Blackwater USA President Erik Prince backs U.S. Rep. David Price’s bill on private security contractors.
Prince told the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee today that he would welcome greater accountability, according to the Associated Press. He also told the committee he supports Price’s bill, which is scheduled to be voted on this week by the full House.
The bill would bring private security contractors accused of crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan under U.S. federal law.
Price, a Chapel Hill Democrat, has been critical of Blackwater, a Moyock-based company that has been in the news of late because of a September incident in which 11 Iraqi civilians were killed in Baghdad.
Price’s spokesman, Paul Cox, said Blackwater’s support should come as little surprise, since contractors generally have said they want more clarity of the rules under which they’re working.
"Price has been mainly – his efforts aren’t anti-contractor. They’re anti-impunity,” Cox said. “It’s the lack of accountability.”
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