Iraq: Reconstruction Assistance

A large-scale assistance program has been undertaken by the United States in Iraq since mid-2003. To date, nearly $45 billion has been appropriated for Iraq reconstruction. On December 26, 2007, H.R. 2764, the FY2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act, was signed into law (P.L. 110-161). Although it specifically rejects most regular or supplemental economic assistance to Iraq under the State/Foreign Operations appropriations, it provides about $2.1 billion in reconstruction assistance, mostly for the training of Iraqi security forces. 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, of which at least $7 billion has been provided. 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 on the ground are completed or ongoing, but security concerns have slowed progress and added considerable expense to these efforts. Reconstruction programs have included the training and equipping of Iraqi security forces; construction of road, sanitation, electric power, oil production, and other infrastructure; and a range of programs to offer expert advice to the Iraqi government, establish business centers, provide school books and vaccinations, finance village development projects, and promote civil society, etc. Reconstruction priorities have changed over time. Allocations within the Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund (IRRF), the main U.S. assistance account in the first few years, mirrored shifting events on the ground. CRS Report for Congress.