The Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan is an independent, bipartisan commission of the United States government established in 2008 to study government contracting related to the Afghanistan War and the Iraq War.[1]
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The Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan was a response to allegations that billions of dollars had been misappropriated in Afghanistan and in Iraq. In response to these allegations, on July 18, 2007, Senators Jim Webb (D—VA) and Claire McCaskill (D—MO) introduced a bill to create a commission modeled after the Truman Commission, which oversaw government contracting during World War II.[2] Rep. John F. Tierney (D—MA-6) introduced a similar bill in the House in September 2007.[3] These bills were subsequently endorsed by the Project on Government Oversight, Taxpayers for Common Sense, the Government Accountability Project, OMB Watch, Common Cause, the Public Interest Research Group, and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.[4]
This bill was passed as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008, which was signed in to law by President of the United States George W. Bush on January 28, 2008.[5]
By statute, the commission is bipartisan and is made up of commissioners appointed by bipartisan officeholders. The following chart indicates the current make-up of the commission.
| Name | Position | Office Appointed By | Individual Appointed By |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michael J. Thibault | Majority Co-Chair | Senate Majority Leader and Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (jointly) |
Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi |
| Chris Shays | Minority Co-Chair | Minority leader of the United States House of Representatives | John Boehner |
| Clark Ervin | Member | Speaker of the United States House of Representatives | Nancy Pelosi |
| Grant S. Green, Jr. | Member | President of the United States | George W. Bush |
| Robert J. Henke | Member | Senate Minority Leader | Mitch McConnell |
| Katherine Schinasi | Member | Senate Majority Leader | Harry Reid |
| Charles Tiefer | Member | Senate Majority Leader | Harry Reid |
| Dov S. Zakheim | Member | President of the United States | George W. Bush |