RL31833
Iraq: Reconstruction Assistance
March 12, 2009

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Summary

A large-scale assistance program has been undertaken by the United States in Iraq since mid- 2003. To date, about $49 billion has been appropriated for Iraq reconstruction. Most recently, in June 2008, Congress approved over $4 billion for Iraq reconstruction in an FY2008/2009 supplemental appropriations bill, H.R. 2642 (P.L. 110-252). The FY2009 regular foreign operations appropriations (P.L. 111-8, Division H, H.R. 1105, signed by the President on March 11, 2009) provides no economic aid to Iraq with the exception of demining assistance. Security aid and most economic aid are provided in supplemental appropriations bills. Contributions pledged by other donors at the October 2003 Madrid donor conference and in subsequent meetings have amounted to roughly $17 billion in grants and loans. On June 28, 2004, the entity implementing assistance programs, the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), dissolved, and sovereignty was returned to Iraq. U.N. Security Council Resolution 1546 of June 8, 2004, returned control of assets held in the Development Fund for Iraq to the government of Iraq. U.S. economic assistance is now provided through the U.S. embassy, while security aid is chiefly managed by the Pentagon. A significant number of reconstruction activities, especially those involving construction of road, sanitation, electric power, oil production, and other infrastructure, are completed or near completion. Security concerns slowed progress and added considerable expense to these efforts. Reconstruction priorities and funding mechanisms have changed over time. The Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund (IRRF), the main U.S. assistance account in the first few years, is no longer available, and most large-scale infrastructure programs are no longer funded. However, many small-scale, targeted community-level infrastructure efforts are funded under the Commander's Emergency Response Program (CERP) and the Economic Support Fund (ESF). The key emphases of the aid program are the training of Iraqi forces and programs assisting the development of Iraqi governing capacities and supporting the work of the Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs). The report will be updated as events warrant. For discussion of the Iraq political situation, see CRS Report RL31339, Iraq: Post-Saddam Governance and Security, by Kenneth Katzman.

    Related Legislation:
  • H.R.2642
  • H.R.1105

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