House Joins Senate, Rejects Arms Sale to Saudis, 356-62 : Veto Threat Forecats Hard Fight

The House, following the lead of the Senate and ignoring warnings that it was punishing a friend, decisively rejected President Reagan’s request to sell $354 million in missiles to Saudi Arabia today--the first time Congress has refused to sell weapons to a foreign country.

The House decision against the sale followed a similar vote Tuesday by the Senate. (Story on Page 16.) It also set up a tough fight with Reagan, who has pledged to veto the resolution and pursue the request for arms.

The House crushed the request on a 356-62 vote. Although the votes in both chambers were enough to override a presidential veto, Reagan’s influence could save him from an embarrassing defeat.

To block an arms sale, the Senate and House must pass legislation denying the President the authority to complete the deal. The resolution of disapproval can be vetoed by the President, but a two-thirds vote to override the veto in both the Senate and House would seal defeat of the sale.

‘Major Differences’

“We’re all disappointed that Saudi Arabia is often not as supportive of U.S. policies . . . as we would like them to be,” Rep. Lee H. Hamilton (D-Ind.) told the House. “Without doubt, we have major differences with them.”

But, Hamilton said, the Saudis are defending the strategic Persian Gulf and its vital oil resources against attack by Iran and have encouraged Jordan’s King Hussein in his effort to come to peace with Israel.

“This sale is, whether we like it or not, in the eyes of the Saudis and much of the Arab world, a test of (our) relationship” with the Arab country, Hamilton said.

Rep. Mel Levine (D-Santa Monica), however, said the Saudis support the Palestine Liberation Organization and Libya’s Moammar Kadafi and have not delivered on pledges to encourage peace in the Middle East.

“If the Saudis want our cooperation, let them give us theirs,” Levine said.

Variety of Arms

Reagan proposed selling the Saudis 2,600 antiaircraft, air-to-air and anti-ship missiles, all of types already in the Saudi arsenal.

The Senate, also critical of the Saudis’ record in promoting peace, defeated the sale on Tuesday, 73 to 22.

Rep. Gerald B. H. Solomon (R-N.Y.) said the missiles are no threat to the security of Israel, which did not actively oppose the sale, but are vital to protecting oil tanker shipping in the Persian Gulf.

“If we cannot assist our friends in assuming a greater role in the protection of the Persian Gulf, we shall soon be without friends and the responsibility for security in the gulf will fall exclusively on our shoulders,” Solomon said.

But Rep. Dante B. Fascell (D-Fla.), chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said the missiles would have no immediate impact on security in the gulf because they would not be delivered until 1989.

“The committee does not believe the proposed sale advances U.S. security interests in the volatile area of the Middle East,” Fascell said, adding that the sale “was not justified, is unwise, unnecessary and contrary to stated policy interests of the United States.”