House Supports Bush, Preserves El Salvador Aid

The House today rejected an attempt to restrict U.S. military aid to war-torn El Salvador, heeding President Bush’s admonition not to further weaken the country’s “freely, democratically elected government.”

Amid bitter and at times personal debate, the lawmakers voted 215 to 194 to keep the restrictions from being added to a $14.6-billion foreign aid bill that also included $533 million for Poland and Hungary and military and economic support for U.S. friends and allies around the world.

The House then voted 310 to 107 to approve the foreign aid measure, which was said to be acceptable to Bush, and sent it to the Senate, where a similar debate was likely.

House action came just a few hours after Bush said a cutoff of U.S. military aid to the new government of rightist President Alfredo Cristiani would be “absolutely unacceptable.” A pitched weeklong battle against the leftist FMLN guerrillas was winding down today as the rebels withdrew from San Salvador into the countryside.

“There is a freely elected government doing their very best trying to get protection from these Marxist-led guerrillas coming into the center of the city, and we support President Cristiani in his effort to restore order,” Bush told reporters as he boarded Air Force One for a day of campaigning for GOP candidates.

Debate on aid to El Salvador demonstrated clearly that the new violence in that Central American country, including the murders of six Jesuit priests and two others last week, had reawakened long-dormant congressional tensions.

Rep. David R. Obey (D-Wis.) had proposed to add language that would have held back 30% of this fiscal year’s money until after April 1 of next year.

“To rush into this breech with this kind of amendment is suicide, gentlemen, for that country,” argued Rep. Gerald B. H. Solomon (R-N.Y.). “This amendment is a selective response to a great tragedy.”