Congress Opens, Cancels Recess Over Gulf Crisis

The specter of U.S. troops possibly going to war in the Persian Gulf dominated the opening of the 102nd Congress today as the Democratic leadership announced that the body will not go into recess as normally happens in January.

“The recess has been canceled,” Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell (D-Me.) said, because members “must be available on s hort notice” for a possible debate on a resolution dealing with the Persian Gulf.

He insisted that President Bush cannot order military action without congressional authorization.

Bush said at a morning White House meeting with the leaders that he would like to see Congress vote quickly on a narrowly drawn resolution expressing support for U.N. and U.S. efforts to force Iraq out of Kuwait. But they told him that was unlikely.

In the Senate, particularly, amendments can freely be offered and Mitchell said that “it would be unwise to attempt to limit debate in any way on a subject of this magnitude. Further, I advised the President I think it doubtful that such a resolution would pass at this time, or if it did pass it would be, in my view, by a narrow margin.”

House Republican leader Robert H. Michel of Illinois said it would be a mistake to allow amendments to such a measure “because it could be a free-for-all” that might be misunderstood by Iraq’s leaders.

Mitchell and House Speaker Thomas S. Foley (D-Wash.) said any debate should await the return of Secretary of State James A. Baker III, who may meet with the Iraqi foreign minister in Switzerland.

Congress opened with the Democrats firmly in control of both chambers, with a 56-44 majority in the Senate and a House majority of 267 to 167, plus one independent member, socialist Bernard Sanders of Vermont.

New and reelected House members were sworn in as a group, while senators were sworn four at a time, taking the oath from Vice President Dan Quayle.

Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.), the oldest member of the Senate at 88, took the oath his eighth time.