Stop Outsourcing Security (SOS) Act

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), U.S. Representatives Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Bob Filner (D-CA), Tom Allen (D-ME), Keith Ellison (D-MN), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Larry Korb (former Assistant Security of Defense), Donna Zovko (mother of deceased Blackwater employee), Jon Soltz (Iraq War veteran and Chairman of VoteVets.org), and Andy Michels (former DynCorp employee) joined together on November 7th, 2007 to introduce the Stop Outsourcing Security (S.O.S.) Act.

The Stop Outsourcing Security Act would take vital military functions out of the hands of contractors, reducing our reliance on unaccountable private security contractors in the theater of battle. The S.O.S. Act would not phase-out the hundreds of thousands of contractors providing non-military support services for the Armed Forces.

The S.O.S. Act would phase-out diplomatic security in Iraq within 6 months of enactment. These functions will instead be undertaken by U.S. government personnel, allowing Americans to do their jobs without having to rely on unaccountable security contractors or worrying about them getting in their way.

The S.O.S. Act would next phase-out all security contractors by January 1, 2009 everywhere that Congress has authorized the use of force. For Congress to approve a postponement of the phase-out, the President must also certify that: all contract employees have undergone background checks and do not have criminal records; they have not been charged with a crime in past employment; and that all contracts include provisions to protect whistleblowers. Additionally, all contracts in place after January 1, 2009 would be subject to Congressional oversight.

Finally, the S.O.S. Act would allow Congress to view any current security contract greater than $5 million and require agencies with military contractors to report the number of contractors employed in Iraq and Afghanistan, the total cost of the contracts, the numbers of contractors wounded or killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, and any disciplinary actions taken against them.

If you have read Jeremy Scahill's recent bestseller, Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army, your eyes have been opened to the vast number of problems surrounding and being created by the use of privatized military forces. If you have not read this title yet, you need to do so urgently.

Yesterday, Scahill, also a writer for the Nation Magazine, wrote an article exposing the fact that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have both stated that they will not support the Stop Outsourcing Securty (SOS) Act. Further, Barack Obama has said that if he is to become the next president, he will consider the long term strategic use of privatized military forces in strategic territories throughout the world, including Iraq and Afghanistan.

Barack or Hillary is going to become the face of the Democratic party before long. In turn they will inherit the power to make this legislation a reality. It is paramount that this legislation is passed to preserve the integrity of our military and to hold privatized military contractors accountable for their wrongdoing abroad as well as domestically.

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