JUSTICE DRAFT REPORT ON H.R. 4276, REQUIRING THAT ANY U.S. GOVERNMENT SUPPORT FOR MILITARY OR PARAMILITARY OPERATIONS IN ANGOLA BE OPENLY ACKNOWLEDGED AND PUBLICLY DEBATED

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90B01390R000801080010-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 27, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 8, 2011
• Sequence Number: 10
• Publication Date: May 23, 1986
• Content Type: MEMO

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OCAi86-1831
OFFICE OF CONGRESSIONAL AFFAIRS
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10 Constituent Inquiries
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Arun I ILL --;I' > "r ' - -?, tOWWWAAL AFFAIRS
EXECUTIVE OFI~LW
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OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET
WASHINGTON. D.C. 2O5O3
May 23, 1986
LEGISLATIVE REFERRAL MEMORANDUM
Dep FEi iit of Defense
Legislative Liaison Officer-
National Security Council
Department of State
Central Intelligence Agency
SCE- is s/
SAt
SUBJECT: Justice draft report on H. R. 4276, requiring that any
U.S. Government support for military or paramilitary
operations in Angola be openly acknawledged and publicly
debated.
The Office of Management and Budget requests the views of your
agency on the above subject before advising on its relationship
to the program of the President, in accordance with OMB Circular
A-19.
A response to this request for your views is needed no later than
FRIDAY, JUNE 6, 1986.
Questions should be referred t o SueThau/AnnetteRooney ( 395-7300 ) ,
the legislative analyst in this office.
RONALD K. PETERSON FOR
Assistant Director for
Legislative Reference
Enclosures
C C : R. Neely
J. Carley
J. Eisenhour
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Honorable Dante B. Fascell
Chairman
Committee on Foreign Affairs
House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Mr. Chairman:
U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs
This letter proffers the views of the Department of Justice ?
on H.R. 4276, a bill to Require That Any United States Government
Support for Military or Paramilitary Operations in Angola Be
Openly Acknowledged And Publicly Debated. The Department recom-
mends against enactment of this legislation.
The bill is designed to require the President to openly
acknowledge the military and financial assistance that our coun-
try may be providing to Jonas Savimbi's forces in Angola. It
would obligate the President, in order to continue such aid, to
seek a Congressional joint resolution "approving United States
Government support for military or paramilitary operations in
Angola."
We believe the enactment of H.R. 4276 would impermissibly
intrude upon the President's constitutional powers as Commander-
in-Chief and Chief Executive to conduct foreign policy. In
particular, the enactment of H.R. 4276 in the present circum-
stances of sensitive discussions aimed at the withdrawal of Cuban
troops in Angola and clarifying the status of Namibia would
adversely affect the President's conduct of our foreign policy in
the Angolan region. The bill would, in effect, require the
President either to formally acknowledge Savimbi's forces as the
legitimate government of Angola or to repudiate Savimbi in favor
of the Marxist regime, and hence give it de facto recognition.
Enactment of the bill would be, thus, not only an unwarrant-
ed but also an unconstitutional intrusion by Congress into the
President's conduct of foreign affairs. The Constitution does
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not permit Congress to require the President to recognize govern-
ments of foreign countries. U.S. Const. art. II sec. 2, par. 2.
To the extent the bill would require the President to recognize
one representative of the Angolan people rather than another, it
would, on these grounds, be unconstitutional.
Very truly yours,
John R. Bolton
Assistant Attorney General
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