Iraq Moratorium Day / Intl. Day of Peace

[Note: it says this is open to the public, but if you contact the staffer listed below he'll tell you that they will only allow people holding capitol hill press passes to use laptops. Token members of the public can cram in the back of the room but cannot use computers. They're obviously tackling all significant dangers at once: armed outlaw mercenaries, corrupt war profiteers, and bloggers.]

***OPEN TO THE PUBLIC***

PLEASE NOTE: The DPC hearing this Friday will now include an examination of the role private security contractors are playing in Iraq, with a particular focus on Blackwater, the security company that was banned from working in Iraq earlier this week by the Iraqi Ministry of Interior.

Senate Democratic Policy Committee Hearing

“Abuses in Private Security and Reconstruction Contracting in Iraq: Ensuring Accountability, Protecting Whistleblowers”

Friday, September 21, 2007
10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
226 Dirksen Senate Office Building

During the Iraq War, the Bush Administration has significantly expanded the use of private contractors like Blackwater USA and Halliburton to perform duties that previously had been done by the military. More than 125,000 employees of private contractors, including 30,000 employees of private security companies, work along side American troops in Iraq. While these companies perform important tasks in Iraq and help support the war effort, there has been widespread evidence of contractor wrongdoing, an alarming lack of accountability, and well-founded concerns that misconduct and contracting abuses by private companies are undermining our mission in Iraq and wasting billions of taxpayer dollars.

Witnesses at this hearing will address the lack of accountability in private security and reconstruction contracts in Iraq. Witnesses on Panel One will examine the role private security contractors are playing in Iraq, with a particular focus on Blackwater, the security company that was banned from working in Iraq earlier this week by the Iraqi Ministry of Interior after an incident that as left as many as twenty Iraqi citizens dead. Panel Two will feature whistleblowers who have been demoted, fired, threatened, and even detained for speaking the truth about Iraq contracting practices. This panel will include expert witnesses who will recommend reforms to address whistleblower mistreatment and strengthen protections in current law.

Panel One

Kathryn Helvenston-Wettengel: Ms. Helvenston-Wettengel is the mother of Scott Helvenston, a former Blackwater employee and Special Operations soldier who was killed in Fallujah, Iraq in 2004 while escorting a convoy of three empty trucks to pick up kitchen equipment for a food service company. She has filed a lawsuit against Blackwater alleging that the company sent Mr. Helvenston on a job with inadequate equipment and protection.

Jeremy Scahill: Mr. Scahill, an investigative journalist, is the author of the New York Times best-selling book, “Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army.” The New York Times called the book “a crackling exposé of the secretive military contractor Blackwater USA.” He will testify about the history of Blackwater’s involvement in Iraq and the lack of accountability for employees of private security contractors, who are outside the military chain of command and immune from prosecution in Iraq.

Nick Bicanic: Mr. Bicanic co-wrote and co-directed the award-winning “Shadow Company,” a documentary film about private security companies operating in Iraq. The San Francisco Chronicle wrote that the film “presents a balanced view…[while criticizing] the fact that civilian safeguards on mercenary behavior are practically nonexistent, a state of affairs that can lead both to human rights abuses and to ill feeling toward the United States.”

Panel Two

Bunnatine Greenhouse: Ms. Greenhouse, the former highest-ranking civilian contracting official at the Army Corps of Engineers, was removed from her position because she “steadfastly resisted and attempted to alter what can be described as casual and clubby contracting practices by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Commanders.”

Donald Vance: Mr. Vance, a Navy veteran and former employee of Shield Group Security Company, will testify that after reporting that his employer was engaged in illegal gun sales in Iraq, he was detained by the military and subjected to harsh interrogation over a three-month period. Mr. Vance will testify about the treatment he received from Shield Group after he spoke out about evidence of criminal activity.

Robert Isakson: Mr. Isakson, who was a co-plaintiff in a qui tam lawsuit against Custer Battles, won the first civil verdict for Iraq reconstruction fraud. The verdict was later overturned by the trial court judge, who ruled that because the Coalition Provisional Authority was not part of the U.S. government, the plaintiffs were not entitled to relief under the False Claims Act.

Stephen Kohn: Mr. Kohn, who is the Executive Director of the National Whistleblower Center, is an expert on whistleblower protection law and the author of the first legal treatise on whistleblowing. He currently represents Bunnatine Greenhouse and has represented whistleblowers in the World Trade Center and Oklahoma City bombing cases.

Alan Grayson: Mr. Grayson represents whistleblowers, including Robert Isakson, in qui tam lawsuits. He will testify that “the Administration has not actively litigated a single case of fraud, or even breach of contract, against any contractors in Iraq.” Mr. Grayson will also discuss the Bush Administration’s continued failure to prevent and respond to retaliation against Iraq contracting whistleblowers.

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