[gusunsuth]

Chairman Henry Waxman's Letter to Secretary of State Condolleezza Rice ...

Dear Madam Secretary:

I am writing to raise new concems about the State Department's $600 million U.S.
Embassy in Iraq. On July 26,2007, the Committee held a hearing to review reports
of numerous problems with the Embassy construction project. In particular, the
Committee asked about allegations of substandard work by the prime contractor,
First Kuwaiti General Trading & Contracting Company, and whether problems with
the fire protection systems, electrical systems, and power plant would delay the
opening of the Embassy beyond its September 2007 completion date and increase
the costs to the taxpayer above the $592 million budget.
At the hearing, Maj. Gen. Charles V/illiams (Ret.), the Director of Overseas BuildingOperations (OBO) at the State Department, dismissed all of these concems,
stating emphatically:

I am pleased to report, Mr. Chairman, that the project is on schedule and
on budget. We are slated to complete the project in September of this year
and personnel can begin to move into offrces and residences shortly thereafter.
As to project quality, OBO is proud of its employees and contractors work
on this project. We have received numerous accolades as to the extremely high quality
of construction. It is among the best that OBO has managed.This weekend, however, it was disclosed that the Embassy construction project has
gone $144 million over budget and the State Department has delayed its opening
indefinitely ...