WASHINGTON, Aug 27: US authorities in Iraq have all but exhausted the seized assets they have used to pay Iraqi civil servants, and some administration and congressional officials said on Tuesday that extra money may be needed sooner than expected for US efforts in the occupied state.
US Treasury Department spokesman Tony Fratto said a cash shipment of 419 million dollars would be made in the next week from a New York Federal Reserve account that once held 1.7 billion dollars and this would “nearly exhaust the available vested funds”.
One key US lawmaker, after high-level meetings in Baghdad on the funding issue, said other ways would be found to pay Iraqi worker salaries and pensions, but a senior congressional aide called the situation “a mess”.
Paul Bremer, the chief US administrator in Iraq, was expected to discuss the issue during meetings in Washington, including one with US national security adviser Condoleezza Rice, officials said.
President George Bush has promised to give occupation authorities the resources they need to stabilize the country, but critics say he has yet to deliver and accused him of underestimating costs.
The White House is under mounting pressure from Republicans and Democrats in Congress to act and act fast. Major revenue sources, chief among them oil production and international aid, have yet to come through.
“Yes, the seized assets are nearly exhausted, but there are some other sources of funds to pay salaries to Iraqis,” said Rep. James Kolbe, an Arizona Republican who chairs the foreign aid subcommittee in the House of Representatives.
“It’s a mess,” said one senior congressional aide. “Seized assets are down to almost nothing. Oil money is a mirage in the near term.”—Reuters
