House bill takes aim at private contractors

WASHINGTON - The House passed a bill yesterday that would make all private contractors working in Iraq and other combat zones subject to prosecution by U.S. courts. It was the first major response by Congress to a deadly shooting in Baghdad involving Blackwater USA security guards.

Democrats called the 389-30 vote an indictment of the incident, which left at least 13 Iraqis dead. Senate Democratic leaders said they planned to follow suit with similar legislation and send a bill to President Bush as soon as possible.

"There is simply no excuse for the de facto legal immunity for tens of thousands of individuals working in countries" on behalf of the United States, said Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D., Texas).

The FBI arrived in Baghdad yesterday to investigate the Sept. 16 shooting, although administration officials acknowledge they are unsure whether U.S. courts would have jurisdiction in the case or others like it.

The House action would expand the scope of the existing Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act. Defense Department contractors already fall under U.S. and military law, but contractors working for other agencies often do not. Blackwater and two other private firms provide protective services to U.S. diplomats and other civilian officials in Iraq under a State Department contract.

At the same time, all U.S. contractors are immune from prosecution by Iraqi courts under an order signed in 2004 by L. Paul Bremer, the U.S.-appointed occupation governor.

The House vote came over the strong opposition of the Bush administration, which objected to its broad application to a wide range of contractors working for U.S. agencies overseas.

In a statement issued Wednesday, the White House said the bill would have "unintended and intolerable consequences for crucial and necessary national security activities and operations." The statement did not explain further or give examples on how the bill would affect national security.

The White House referred questions to the Justice Department, which declined to comment.

Rep. Chris Shays (R., Conn.) accused Democrats of rushing the bill through Congress in a partisan bid to criticize the Bush administration's handling of the war.

"It is amazing to me the number of men in Blackwater that have lost their lives, and we never hear it on the other side of the aisle," Shays said. "Blackwater is evil. That's the way it appears in all the dialogue."

Rep. David Price (D., N.C.), who sponsored the bill, said the White House's objections were unfounded and "should infuriate anyone who believes in the rule of law."

Blackwater founder Erik Prince told a House panel Tuesday that he supported expanding the law.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said yesterday the FBI was assuming control of the Sept. 16 probe from State's Bureau of Diplomatic Security. The step was taken, in part, on the possibility that the investigation might lead to the case being referred to the Justice Department for prosecution.