According to the Coalition Provisional Authority Office of the
Inspector General, $3.7 billion of the $18.4 billion aid package has
been spent:
"The Coalition Provisional Authority Office of the Inspector General
(CPA-IG) was established in Public Law 108-106 by the U.S. Congress on
November 6, 2003, to serve as 'as an independent, objective evaluator
of the operations and activities of the CPA,' according to the
official website. The CPA-IG reports directly to Administrator Bremer,
although it has independent authority to conduct audits and
investigations without the CPA Administrator's approval. The CPA-IG
delivers quarterly congressional reports, which can be found on the
agency's website. By April 30, 2004, the CPA had disbursed a total of
$7.9 billion from the Development Fund for Iraq. According to the
CPA-IG, $4.8 billion in DFI funds is currently committed to projects,
and $5.5 billion is obligated toward projected 2004 budget items. The
CPA has projected that the Fund will receive $14.5 billion in
additional Iraqi oil export revenues by the end of FY04. The CPA has
also coordinated the spending of U.S. reconstruction aid to Iraq. As
of June 1, of the $18.4 billion appropriated by the U.S. Congress for
2004, the CPA has disbursed only $3.7 billion of this aid package.
Major contractors include Motorola, Halliburton via its Kellog, Brown
and Root (KBR) subsidiary, Parsons Information, Technology Group, the
Parsons Iraq Joint Venture and IAP Worldwide among others. No audits
of individual contract awards have been released to this point."
Iraq Revenue Watch: AGENCIES THAT OVERSEE SPENDING ON IRAQI RECONSTRUCTION
http://iraqrevenuewatch.org/reading/062904.shtml
It is possible that the news source that you've mentioned, which
quoted a $500 million figure, may have confused CPA-IG expenditures
with the separate $500 million pool for local projects, as referenced
here:
"To help build goodwill, U.S. military commanders around the country
will have their own $500 million kitty to draw on to fund local
projects...
[David] Nash's team, formed last fall, has been slow in coming
together. Only about $4 billion of its $18.4 billion has been
contracted out. What concerns many Bush administration critics is that
much of the money will be spent protecting contractors rather than on
bricks and mortar and projects that benefit Iraqis. Security costs,
originally estimated at 10% to 20% of spending, could soar to 25% or
higher, says Stuart Bowen, the inspector general monitoring Nash's
effort."
USA Today: Gears grind as effort shifts into overdrive
http://www.usatoday.com/money/world/2004-06-03-iraq-reconstruction_x.htm
From a CPA-IG report issued in April 2004:
"State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development
(USAID) assistance to Iraq disbursed in FY 2003/2004 totals $3.7
billion as of April 13, 2004."
Coalition Provisional Authority Office of the Inspector General
http://www.cpa-iraq.org/economy/consolidated/Apr16.doc
Here's a spending plan summary from April that you may find useful:
Coalition Provisional Authority Office of the Inspector General
http://www.cpa-ig.org/pdf/apr2004_2207_summary_table.pdf
This table of obligations and expenditures is from late February:
Coalition Provisional Authority Office of the Inspector General
http://www.cpa-ig.org/pdf/appendix_g.pdf
Google search strategy:
Google Web Search: "18..19 billion" + "iraq" + "reconstruction" +
"spent OR expended OR contracted"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=%2218..19+billion%22+iraq+reconstruction+spent+OR+expended+OR+contracted
I hope this helps. As always, if anything is unclear, please request clarification.
Best wishes,
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