Representative Jan Schakowsky, an Illinois Democrat, has introduced legislation to force the government to release detailed records on the use of contractors in Iraq and the names and job descriptions of all those killed and injured, information that is virtually impossible to get right now. The military releases names and biographical information about its wartime casualties, but businesses are not required to provide such information, and the Labor Department refuses to do so, citing privacy laws.

"By keeping the knowledge of this force hidden, it changes one's perception and one's evaluation of the war," Ms. Schakowsky said. "There are almost a thousand dead and a large number of injuries. I think it masks the fact that we are privatizing the military in this country.