III 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 461 

Commending the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, 

John Sopko, and his office for their efforts in providing accountability 

for taxpayer dollars spent in Afghanistan. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 12, 2016 

Mr. PAUL submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Commending the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan 

Reconstruction, John Sopko, and his office for their efforts in providing accountability for taxpayer dollars 

spent in Afghanistan. 

Whereas the Office of Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) was created in 2008 ‘‘to 

provide independent and objective analysis and supervision of audits and investigations’’, ‘‘to promote economy, efficiency, and effectiveness’’, and to ‘‘prevent and 

detect waste, fraud, and abuse’’ with regards to 

‘‘amounts appropriated or otherwise made available for 

the reconstruction of Afghanistan’’; 

Whereas the Office of Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction has, under the leadership of SIGAR 


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•SRES 461 IS 

John Sopko, been a strong voice for the good stewardship 

of taxpayer dollars; 

Whereas Special Inspector General Sopko has provided testimony 11 times before Congress; 

Whereas the recommendations of SIGAR have resulted in 

more than $1,000,000,000 in potential savings; 

Whereas one investigation revealed contract bid-rigging and 

price-fixing that led to the termination of a 

$1,000,000,000 Afghan Ministry of Defense fuel contract, resulting in $214,000,000 in contract savings to 

the United States Government; 

Whereas SIGAR investigations into waste, fraud, and abuse 

have led to nearly 700 contractors being prohibited from 

future United States Government contracts; 

Whereas SIGAR exposed mismanagement and fraud within 

the United Nations-administered Law and Order Trust 

Fund for Afghanistan, which provides billions of dollars 

in payments to the Afghan National Police; 

Whereas SIGAR has further exposed poor attendance and accounting procedures that allow the existence of non-existent Afghan ‘‘ghost’’ soldiers and police, whose salaries 

are pocketed by corrupt officials; 

Whereas SIGAR discovered the expenditure of $6,000,000 on 

9 goats meant to start a cashmere industry in Afghanistan, the whereabouts of which are now unknown; 

Whereas SIGAR has attempted to provide accountability to 

$210,000,000 spent on the construction of health care facilities in Afghanistan, discovering that nearly 80 percent 

of facilities have incorrect location data, where 13 facilities were built outside of Afghanistan, including one in 

the Mediterranean Sea; 


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•SRES 461 IS 

Whereas SIGAR also investigated the circumstances that led 

to the construction of a $36,000,000 United States military command and control facility at Camp Leatherneck 

that the commanders on the ground stated they neither 

wanted nor needed, and which was never occupied; 

Whereas SIGAR brought to national attention that the Department of Defense lost $29,000,000 worth of heavy 

equipment, such as tractor trucks and cranes, which impeded efforts to constitute an independent Afghan equivalent to the Army Corp of Engineers; and 

Whereas SIGAR exposed the Department of Defense had 

spent $43,000,000 on a Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) 

filling station, costing nearly 86 times more than a similar project, and that further almost no vehicles in Afghanistan run on CNG and the cost to convert a vehicle 

is more than the average annual Afghan salary: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) commends the Office of the Special Inspec3 tor General for Afghanistan Reconstruction for its 

4 ongoing role in identifying and reducing waste, 

5 fraud, and abuse; and 

6 (2) urges all inspectors general to look to the 

7 Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghan 

8 Reconstruction as an example of the vigor and inde9 pendence with which the Senate expects inspectors 

10 general across government to pursue their duty. 

Æ 


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