Lawmakers looking into the electrocutions of 16 people at American facilities in Iraq expressed frustration yesterday with the lack of accountability among the parties involved and voiced concern that the dangers have not been eliminated.

"There was no shortage of warnings about the electrical dangers in Iraq, just a shortage of will to do right by our troops," said Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which is conducting hearings in Washington.

Though electrical problems in facilities in Iraq have been widely acknowledged, little action has been taken by the Pentagon leadership or Houston-based contractor KBR, Mr. Waxman said during yesterday's hearing.

As of July 10, there have been 16 deaths -- 10 soldiers, five Marines and a contract worker for the Defense Department. One victim, Sgt. Ryan Maseth, 24, of Shaler, was electrocuted Jan. 2 while taking a shower, 11 months after KBR inspectors confirmed wiring problems at his Army barracks in Iraq.

His mother, Cheryl Harris of Cranberry, has filed a lawsuit in Pennsylvania against KBR over her son's death and has been pushing lawmakers and the Pentagon to investigate and correct the problems.

"The most frustrating thing is that the problem still exists," she said after attending yesterday's hearing.

Asked how wiring dangers that have existed since 2003 could still be uncorrected, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., who spoke at the hearing, said, "That's a damn good question."

"How can that be?" he asked. "How can a soldier today take a shower in Iraq without being killed? The Department of Defense has to answer that. ... I don't know why in the hell we have to keep asking questions. We have an electrical problem. Fix it. We shouldn't need any hearings, questions or letter-writing. [The committee members] may have to use subpoena power. They haven't yet, but this is outrageous."

As far as past electrocutions are concerned, the Pentagon Inspector General yesterday submitted to the committee an initial report that found no evidence that KBR or the Defense Contract Management Agency were aware of any life-threatening hazards at the Army barracks in Iraq where Sgt. Maseth was electrocuted.

KBR, which holds a multibillion-dollar contract to provide basic services, including food and shelter, for U.S. soldiers, also has repeatedly said it has "found no evidence of a link between the work" it was tasked to perform and the reported deaths.

Mr. Casey, however, dismissed the report as being "very, very preliminary" and said further investigations will be conducted. A final report is not due until November.

"This thing was all of four pages," Mr. Casey said. "It's really light, and there's a long way to go."

Mr. Casey said there will be more witnesses and more documentation to be brought before Congress. And he is still awaiting responses to inquiries he has sent KBR and Defense Secretary Robert Gates on the matter.

Still, Mr. Casey said, yesterday's hearing was an important and positive step in what has been a frustrating process. He also praised the bipartisanship of the committee members. Rep. Thomas Davis, R-Va., the committee's ranking member, and Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., repeatedly asked the panel who was responsible for the lapse of contract oversight that led to the electrocutions.

"I came into this with some sense that the Republicans [on the committee] would push back, saying we were jumping to conclusions and using White House language calling this a political game," he said. "But Congressman Davis made it clear that this is not a partisan hearing. They're trying to get to the truth, and the DOD better get the message because we're not going away."

Ms. Harris, likewise, came away from the hearing with a sense of determined optimism.

"They're doing an excellent job of exposing the problem," she said of the committee members. "They see there isn't any prevention or the accountability to keep our troops safe. It's unbelievable that the DOD, KBR, the Army and the DCMA all come to the table and say, 'I don't know' and 'I don't know why I don't know.' These are the same questions we've been asking since Jan. 2."