$800-Million African Relief Bill Passed

The House and Senate on Tuesday passed and sent to President Reagan compromise legislation approving up to $800 million in famine relief for Ethiopia, Sudan, Chad and 20 other African nations ravaged by drought and famine.

Republican lawmakers said Reagan has agreed to sign the measure even though it provides almost three times the funds he requested earlier this year.

The Senate, by a voice vote, unanimously endorsed the aid package forged last week by House-Senate conferees, and the House passed the measure, 400 to 19. All of California’s representatives voted for the bill, except William E. Dannemeyer (R-Fullerton), who voted “no,” and Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove), who did not vote.

African relief specialists say that millions of people--many of them now in overcrowded refugee camps on parched, barren soil--face starvation in 6 to 12 months unless they receive food from outside sources.

The measure approved Tuesday by Congress authorizes $400 million under the Food for Peace program to buy supplies and transport them to famine victims. It also sets up a $225-million contingency fund that Reagan can tap for additional famine aid if he notifies Congress that it is needed. Another $175 million was set aside for disaster relief--including the purchase of medical supplies, clothing, shelter and farm implements.

In addition to the money voted, the legislation directs the Agriculture Department to make available 200,000 metric tons of wheat and dairy products from U.S. stockpiles to private groups serving famine victims.

However, it forbids the release of any of the food until the department certifies that none of it will be given to the Marxist government of Ethiopia--which, critics contend, has hampered food distribution and relief efforts in rebel-controlled regions.

The measure was passed Tuesday with none of the partisan wrangling that threatened to scuttle previous African relief packages. Last year, the Reagan Administration tried to attach a $24-million aid package earmarked for rebels fighting the Sandinista government in Nicaragua to a similar African aid bill. Democrats, who control the House, angrily defeated that move.

Earlier this year, farm state lawmakers considered, but then dropped, a move to tie famine aid to another package granting emergency loan guarantees to American farmers.

Before the Senate vote, Republican leaders had expressed fear that the measure’s approval might be delayed by attempts to attach more farm-credit riders or an amendment restricting trade with South Africa. However, no such attempts were made.

In January, the Administration, acknowledging that mass starvation loomed in Africa, proposed a $235-million aid package. Critics said then that the White House underestimated the scope of the tragedy. The House later passed an $880-million aid package while the Senate agreed to $669 million. The compromise bill basically splits the difference.

“This is a responsible piece of legislation, a crucial piece of legislation,” said Rep. David Obey (D-Wis.). “It is literally a life-saver.”

But Rep. James H. Scheuer (D-N.Y.) said that the famine aid is only a stopgap measure and that Congress will be called on repeatedly to bail out starving Africans from “impending doom, horror and suffering” unless they are taught to curb their rising populations and increase agricultural production.