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On November 6, 2003 the United States Congress created the appointed position Inspector General of the Coalition Provisional Authority. Stuart Bowen was appointed to this position on January 20, 2004. The term of the Inspector General's office was to extend six months beyond the term of authority of the Coalition Provisional Authority. However, Congress extended the term and amended the authority of the Inspector General in late 2004 as part of the FY 2005 Defense Authorization Act. They also changed the title of the office to Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, SIGIR for short.

Congress created the position of Inspector General when they allocated $18 billion into the Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund. The Civilian Administrator of Iraq had the authority to make expenditures from these funds. The Inspector General reported to Paul Bremer, the Administrator of Iraq, the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense.

The Inspector General was also authorized to examine and report on the Administrator of Iraq's expenditures from Iraq's oil Revenue -- ie. the Development Fund for Iraq -- and from seized Iraqi assets.

Under the terms of the FY 2005 Defense Authorization Act, the SIGIR was to cease operations 10 months after 80% of IRRF funds have been expended. The FY 2007 Defense Authorization Act, signed Oct. 17, 2006 sets a specific termination date for the SIGIR of October 1st, 2007. In December 2007, Congress passed legislation extending the term of the SIGIR until fall 2008. There are indications that under the new Democratically controlled Congress, the mandate of SIGIR may be expanded.

Official websites

• U.S. Public Law 108-106, November 6, 2003 -- legislation that created the position of Coalition Provisional Authority Inspector General
• Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction website

Other websites

• Audit of Iraq Spending Spurs Criminal Probe, Washington Post, May 5, 2005
• So, Mr Bremer, where did all the money go?, The Guardian, July 7, 2005
• Millions go missing on Iraqi gravy train, Baltimore Sun, July 30, 2005
• Iraq reconstruction fraud: Where are your tax dollars going?