SANDINISTAS' FOES AND EL SALVADOR WIN A SENATE VOTE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000302970004-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 21, 2010
• Sequence Number: 4
• Publication Date: April 6, 1984
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/07/21 : CIA-RDP90-00552R000302970004-8
ARTICLE APPEARED NEW YORK TIMES
ON PAGE 6 April 198)4
SANDINISTAS' FOES
AND EL SALVADOR
WIN A SENATE VOTE
"I am opposed to any military aid," br`inTghiasboiust an amendment that will
he told reporters. "I am against fur- , ie who o ha hathe execution of eon
ther money to Nicaragua and funding thawve put pressure
that fantastic base ase o of military power wer in
for El Salvador." But he acknowledged Central America," he said. "I talked to
that the House Democratic leadership those partisans. There is no question
was divided on the issue and that the they would like to overthrow their Gov-
majority leader, Jim Wright of Texas, ernment. They , wo*d--not get';any'
ft.vored mcre aid to ElSalvado . money under this amendment."
Stiff Senate Opposition But, quoting the President's letter,
he insisted that the overthrow of the
Last year majorities in the House Sandanista regime in Nicara
ua
g
was
voted against a bill to provide alto not the Administration's objective. His
MILLIONS IN AID IS BACKED Nicanguaa rebels, chanele rnu argument brought a. rebuttal. from
the Centiat 7rnetu ease Agencye Senator Daniel .X. Inouye, the&Eawaii
last three days 01 Senate debate the Democrat who worked our the compro-
76-to-19 Tally Is a Major but ~Nica~ mi ou the-level of aid to El Salvador. guars part of-the aid package en- Without the Levin amendment he con n.
countered stiffer opposition .and ran tamed, American backing for Nicara-
FYnPrtari Rea
n 1/~..t,-... into more Re
ub c d
t .:~_ a__ t - __
ga
p
e
ni
-u.Lu
st ation-s request for more
-New O'Neill Warning aid to El Salvador.
Before the final vote today, the Re.
publican majority' rejected the two at-
teTligenceco~wttees.
~?b? ?" -
"What I am trying to say, very sim-
ply, is that we cannot have a document
saying we are against murder and pro-
vide money to someone else to commit
murder," Senator Inouye said. -We
would be responsible for that act Lit,
JSYi-IEDRICK SMTCH tempts by Democrats to impose condi-
.. Sperial to The Ne. York Times lions on aid to the Nicaraguan rebels WASHINGTON, April 5 - The Sen- and American military construction in
ate approved $61.75 million today in Honduras on the ground that creeping
emergency military aid for El Salva-
dor and $21 million in funds for Nicara-
guan rebels.
The vote was 76 to 19, with 53 Repub-
licans and 26 Democrats supporting the
Administration-backed compromise
bill.
Senator Lowell Weicker of Connect-
icut was the only Republican to join 18
Democrats in opposing the aid pack-
age, among them Senator Christopher
1. Dodd of Connecticut
All four senators from New York and
New Jersey voted for the bill.
Strong Opposition Predicted
The passage of the legislation was re-
garded by many Administration sup-
porters as an important, although an-
ticipated, victory for President Reagan
after his recent defeat on efforts to
have a school prayer amendment to the
Constitution Passed in the Senate and
after delays on his nomination of
Edwin Meese 3d, his White House
counselor, to become Attorney Gen-
eral.
Nonetheless, Speaker Thomas P.
O'Neill Jr. gave fresh warning today
that the Central American aid legisla-
tion would face strong opposition when
it moved to the House of Representa-
tives, where many Democrats have
said they prefer to await the outcome of
the next round of presidential voting in
El Salvador before approving more
American aid to that country. . .
American involvement in the region wise, if we know that the contras aree-
would draw the United States toward Out to overthrow the Government of
military intervention. Nicaragua, we have no business
With Republicans accusing liberal `providing funds to that group,"
Det~ocrats of. "election-year snake
=
ou,' the Republican leadership picked'
up five crucial conservative Demo-I.
cratic votes to defeat a proposal by
Senator Carl Levin of Michigan to bar
aid to any. Central American group
"which is known by the U.S. Govern-
ment to have as one of its intentions the
violent overthrow" of a Central Ameri-
i can government.
In' the 50-to-44 vote, Senator Alfonse
M. D'Amato, Republican of New York,
was the only senator from New York,
New Jersey or Connecticut who voted
to kill the amendment. The other five
senators from the region supported the
bill.
Senator Levin asserted that his
amendment merely tried to embody
the policy of the President, who reaf-
firmed in a letter to the Senate ma-
jority leader, Howard H. Baker Jr., on
Monday that the United States "does
not seek to destabilize or overthrow the
Government of Nicaragua; nor to im-
pose any particular form of govern-
ment there." he said the amendment
would also "emphasize the sincerity of
our stated policy."
The only Republican to speak against
the proposal was the Republican whip,
Senator Ted Stevens,of Alaska, who
charged that this was yet another effort
by the Democrats to cut off all aid to
the Nicaraguan rebels. ,
STAT
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/07/21 : CIA-RDP90-00552R000302970004-8