Senate Delays Decision on Gulf Policy Until ’88

The Senate today passed a measure delaying until next year any substantial decision on whether to approve President Reagan’s Persian Gulf policy.

The 54-44 vote followed a confusing series of parliamentary maneuvers in which the chamber first voted 51 to 47 to kill the measure.

That vote was reversed on a 58-40 tally after Senate Majority Leader Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.) complained that some senators had not understood what resolution they were considering.

At one point, Sen. David Pryor (D-Ark.) told his colleagues: “What we are doing is confusing. It’s difficult to figure out what we are voting on.”

On a separate but related issue, the Senate has delayed any decision on whether to try to invoke the War Powers Act until after it votes on Reagan’s nomination of Robert H. Bork to the Supreme Court.

The resolution approved today requires a detailed report from Reagan within 30 days, answering a variety of questions about his policy.

Then, 30 days later, the chamber would vote on a resolution expressing either support or disapproval of Reagan’s policy, according to the measure co-sponsored by Byrd and Sen. John W. Warner (R-Va.).

The House has not yet acted on any similar legislation, and House leaders say they want to wait until the Senate completes action before House members consider the Persian Gulf issue.

Earlier today, the Senate voted 94-0 approval of an amendment to the Byrd-Warner resolution which reaffirms Reagan’s authority to protect U.S. servicemen and ships in the Persian Gulf.

The amendment was sponsored by Minority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.), who told his colleagues, “I think the President has the right to do what he is doing, not make war, but protect the international shipping lanes.”

Dole’s amendment says “nothing should be construed as limiting the right of the commander in chief to protect U.S. forces” in the gulf. That authority already is granted under the Constitution, but, Dole said, he wanted to restate it as part of the current Senate attempt to fashion a formal reaction to Reagan’s gulf policy.

The Senate has been periodically debating the Persian Gulf situation since the May 17 Iraqi attack on the Navy frigate Stark that killed 37 U.S. seamen.

“At present, this is an open-ended policy,” Byrd told his colleagues Tuesday of Reagan’s policy in the gulf. “It has no termination date. It’s a provocative policy.”

“This is a way for us to put this behind us once and for all,” Warner said. “We’ve spent months arguing back and forth and it’s time to get on to other things.”

In order to consider the resolution Tuesday, the Senate had to vote to end a filibuster on the issue. The vote was 67 to 28, seven more votes than were needed to limit debate.

As it considered the resolution Tuesday, the Senate gave 92-1 approval of an amendment endorsing Reagan’s order to have the Navy destroy an Iranian oil platform that had been used for military purposes. Sen. Mark O. Hatfield (R-Ore.) cast the dissenting vote.