Reagan to Sign Anti-Apartheid Bill, Dole Says

Sen. Bob Dole, the Republican majority leader, predicted Sunday that President Reagan will put aside his reservations and sign a bill penalizing South Africa for its racial policies if congressional negotiators, meeting later this week, limit economic sanctions to those already approved by the Senate.

Dole, interviewed on ABC-TV’s “This Week With David Brinkley,” also indicated that Reagan’s plans to revamp and simplify the federal income tax might die if the Democratic-controlled House, the Republican Senate and the White House do not act quickly to break a three-way deadlock that has blocked passage of a 1986 budget.

As Congress heads into its last scheduled week of work before the traditional August recess, Dole said it is imperative that lawmakers “come to grips with South Africa” before they go home, by passing some form of sanctions to protest apartheid and the state of emergency imposed July 20 by the white-minority government in Pretoria.

“Let’s do something,” Dole said, suggesting that the milder Senate package would meet with less resistance from the White House and from Senate conservatives, who staged a small-scale filibuster earlier this month to demonstrate displeasure with the proposed penalties. “Let’s send the strongest signal possible to the South African government.”

Congressional conferees are scheduled to meet this week to thrash out differences between the anti-apartheid packages approved by the House and Senate in disregard of the Administration’s view that sanctions would undermine its “constructive engagement” policy--the tactics of seeking to bring about reforms through quiet diplomacy.

The Senate bill would bar U.S. banks from making loans to the South African government, ban the export of American nuclear technology to Pretoria, limit sales to government agencies of U.S.-made computers and software and threaten harsher sanctions in 18 months if no significant progress has been made in improving conditions for the country’s 22 million blacks.

The House version would impose similar penalties but would also cut off new American investment in South Africa and bar the lucrative sale in the United States of Krugerrands.

Although the White House lobbied against both bills, Dole suggested that the state of emergency and the violence it has triggered would lead Reagan to approve some sanctions. “I think he would sign the Senate bill,” Dole said.

Budget Debate

While the South African question will occupy much of Congress’ time this week, center stage will still be occupied with the thorny question of how to cut the federal budget to trim deficits now projected at more than $200 billion annually.

Dole, in his Sunday interview, said the budget impasse threatens to crowd Reagan’s tax reform proposals off the legislative calendar through the end of the year.