New Bill Sidelines Blackwater (Sen. Bernie Sanders)

The Bush administration has made radical and dangerous changes in the structure of our military, and Congress needs to take a very hard look at that. To my mind, it is wrong and unacceptable for private companies to perform mission critical functions outside of the chain of command of the United States military and United States government in Iraq.

The use of private security contractors in Iraq has undermined our presence there, weakening the valiant efforts that our soldiers are making to build strong and positive relations with the Iraqi people.

Every time a Blackwater employee kills an Iraqi citizen, every time a security contractor assaults Iraqi nationals, America’s standing with the people of Iraq dramatically worsens.  Iraqis, understandably, are not able to distinguish between American soldiers, who operate under strict rules and careful regulations, and private contractors, who don’t follow such rules and regulations.  Astonishingly, contract employees, unlike American soldiers, are not held responsible for what they do to Iraqi citizens.

I also find it troubling when personnel employed by private contractors are paid far more than soldiers in the U.S. military who are putting their lives on the line every day.  This is wrong from a position of equity and it is also wrong in terms of the long term future of our military both in terms of lowering morale and in attracting the best people in our armed forces.

Every day approximately 170,000 American soldiers risk their lives in Iraq.  Meanwhile, while some of our soldiers qualify for food stamps and their families struggle to survive economically, some employees of such companies as Blackwater, DynCorp International and Triple Canopy earn as much as $1,000 a day.  Not even four-star generals earn as much as Blackwater employees.

It is time to let our capable American military do what they are supposed to do – train the military and police, guard convoys, repair weapons, administer military prisons, and perform military intelligence.  It is time to end this two-tier pay system developed by the anti-government, pro-privatization agenda of Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld.

The Stop Outsourcing Security Act will restore vital military functions to the military, reducing our reliance on unaccountable private security contractors in war zones like Iraq and Afghanistan.

It will require that all mission critical and emergency essential functions be carried out by American troops, not private operatives.

It will ensure that State Department personnel will be guarded by American troops, not by private contractors from Blackwater and other security firms.  If the president and vice president of the United States can be protected by the federal employees of the U.S. Secret Service, so can the U.S. ambassador to Iraq.

It will also give Congress oversight on the contracts with security contractors.  And it will fix a major problem: no longer will any private contract employee accused of a crime be spirited out of Iraq: they will henceforward be held under U.S. custody.

This is good and needed legislation.  I am glad Jan Schakowsky is introducing it today, and I am be proud to be introducing it in the Senate.