CONGRESS ENJOYS NEW FOREIGN POLICY ROLE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000403940035-5
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2010
• Sequence Number: 35
• Publication Date: March 1, 1986
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Approved For Release 2010/08/24: CIA-RDP90-00552R000403940035-5
LOS ANGELES TIMES
ARTICLE APPEARS
ON PAGE
deeply involved in diplomacy as
they did in the PMtippines, "I have
a problem with some members at
Congress thinking they are secre-
tary of the world," quipped House
Republican Leader Robert H.
Michel of Illinois.
And Norman Ornstein, a con-
gressional scholar with the Ameri-
can Enterprise Institute, added:
"Diplomacy is not in the job de-
scription of a member of Congress."
In recent years, a number of
members of Congress have made
what Ornstein described as
"free-lance" efforts to meddle in
diplomacy. For example, former
Rep. George Hanson (R-Idaho)
went to Iran in 1980 seeking release
of American hostages, and Sens.
John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) and Tom
Harkin (D- Ind.) went to Nicaragua
last year to negotiate with Sandin-
ista leader Daniel Ortega.
Unlike these earlier eamples,
however, the actions of Laxalt,
Lugar and others in the Philippines
were undertaken with the ex-
pressed approval of Reagan and
Marcos. Perhaps as many as a
dozen Congress members visited
Manila in recent weeks.
Senate IntellUmice Committee
Exp.dit d I lp'! Phil/ppia. Shift
Congress 9njoys New
Forei Policy Role
A the same time, Congrem has
By SARA MM, TimesStaff Wrtbs been tearing down many the
WASHINGTON-When Sen.
Paul Laalt advised Ferdinand E.
Marcos to relinquish power earlier
this week, it marked the culmina-
tion of five months of intense
congressional involvement in the
affairs of the Philippines and pro-
vided an example of what many
members view as a new, more
constructive role for Congress in
American foreign policy.
As Marcos was settling into a life
of exile on Friday, many lawmak-
ers claimed credit for precipitating
his downfall by forcing President
Reagan to withdraw U.S. support
from the embattled Philippine
president.
"I don't think the President
would have abandoned Marcos
without pressure from Congress,"
said Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr.
(D-Del.).
Not only did Congress influence
the situation through the normal
legislative means, many lawmak-
ers such as La-1t, the Nevada
Republican, Sen. Richard G. Lugar
(R-Ind.) and Rep. John P. Murtha
(D-Pa.) played highly visible, per-
sonal roles in the unfolding drama
in the Philippines. Lugar led the
official U.S. delegation to monitor
the February election; Murtha was
a member of that delegation.
Members of Congress empha-
sized that their role in the Philip-
pine crisis had demonstrated an
extraordinary measure of biparti-
sanship-a welcome departure
from the obstructionist role that
congressmen have frequently
played in the yearn since the
Vietnam War.
"This is what I prayed would
happen," said Lugar, chairman of
the Senate Foreign Relations Com-
mittee. "It was bipartisan consulta-
tion at it's best."
It also was the most stunning
example of a trend that political
scientists have seen developing for
some time. In the last year, they
have cre ed congresTonal Pres-
sure with
adopt sanctions thReagan e South
Africa and take a more active
approach to arms control talks with
the Soviet Union.
legislative barriers that it once
built against direct involvement by
the Administration in various parts,
of the world. Both the Boland
Amendment restricting U.S. ac-
tions against the Marxist regime in
Nicaragua and the Clark Amend-
ment banning aid to the rebels in
Angola were repealed in 1986.
"There has been a cooling off
period and an effort to build a
consensus between the Congress
and the President in foreign poli-
cy," said Thomas I. Mann, execu-
tive director of the American Polit-
ical Science Assn. "Reflexive fights
are not the norm now."
Mann cautioned that efforts to
develop consensus frequently do
not succeed. Although Democrats
have made a number of efforts to
compromise with Reagan on the
President's proposals for aid to the
Nicaraguan rebels, for example, the
two sides remain at odds.
But Lugar said he has already
begun talking with Democratic op-
ponents of the President's request
for aid, asking them "whether we
can shape something here that has
a bipartisan characteristic similar
to the Philippine operation."
Republicans and Democrats
worked together on the Philippine
crisis, according to Lugar, because
they feared a divided Congress
would have closed off any opportu-
nity for a peaceful transition of
power in Manila.
Biden noted that Congress es-
sentially sided with Secretary of
State George P. Shultz against
several members of the White
House staff who were cautioning
Reagan against breaking with
Marcos-even though the Philip-
pine president apparently had sto-
len the election from opposition
leader Corazon Aquino.
"It occurred because of the
bankruptcy of the Reagan foreign
policy," said Biden, a member of
the Senate Foreign Affairs Com-
mittee. "People in the Republican
Party are now doing what a loyal
party should do-saving the Presi-
dent from himself."
Some members of Congress ar-
gue that they should not get as
involvement these ers
reflects their Increasi sophistica-
tion noted
that many young congressmen,
such as 35-year-old Rep. Dave
f' McCurdy (D-Okla. ), have taken
time to specialize in international
topics.
"There's a lot more smarts com-
ing out of Congress today than the
Administration," Durenberger said.
"We're not a bunch of dumb bun-
nies in Congress. We're a pretty
smart, well-traveled group."
Although Laxalt's call to Mar-
cos-in which the senator advised
him to "cut and cut cleanly"-
helped bring an end to the crisis, it
was by no means the last chapter of
Congress' involvement in the Phil -
ippines.
House Speaker Thomas P. (Tip)
O'Neill Jr. (D-Mass.) announced
Friday that he is sending Rep.
Stephen J. Solarz (D-N.Y.) to the
Philippines to invite Aquino to
address a joint session of Congress.
and many members predict Con-
gress will provide increased U.S.
aid to her government.
In the wake of what they view as
a foreign policy victory for Con-
gress, many members, including
Lugar and Kerry, are also talking
about stepping up pressure for free
elections in Nicaragua, South Ko-
rea and Chile similar to those held
in the Philippines.
Approved For Release 2010/08/24: CIA-RDP90-00552R000403940035-5