Members Delve Within Selves to Cast Their Votes

As they prepared to cast perhaps the toughest vote of their political careers Saturday, members of Congress delved deeply into personal feelings and wartime experiences to guide their decisions on authorizing use of force in the Persian Gulf.

With a somber atmosphere seldom seen in the raucous House, some lawmakers invoked divine blessings and mentioned relatives or friends stationed in Saudi Arabia as part of Operation Desert Shield.

Whether they agreed to arm President Bush with war-making power or opposed his request for authority to use force if Iraq remains in Kuwait after Tuesday’s deadline, they spoke with a solemn restraint.

“May God bless us and guide us and help us in the fateful days that lie ahead,” said House Speaker Thomas S. Foley (D-Wash.), who received a standing ovation from both Republicans and Democrats for his rare participation in House debate.

But even a freshman lawmaker--Rep. Pete Peterson (D-Fla.)--held the rapt attention of the House as he described how, as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, he vowed to oppose any future use of U.S. military force without strong and united backing of the American people.

Recalling the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin Resolution that preceded the big American buildup in Vietnam without adequate public understanding or support, Peterson said: “It destroyed this nation--it tore us apart.” He cautioned against a similar rush to war in the Persian Gulf.

Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Redlands) spoke of his nephew, Eric, a helicopter pilot assigned to Operation Desert Shield. While endorsing war powers for the President, Lewis stated, “I do not want America to go to war, but, like Eric, I will continue to support the President.”

Rep. Ralph Regula (R-Ohio) also backed Bush’s request, but added, “Pray God he won’t have to pull the trigger.”

As the debate proceeded, the gravity of the decision sank in on both sides of the aisle. Rep. Helen Delich Bentley (R-Md.) said she voted for the war resolution “with a heavy heart.” House Majority Leader Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.) opposed it, but said: “I pray for the President--for his judgment, his wisdom, for the course he chooses for our country.”

Rep. Jerry F. Costello (D-Ill.) spoke with deep feeling about his son, also named Jerry, who is a private in the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division in the Saudi desert.

Costello said his son told him by telephone last Sunday that he was prepared both physically and mentally to go to war if necessary. But Costello said he opposed granting the President the authority to go to war, preferring to give economic sanctions and diplomacy more time to produce an Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait.

His remarks drew a standing ovation from his colleagues.

Many veteran House members said they agonized over the vote, losing sleep and wrestling with the decision on whether to support the war resolution. Two powerful Democrats--Dan Rostenkowski of Illinois and John D. Dingell of Michigan--came down on Bush’s side in the end.

“I have full confidence that our President and my friend George Bush will act in a responsible and compassionate fashion,” Rostenkowski said in a statement. “My vote today is not a vote for war, although war may be the ultimate result. It is a vote of confidence in our President and his judgment.”

Similarly, Dingell said his vote was the most difficult he had cast during 35 years in the House, citing valid arguments on both sides of the issue.

“I have listened, read, thought, agonized and prayed for wisdom and guidance over the hard choices before us,” he said. “I pray our judgment is wise and good.

“But if this Congress wants to protect our troops in the Persian Gulf, it is absolutely necessary that we give the President the authority to assert all his powers,” Dingell concluded.

Rep. Sam Gibbons (D-Fla.)--like Dingell a World War II veteran--voted the other way. With sadness in his voice, the former paratrooper said Congress was declaring war for the third time during his lifetime.

“The country is not united in a declaration of war--our people are not ready for that,” he said. “We must raise taxes . . . we’re going to need a draft.”

But other Democrats said they would rally behind the President once the vote was over, despite calls of protest that were jamming Capitol Hill switchboards.

As Foley put it in an emotional conclusion to his speech: “Let us come together after the vote. We are not Democrats and Republicans--we are Americans here.”