The House overwhelmingly passed a bill Thursday that would make private contractors working in Iraq and other war zones subject to U.S. law.
The legislation was propelled to the top of the House agenda after workers for Blackwater USA, a private security firm working for the State Department, opened fire on Iraqi civilians last month, killing 11 people. Military contractors now operate largely unregulated by either the United States or the country in which they are working.
The bill would require the FBI to set up operations in war zones to enable investigations of contractors accused of major crimes.
The bill passed 389-30, picking up Republican support after the GOP successfully attached a provision that would exempt companies working for the Central Intelligence Agency.
The CIA is for the most part not subject to many U.S. laws while operating overseas, and proponents of the provision said it would allow important intelligence operations to continue unhindered.
“Common sense says don’t hold the CIA to the same standards,” said Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif.
Rep. John Conyers Jr., D-Mich., called the CIA exemption “insignificant,” but the provision passed 342-75, with Republicans saying it is an indication that even Democrats recognized the bill would be flawed without it.
“It does protect our fundamental ability to seek information without being worried about criminal penalties,” House Minority Whip Roy Blunt, R-Mo., said after voting for the bill.
Senator and presidential hopeful Barack Obama, D-Ill., planned to introduce a similar measure in the Senate on Thursday, but leaders there seem more interested in taking up another Iraq-related, House-passed measure that would require President Bush to come up with a plan for redeployment within two months.
“The calendar is loaded,” House Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin, D-Ill., said. “I hope we can get to [the contractor bill].”
Conyers said the strong vote in the House “puts us in very good position to negotiate with the Senate.”
