House GOP Divided on Mexican Aid : Politics: Some lawmakers say Clinton overstepped his authority. Party leaders seem relieved.

A small group of Republican House members complained Wednesday that President Clinton overstepped his authority in offering a $20-billion package of loans and loan guarantees to Mexico without first gaining congressional approval.

But House leaders, including senior Republicans, indicated that they could not be happier to be rid of the politically nettlesome issue.

Clinton, upbeat after first watching Congress tear apart the original proposal that he was forced to abandon, said he was encouraged by the response to his revised plan--criticism notwithstanding.

“It was good for our country, it was good for our jobs, good for the stability of the region,” he said.

Clinton unveiled the revised program Tuesday. He cut in half the U.S. contribution, substituting a program that the Administration insists he can initiate on his own authority. He also gained international contributions that will bring the total package, intended to stabilize the devalued Mexican peso and put the Mexican economy on a sounder footing, to $49.8 billion.

House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) offered unusual praise for the President, saluting him for making “a very sobering, very hard decision.”

Referring to the reluctance of members of the House and Senate to go on record as favoring the original plan--even as they said privately that they recognized the need to take such action--Gingrich said: “I did not exactly see lots of members jumping up and down eager to vote yes and begging . . . to bring it up here.”

Gingrich, speaking with reporters, called for the creation of a commission made up of border-state governors and others to study the overall U.S.-Mexican relationship, including economic, diplomatic and immigration issues.

Treasury Secretary Robert E. Rubin, meanwhile, said the U.S. action should not be seen as a precedent for the way the nation will approach similar circumstances in other emerging markets.

Mexico is unique, he said in a speech, in that it shares a 2,000-mile border with the United States, a major trade relationship and immigration problems. In addition, he said, “the spillover potential” stemming from a potential economic failure there would not necessarily be duplicated in other countries that might seek U.S. assistance.

Rubin and Secretary of State Warren Christopher canceled an appearance before the House International Relations Committee, angering committee members.

Jumping into the fray, Vice President Al Gore lashed out at those who, he said, were reluctant to act and who “are going to say, ‘I’m glad somebody else did it because now we can criticize and score political points with impunity.’ ”

Despite Gingrich’s words of support for Clinton’s approach, some Republicans began looking for a way to stop it

Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-El Cajon) circulated a letter urging Clinton to reconsider the decision. Other House members circulated a proposed bill intended to keep the plan from taking effect.

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