with military activities.  The proposal also covered relief and reconstruction activities overseas. 

Recent reports of businesses charging U.S. taxpayers billions of dollars in contracts while their employees admit to reading books and loafing to fill the hours in the day are troubling, said Leahy, a senior member of the Appropriations Committee and its Defense and Foreign Operations Subcommittees.  Private contractors in Iraq working for Halliburton recently testified to Congress that they would simply desert vehicles that needed only minor repairs rather than fix the problems.    

“Our troops are making great sacrifices as they serve their country, while back here in some executive boardrooms, the trick is to figure out how much they can bill the taxpayers to inflate their profit margins,” Leahy said.  “We should ensure that our troops and aid workers risking their lives in hostile environments as well as the taxpayers here at home are protected from this kind of fleecing.  It’s unfortunate that Republican leaders have chosen to do the White House’s bidding by killing stiff penalties for those who gouge the taxpayers.  We should be defending the public, not the war profiteers.”   

There currently are no laws on the books that specifically address war profiteering.  Drawing upon his experience as a former prosecutor, Leahy said proving a criminal case involving this type of excessive waste under current fraud statues would face serious questions of jurisdiction and certain elements of a crime.  Leahy’s proposal addressed those questions specifically.

If convicted, violators would have faced a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine not to exceed the greater of $1 million or twice the amount of any illegal gross profits.

Leahy added a similar version of this amendment to the $87 billion Iraq Supplemental Appropriations bill last year, which passed the Senate in October.  But House Republicans – at the urging of the White House -- stripped the provision from the final bill during conference committee negotiations.  

# # # # #

Click here to see a fact sheet on the amendment:

• Fact Sheet On The Anti-War Profiteering Amendment To The Defense Authorization Bill