California Aid to Eastern Europe Urged : Foreign relations: An assemblyman’s ‘economic peace package’ would provide $150 million to help develop free markets abroad.

Saying that Californians should invest in peace, the powerful and colorful chairman of the Assembly’s budget-writing committee proposed a novel package Tuesday under which the state would provide $150 million in foreign aid to Eastern Europe and open a trade office in Warsaw.

Democratic Assemblyman John Vasconcellos of Santa Clara, father of California’s Self Esteem commission and sponsor of a state-sanctioned Peace Day each May, also proposed a student exchange program between California and East Bloc nations and special advisory councils to assist agricultural and technological development behind what used to be the Iron Curtain.

The eclectic lawmaker, known for his off-beat ideas, described the proposed program as his “economic peace package,” which he said was especially appropriate for the holiday season, when peace is celebrated the world over.

“We talk about it, we send cards about it, we ought to do something about it,” Vasconcellos said. “Words are cheap. What price peace? I’d pay it.”

The chairman of the Assembly Ways and Means Committee, a veteran of 23 years in the Assembly, conceded that the foreign aid element of the 14-point package would be difficult to sell politically. But Vasconcellos, who often has complained that the state budget is insufficient to meet the health, education and welfare needs of Californians, said ensuring the development of free-market democracies in Eastern Europe would make California richer in the long run.

He contended that the citizens of those countries, heartened by California’s contribution to their cause, would want to visit the state and do business with California companies. And he said he hoped that some of the $30 billion that Californians pay annually in taxes to support the Pentagon could soon be redirected to state programs for which he has been an advocate.

Although Gov. George Deukmejian has opened trade promotion offices in Tokyo, London, Mexico City and Frankfurt and has budgeted millions to market California products and services abroad, California apparently never has extended financial aid to another country. Vasconcellos said he is not even sure the idea would be legal under the state and federal constitutions.

A spokesman for Deukmejian staked out a skeptical position when asked about the concept.

“We haven’t seen the details of the assemblyman’s proposal,” Deputy Press Secretary Tom Beermann said. “However, foreign aid has generally been the province of the federal government and is more appropriately handled on the federal level.”

Assembly Republican Leader Ross Johnson of La Habra voiced similar concerns.

“I would have serious questions about California, with all the challenges that lie before, embarking on a foreign aid program,” Johnson said.

But Vasconcellos said he believes the circumstances are so unusual that they call for a new political mind-set.

“The outbreak of freedom and the opening of free markets in Eastern Europe is historic and stirring,” Vasconcellos said. “We are at a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity when the world might really be changing. When opportunities come it is important to move on them immediately and make the most of them.”