REAGAN FACING HILL CHALLENGE TO U.S. ROLE IN ANGOLAN WAR

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000302490015-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 26, 2010
• Sequence Number: 15
• Publication Date: September 6, 1986
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

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Foreign Policy
Intelligence Bills Pending:
CONGRESSIONAL QUARTERLY WEEKLY REPORT
6 September 1986 ~ )
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Reagan Facing Hill Challenge
To U.S. Role in Angolan War
President Reagan's policy of giv-
ing "covert" aid to anti-government
guerrillas in Angola will face its first
public congressional test when the
House considers a bill authorizing
funds for the CIA and other intelli-
gence agencies, possibly the week of
Sept. 8.
The bill (HR 4759) includes a
provision barring aid to Angolan guer-
riilas unless it has been publicly de-
bated and approved in advance by
Congress. If enacted into law, that
provision would force Reagan to make
a choice: either end the CIA's support
of the Angolan faction called UNITA
or make U.S. backing fully public.
The provision was sponsored by
Democratic leaders of the House
Intelligence Committee, who were an-
gered by Reagan's decision to aid
UNITA over their objections. When
the bill reaches the House floor, Re-
publican leaders will move to strike
the provision.
Even if the Angola provision is
approved by the House, it is unlikely
to be enacted into law this year. The
Republican-led Senate repeatedly has
opposed such restrictions on CIA co-
vert operations, and administration
officials are confident the Senate will
block the House language on Angola.
The intelligence bill itself faces an
uncertain future this year, for the first
time in the 10 years that Congress has
passed annual authorizations for intel-
ligence operations. Largely because of
disputes over the Angola provision and
the similar issue of U.S. aid to Nicara-
guan "contras," neither chamber has
yet considered an intelligence bill. The
press of business in September could
prevent the Senate from acting on its
bill (S 2477) or a conference committee
from resolving all issues before the
scheduled Oct. 3 adjournment.
If Congress does not enact an au-
thorizations bill, most provisions
would be handled in an omnibus con-
-By John Felton
tinuing appropriations resolution for
fiscal 1987. (Related story, p. 2059)
The House intelligence bill also
contains a provision sharply restrict-
ing the types of aid the CIA can pro-
vide the rebels who are trying to over-
throw the government of Nicaragua. It
would bar the agency from giving the
contras any support other than intelli-
gence information and advice.
However, the bulk of that provi-
sion would be superseded by another
bill (HR 5052) providing $100 million
in military and economic aid to the
contras. That bill, which allows re-
Angolan rebel leader )ones Savimbi
inspects his troops. 'Covert' aid to his
group has angered House Democrats.
Hewed CIA involvement with the
contras, may go to conference commit-
tee in September.
One contra aid issue that proba-
bly will be resolved in the intelligence
bill or in the continuing resolution is
the House committee's insistence that
the CIA be prohibited from using its
secret contingency fund to give aid to
the contras in addition to the $100
million. Unless such a provision were
enacted into law, Reagan could order
the CIA to tap into its multimillion-
dollar fund, over the likely objections
of the House committee.
The Senate pane! did not bar CIA
contingency funding of the contras,
but it warned the administration on
the general subject. In its report, the
committee said it would view "with
great concern" the CIA's use of the
fund for covert actions when neither
Intelligence panel had given approval.
And if only one of the committees has
objected, the president "should take
that committee's concerns fully into
account," the panel said. (Contra is-
sues, Weekly Report p. 1876)
Angola Provision
Reagan in February ordered the
CIA to provide up to $15 million
worth of arms, ammunition and sup-
plies to UNITA, headed by Jonas
Savimbi. Although the aid was sup-
posed to be secret, administration offi-
cials, members of Congress and
UNITA representatives in Washing-
ton have discussed it publicly.
UNITA in 1976 lost a civil war for
control of Angola to a Marzist faction
backed by the Soviet Union and Cuba.
But UNITA has continued its battle,
relying primarily on South Africa.
Congress in 1976 barred U.S. sup-
port for UNITA, but modified that
prohibition in 1980 and repealed it in
1985. The landmark vote on the issue
came in July 1985, when the House
adopted an amendment to a foreign
aid bill (PL 99-83) repealing the An-
gola restriction. The vote was 236-185.
(1985 Almanac p. 51)
Savimbi appealed for U.S. aid
during a trip to Washington early this
year, taking his case to Reagan.
Savimbi may return this fall to press
for more money and arms. (Weekly
Report pp. 457, 264)
Officially informed of the aid pro-
posal in February, the House Intelli-
tr011~lIINd
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foreign Policy - T
Bence Committee objected, saying the
goals were unclear and that U.S. in-
volvement would jeopardize prospects
for a negotiated settlement of the war.
Committee Chairman Lee H.
Hamilton, D-Ind., and his fellow Dem-
ocrats en introduced legislation (HR
4276) barring aid to any Angolan mili-
tary factions unless the president pub-
licly requests the aid and Congress ap-
proves it by passing a joint resolution.
The Intelligence panel approved
Hamilton's bill in March and the For-
eign Affairs Committee approved it in
May. However, the bill never reached
the floor, largely because of opposition
from Foreign Affairs Chairman Dante
B. Fascell, D-Fla., and Rules Commit-
tee Chairman Claude Pepper, D-Fla.
The strongest supporters of aid to
UNITA have been Cuban-Americans
in Florida who object to the presence
of some 30,000 Cuban troops in An-
gola. Both Fascell and Pepper repre-
sent districts with heavy concentra-
tions of Cuban immigrants.
With, action on HR 4276 stalled,
Hamilton included that measure in
the intelligence authorizations bill ap-
proved by his committee on July 17.
While opposing Rea:gan's Policy,
Hamilton has said his amendment is
needed to preserve congressional pre-
rogatives on foreign issues.
He inserted language in the com-
mittee report saying that the presi-
dent "cannot a:pect sustained sup-
port for foreign policy initiatives,
including covert action operations,
that are generally unpopular or where
a covert action mechanism can be
viewed as having been chosen to avoid
public debate or a congressional vote
on the matter."
Committee Republicans objected
to the Hamilton provision, saying it
reduces the president's flezibility. The
provision, they said, "reflects a naive
assumption that the United States can
conduct all aspects of its foreign policy
in public...."
In an Aug. 11 "Dear Colleague"
letter, the Republicans said the up-
coming House vote on the matter
would be "a referendum on the pro-
cess for congressional oversight of
intelligence activities."
Although the July 1985 vote
might appear to put the House on
record as favoring aid to UNITA,
sources on both sides of the issue said
this year's vote could be much closer.
One major reason is that opponents of
aid to UNITA are capitalizing on con-
gressional unhappiness with Reagan's
policies toward South Africa, the prin-
cipal sponsor of the guerrillas. Reagan
critics say the United States should
not cast its lot with a faction backed
by the white-minority government in
Pretoria. (South Africa, p. 2067)
Intellitte~~~ B
The Senate Intelligence Commit-
tee reported its bill (S Rept 99-307) on
May 21, and the House panel issued its
report (H Rept 99-690, Part 1) on July
17.
As in the past, both committees
refused to make public any significant
information about the budgets or oper-
ations of U.S. intelligence agencies.
Nearly all budget details were included
in a classified "annex" to the bill.
(Background, 1985 Almanac p. 96)
According to published reports,
Reagan requested about $24 billion for
all intelligence programs in fiscal 1987.
About half of that is broadly defined as
the National Foreign Intelligence Pro-
gram, which includes the CIA, the Na-
tional Security Agency, the National
Reconnaissance Office, the Defense
Intelligence Agency and other bureaus
that collect and analyze information
for use by the State Department, the
White House and other policy makers.
The other half is spent on military
intelligence programs, technically
called Tactical Intelligence and Re-
lated Activities. Those programs col-
lect information of value primarily to
the armed forces, such as the location
of Soviet ships and ground forces. Be-
cause of differing rules, the House
committee shares jurisdiction with the
Armed Services Committee over tacti-
cal programs, while the Senate com-
mittee has no supervisory role.
Both committees noted that intel-
ligence programs will face pressure for
budget cuts because of the Gramm-
Rudman deficit control law (PL 99-
177). But they came to the opposite
conclusion about whether such cuts
should be made.
The Senate committee said intel-
ligence programs "must be protected
from arbitrary limits" on spending.
Because of overall cuts in defense
spending - where the intelligence
budget is hidden -those programs
faced real, after?inflation reductions
in fiscal 1986, the committee said.
The budget problem was com-
pounded by failures in the space pro-
gram that crippled the U.S. ability to
launch new and replacement intelli-
gence satellites. The explosions of the
Challenger space shuttle in January
and a Titan missile in April - cou-
pled with previous budget cuts -
placed "U.S. intelligence in its most
serious crisis in decades," the Senate
panel said.
While saying it supported im-
proved programs, the House commit-
tee said intelligence agencies must
share in the government's budget
pain. The committee said it was
recommending a "significant reduc-
tion" from Reagan's request. While re-
fusing to provide any direct informa-
tion on the size of the cut, the
committee said the reduction was
"commensurate" with that applied to
overall defense spending.
The cuts would be achieved by
deferring some programs, deleting
others and increasing some others, the
committee said, producing "a reason-
able balance between needed capabili-
ties and prudent cost."
Repeating earlier warnings, the
House panel said the intelligence bud-
get squeeze will persist and that "little
real growth can be ezpected for the
nett several years."
The bills gave budget information
for only two items:
? The Intelligence Community
staff, which serves the Director of
Central Intelligence in his capacity as
coordinator of all intelligence agen-
cies. The House bill provided $21.7
million, for 235 full-time staff mem-
bers, and the Senate bill $22.3 million,
for 239 full-time staffers, in fiscal
1987. Reagan had requested $22.9 mil-
lion for 246 employees. The 1986 au-
thorized amount was $21 million.
? The CIA's retirement and disabil-
ity fund, set at $125.8 million.
Soviets at the U. N.
The Senate committee approved
three provisions as part of its long cru-
sade to curtail espionage by Soviet of-
ficials, especially those at the United
Nations in New York.
One provision would allow the
State Department to include commer-
cial agencies owned by foreign govern-
ments in the definition of "foreign
missions" in the United States. That
would make them subject to travel
and other restrictions imposed on dip-
lomats from communist countries.
As an eaample, the committee
pointed to the Soviet trading company
AMTORG, which U.S. intelligence of-
ficials have charged is partly a front
for espionage activities.
A related provision would require
business representatives from Soviet-
bloc countries to register as foreign
agents in the United States. Current
law eaempts diplomats and business-
Continwd
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fo~~ign Policy - 3
men from the requirement that all for-
eign agents must register with the Jus-
tice Department. The committee bill
also would require registrations by
persons convicted of espionage or ex-
port law violations.
The third provision stated the
policy of Congress that the number of
Soviet citizens allowed to serve at the
Soviet missions to the United Nations
should not "substantially ezceed" the
number of American personnel at U.S.
missions to the United Nations.
The committee noted that some
600 Soviet officials work at the United
Nations -half for the main Soviet
mission and half for the United Na-
tions itself. The mission in New York
"is one of the chief havens for Soviet
spies in the United States," the com-
mittee said, citing FBI figures that
about one-third of the 300 mission
personnel are professional intelligence
officers. (Background, 1985 Weekly
Report p. 1122)
The committee praised a State
Department announcement on March
7 that the number of personnel al-
lowed the Soviet Union's U. N. mission
would be cut to 170. However, the
committee said it wanted to legislate
the call for cutbacks.
Other Major Provisions:
~ Both bills amend 1978 banking
privacy legislation (PL 95-630) to give
the FBI authority, in counterintelli-
gence investigations, to subpoena
bank records of individuals, compa-
nies or other entities suspected of be-
ing aforeign power or an agent of a
foreign power. This provision would
pre-empt state laws and constitutional
provisions that set stricter privacy
protection standards than the 1978
federal law. The provision also prohib-
its financial institutions from telling
customers that their records have
been subpoenaed for counterintelli-
gence investigations. In most other
cases. bank customers must be noti-
fied when their bank records are sub-
poenaed by federal authorities.
? Both bills give the FBI the same
mandatory access to state and local
criminal records as other U.S. agencies
have for background checks to deter-
mine whether federal employees
should receive security clearances.
~ The Senate bill gives the FBI the
authority to subpoena telephone com-
pany records of individuals or groups
suspected of representing foreign
agents, for the purposes of conducting
counterintelligence. However, the
House committee did not include this
South Africa Bill: Down to the Wire
House and Senate leaders appear to be engaged in a war of nerves over
whether South Africa sanctions legislation will go to a conference committee.
Key House members are asking for a conference on a bill (HR 4868)
imposing sanctions against the white-minority government in South Africa.
But Richard G. Lugar, R-Ind., chairman of the Senate Foreign Rela-
tions Committee, is putting pressure on the House to forgo a conference
and instead accept the Senate-passed version. Unless the House does so, he
said Sept. 2, opponents may be able to stall the bill, enabling President
Reagan to pocket-veto it after Congress' scheduled Oct. 3 adjournment.
The next move is up to the Senate, which passed its bill over Reagan's
opposition on Aug. 15. The Senate has not yet appointed conferees or
returned the bill to the House, which originated it in June. However, aides
in both chambers said work already has begun on getting papers in order so
a conference could be held. (Background, Weekly Report p. 19182)
Lugar said that simply beginning a conference might be a "prodigious
political feat," because sanctions opponents are prepared to filibuster the
naming of conferees. Once a conference begins, he added, there will be
"quite a discussion," and a conference report itself can be filibustered.
A senior House aide said leaders are "pushing hard" for a conference
immediately after Congress returns Sept. 8, and that the House is "pre-
pared to be reasonable, if the Senate is prepared to be fle=ible."
One House option is to ask for a conference and to wait for evidence of
a Senate filibuster before deciding whether to accept the Senate bill. The -
House also could put South Africa provisions on an omnibus appropriations
bill that must be cleared by Congress in September.
Reagan on Sept. 4 renewed for one year an executive order, No. 12532,
imposing limited sanctions against South Africa, such as banning importa-
tion of South African Krugerrands. Aides said Reagan might later add
minor sanctions in an effort to sustain his veto of whatever bill emerges
from Congress. Reagan also is reported to be considering naming a senior
black diplomat, Edward J. Perkins, as the new U.S. ambassador to South
Africa. Perkins currently is ambassador to Liberia.
provision, which had been requested
by FBI Director 1~'illiam H. Webster.
? The House bill exempts civilian
intelligence employees of the military
from many provisions of the civil serv-
ice laws, thus putting them under the
same personnel management system
as employees of other intelligence
agencies. The committee said the
main effect of this provision would be
to allow the military services to pro-
mote civilian intelligence specialists
without having to make them supervi-
sors. The services are losing intelli-
gence specialists to the CIA and other
civilian services, which can pay more
money because of their exemptions
from civil service regulations. The pro-
vision also authorizes the secretary of
defense to fire civilian intelligence
personnel, with his decision not sub-
ject to review or appeal. These provi-
sions would apply to: 2,692 persons in
the Army, 1,377 in the Navy and 1,671
in the Air Force, the panel said.
? The House bill allows the CIA
and the National Security Agency to
pay for undergraduate college educa-
tions of employees in computer sci-
ences, mathematics, engineering, for-
eign languages and other skills. The
committee said the agencies have had
difficulty competing with private com-
panies for skilled technicians, espe-
cially minorities, and a scholarship
pm~ram might improve their ability
to attract employees.
? The House bill would put into
permanent law a requirement enacted
in 198 that the congressional Intelli-
gence committees must be notified of
all "covert" ur secret arms transfers
valued at 81 million or more. Cinder
the provision, those arms transfers -
such as the CIA's provision of weap-
ons to anti-communist guerrilla
groups in Afghanistan, Angola and
elsewhere -would be considered a
"significant anticipated intelligence
activity." That is the technical term
for covert actions that must be re-
ported to Congress, although the
Intelligence committees have no auto-
matic power to block them. ~
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