Tinkers With Diplomacy, Defense : Congress Determinedly Meddles in Policy-Making

Whenever former President Ronald Reagan accused Congress of tinkering too much with national security policy, his antagonists on Capitol Hill always had a ready answer: They were forced to do it because the President never consulted them.

But now that relations between the White House and Congress have entered a new era of cooperation and consultation under President Bush, it appears that Reagan’s complaint may have been justified after all.

In the final weeks before Congress’ monthlong August recess, members of the House and Senate once again engaged in their annual ritual of trying to legislate the jots and tittles of American foreign and defense policy--everything from overall nuclear strategy to the smallest personnel policies.

Sen. David L. Boren (D-Okla.) sees these latest efforts at micromanagement as a bad faith response by Congress to the pledge of cooperation that Bush made in his inaugural address.

To Boren, it proves that his colleagues are more interested in seeking sensational headlines than assisting in the development of a coherent foreign policy.

“It appears to me that the Administration is seeking to do its part, and I am disappointed that we, as an institution, have failed to live up to our responsibility to work in a responsible way, a non-sensational way” to resolve concerns through consultation, Boren told his colleagues in a recent floor speech.

Congress’ unflagging passion for fiddling with the details of foreign and defense policy has been most apparent in the Senate, which during the last three weeks has made numerous adjustments in the legislation authorizing spending for the State Department and the Pentagon for fiscal 1990. In all, the Senate considered 83 amendments to the defense bill and 78 amendments to the State Department measure.

Some amendments challenged the fundamental principles behind the Bush Administration’s policy. On the defense bill, for example, some senators called into question Bush’s decision to fund the development of new strategic nuclear weapons at the expense of many less costly conventional weapons and of domestic programs.

Lower-Level Issues

But most of the Senate amendments focused on issues that are usually decided not in the Oval Office but at the lower levels of the bureaucracy--issues such as a $100,000 contribution to the Ukrainian Famine Commission or Coast Guard policy for apprehending drug smugglers.

If fact, many amendments call for actions that are not even within the power of the U.S. government to carry out. One such amendment, proposed by Sen. Connie Mack (R-Fla.), called for a plebiscite in Cuba.

Quite frequently, opponents of these amendments urge their colleagues to vote against them on grounds that they represent unwarranted micromanagement of foreign policy. However, even some senators who make this argument are later accused of micromanaging government policy themselves.

During consideration of the State Department bill, for example, Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N. C.) railed against micromanagement when Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-N.Y.) proposed an amendment designed to prevent a recurrence of the Iran-Contra affair.

But, when Helms later offered a proposal to halt negotiations with Palestine Liberation Organization leaders, he was accused by Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell (D-Me.) of doing the same thing.

One of the favorite tactics of congressional micromanagers is to require the bureaucracy to provide Congress with a report on any matter of concern. As a result, according to a study conducted by Sen. Rudy Boschwitz (R-Minn.), the government must now submit an estimated 5,000 reports a year to Congress on everything from arms control to morale in the military.

Boschwitz said that the proliferation of these reports proves that “Congress has become a micromanager that can’t manage.”

Waste of Money Cited

“Is there really a need for the secretary of defense to report biennially to Congress on special pay for health professionals?” Boschwitz asked. “These kinds of reports do not improve our management of the Pentagon. They only waste money and distract us from our more important responsibilities of oversight.”

It is estimated that the Defense Department annually devotes 370 man-years to producing more than 600 reports required by Congress. And the House-passed defense spending bill for fiscal 1990 calls for an additional 215 reports from the Pentagon next year--a 32% increase over the current fiscal year.

Boschwitz sought to eliminate all Pentagon reporting requirements in the defense spending bill, which cleared the House on Wednesday, but his amendment was ruled out of order.

Although Reagan often complained bitterly about congressional micromanagement during his eight years in office, leaders of the Democratic-controlled Congress usually dismissed his lament as nothing more than partisan sour grapes.

Team Fights Meddling

Over the last few years, however, the bipartisan team of Boren and Sen. John C. Danforth (R-Mo.) has made it a personal mission to reduce congressional tinkering in national security policy by speaking out on the issue whenever an opportunity has arisen.

Boren and Danforth thought they had finally made some progress earlier this year when Bush, after pledging cooperation with Congress in his inaugural address, established a formal mechanism to provide for consultation on all matters of national security.

Congressional leaders as well as ranking members of the House and Senate committees on foreign relations, armed services and intelligence now meet regularly with the President to discuss important decisions facing the Administration.

But the two senators now realize that that effort has changed nothing. Members of Congress still believe--as Boren puts it--”that, at least for 10 minutes on the Senate floor, they should act as secretary of state of the United States or perhaps try to act on behalf of the President of the United States in making foreign policy for this country.”

Boren, who heads the Senate Intelligence Committee, contends that the Senate’s habit of meddling with foreign policy not only usurps the prerogative of the President to conduct diplomacy but sends a confusing signal to U.S. allies and enemies alike.

“Nothing diminishes the influence of this country more than our failure to speak to the rest of the world with a single voice,” Boren said. “Nothing is more damaging when we are dealing with sensitive international issues than to have amateur hour on the floor of the United States Senate in which each and every one of us decide to weigh in on sensitive issues that have been delicately balanced and negotiated between our country and other nations.”

And how do Boren and Danforth hope to deal with the problem now? A report, of course.

The Senate earlier this week voted for a Boren-Danforth amendment to the defense spending bill that requires the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, in consultation with Secretary of State James A. Baker III, to issue a report by Dec. 31 on “the appropriate relationship between the legislative and the executive branches with respect to the formulation of United States foreign policy.”

WHEN CONGRESS STEPS IN

Some amendments considered by Congress in recent weeks to the authorization bills for the State and Defense departments: DEFENSE DEPARTMENT BILL: Amendment: To increase the number of auditors by 400 to 6,488 at the Defense Contract Audit Agency. Sponsor: Sen. Howard M. Metzenbaum (D-Ohio) Outcome: Approved, voice vote Amendment: To provide bonuses of $2,000 to $5,000 for military psychologists. Sponsor: Sen. Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii) Outcome: Approved, voice vote Amendment: To urge the Army Corps of Engineers to study soil and water contamination near Mead, Neb. Sponsor: Sen. J. James Exon (D-Neb.) Outcome: Approved, voice vote Amendment: To prevent the National Guard from requiring that civilian employees wear military uniforms while doing civilian service. Sponsor: Rep. Lane Evans (D-Ill.) Outcome: Rejected, 269 to 156 STATE DEPARTMENT BILL: Amendment: To facilitate the international conservation of sea turtles. Sponsor: Sen. John B. Breaux (D-La.) Outcome: Approved, voice vote Amendment: To authorize funds for the Commission on the Ukraine Famine. Sponsor: Sens. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) and Bill Bradley (D-N.J.) Outcome: Approved, voice vote Amendment: To prohibit the State Department from initiating contacts with Panamanian leader Gen. Manuel A. Noriega. Sponsor: Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) Outcome: Rejected, 62 to 37 Amendment: To direct the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to report on the appropriate roles for the executive and legislative branches in formulating foreign policy. Sponsor: Sens. David L. Boren (D-Okla.) and John C. Danforth (R-Mo.) Outcome: Approved, voice vote DEFENSE BILL PASSES--The House approved a $286-billion Pentagon funding bill in its rush toward recess. Page 25