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28 February 2006

State Department Requests $4 Billion for Iraq Reconstruction

Budget request covers fiscal years 2006 and 2007

By David Shelby
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington – The State Department’s $4 billion in budget requests for Iraq reconstruction funding in fiscal years 2006 and 2007 reflect a shift from financing large infrastructure projects to building capacity in the security, economic and political areas.

According to the department’s senior Iraq coordinator, James Jeffrey, the “guiding philosophy of this budget is that 2006 is going to be the year of transition in Iraq – transition to the Iraqi lead ever more in the security area, but also with the stand up of a permanent parliament and we hope a permanent four-year government in the near future, an Iraqi lead in the political and capacity-building areas as well.”

Jeffrey briefed reporters on the budget requests February 28 in Washington.

He said the budget envisions parallel capacity-building efforts on three tracks – security, economic and political.

“Our logic is that you cannot fund simply one portion of this program – one track or two tracks – because all three tracks support the others,” he said.

The bulk of security funding will be devoted to promoting regional outreach through Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRT) and Provincial Reconstruction Development Councils (PRDC), which will coordinate community stabilization efforts with local governments.  The department is requesting $962 million to support the security projects over two years.

The economic funding will be focused on operating and sustaining the newly developed infrastructure in the oil, electricity, health, water, communications and transportation sectors.

“We see ourselves moving away from large-scale construction … and into capacity developing,” Jeffrey said.  This will include technical and management training for Iraqis who will be operating the new facilities.  The department’s request for economic support programs amounts to $631.5 million over the next two years.

The political funding will be split between capacity-building programs for Iraqi ministries and programs aimed at supporting the rule of law.  Training for ministry personnel will focus on administrative skill sets including fiscal management, strategic planning, leadership, information technology and anti-corruption.

A large part of the funds devoted to improving the rule of law will be used to build new prisons.

“We think that with the transition, eventually the Iraqis will be taking more of the people we’ve detained as the Iraqis put them into the legal system, and they need to have a greater capacity there,” Jeffrey said.

He said that prisons are the only major construction projects envisioned in the new budget.  The department is requesting $787 million for projects on the political track over the next two years.

In addition, the department has requested $1.7 billion to cover its basic operating expenses in Iraq over the next two years.

For more information on U.S. policy, see Iraq Update.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)