BURLINGTON, Vt., Feb. 24 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) issued the following statement today after The Commission on Wartime Contracting released a report to Congress on ways to  reduce billions of dollars in waste associated with the government’s unprecedented use of contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan:

“As the commission noted, we as a nation have lost billions to waste, fraud, and abuse by wartime contractors operating in Iraq and Afghanistan.  It is an outrage that we have not taken more action to rein in the contracting force.  In fact, over the course of the past nine years we have done just the opposite.  The number of wartime contractors has exploded, at times even exceeding the number of military personnel. I agree with the commission that ‘only sweeping reforms can bring about the changes that must be made.’

“For this reason, I plan to reintroduce the Stop Outsourcing Security Act, a bill that would prohibit the use of private contractors for military, security, law enforcement, intelligence, and armed rescue functions.

“At a time of record deficits and skyrocketing debt, enough is enough.  It makes no sense to keep throwing cash at wartime mercenaries who have proven again and again that they cannot be trusted with taxpayer dollars.”