With the Thanksgiving holiday behind them, Congress should return to the Capitol and complete action on a 2006 budget that is long overdue.

The fiscal year began Oct. 1 and the federal government has been running on auto pilot ever since. That is no way to operate. Just consider the plight of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction.

The office, open for nearly two years, is charged with overseeing $18 billion allocated for rebuilding Iraq. Special Inspector General Stuart Bowen has issued 73 audit reports and 65 project assessments, resulting in the arrest of five people and the convictions of four for fraudulent use of taxpayer money.

Bowen has told Congress that "the ambitious U.S. reconstruction effort in Iraq is likely to fall far short of its goals because soaring security costs and poor management have slashed the amount of American money available for rebuilding projects."

He has also chastised the Bush administration for a "general lack of coordination" between the Pentagon, State Department and other U.S. government agencies charged with rebuilding Iraq.

"The lack of co-operation" in identifying qualified personnel well before the invasion "significantly hampered the early management of Iraq reconstruction," he reported.

In an early report, Bowen's office claimed that "severe inefficiencies and poor management" by the Coalition Provisional Authority left auditors with no guarantee that $8.8 billion was properly spent.

The money was

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reported to have been spent on salaries, operating and capital expenditures, and reconstruction projects between October 2003 and June 2004. In some cases, contractors were paid in bags of cash.

"The special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction has done a great job uncovering billions of taxpayer dollars wasted through abuse and mismanagement of Iraqi projects. His work is critically important," said Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn.

It seems a no-brainer to continue keeping an eye on these reconstruction funds, but the office's fate is in limbo.

Buried in a bill signed into law earlier this year was a provision to close the office next October.

Earlier this month, the Senate voted by voice to keep the office going. They hope to attach that directive to a military construction appropriations bill — one of a dozen required to complete the 2007 fiscal year budget.

"The important work of this watchdog must continue, as long as American funds are being used for Iraqi reconstruction," said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Me., who chairs the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

Lieberman, who is the ranking member, joined with Collins and Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., to push for the vote. Their proposal would keep the office open until 10 months after 80 percent of the Iraqi reconstruction funds are spent.

The Senate effort would enable Bowen to continue rooting out millions of dollars of waste, fraud and abuse. Certainly, the American taxpayers deserve no less.

Although there may be some temptation within the lame duck 109th Congress to punt on completing the 2007 budget, they should resist that impulse.

The newly elected 110th Congress will have plenty to do on its own. More importantly, there is a need within many agencies — including Bowen's office — to know where they stand now. They should not be left in limbo.

Peter Urban, who covers Washington, can be reached at purban@ctpost.com