Hatfield Offered to Resign Before Senate Budget Vote

Sen. Mark O. Hatfield (R-Ore.), who was under intense Republican pressure to switch his vote last week in order to save the balanced-budget amendment, offered to resign from the Senate before the vote so the party could win without him, Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.) said Sunday.

Dole rejected the extraordinary offer, and the amendment failed for lack of one vote--a loss so upsetting to some Republicans that they are talking about trying to strip Hatfield of his chairmanship of the powerful Appropriations Committee, sources said.

In answer to questions on CBS-TV’s “Face the Nation,” Dole said he had been told by at least one senator that “there’s a lot of frustration,” especially among newer members, and that some of them will be writing Dole early this week to propose a course of action.

Dole did not identify the senators or say what action they would propose. But another Senate source said freshman Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) and several others were leaning toward seeking a vote of the Senate Republican Conference to depose Hatfield as chairman of the appropriations panel.

Dole criticized Hatfield, saying he had a responsibility as chairman of a major committee to support the GOP leadership, but declined to say whether he would support sanctions against his longtime friend. “I haven’t made that judgment,” he said.

“Will there be some punishment?” Dole asked. “It’s difficult to do in the Senate.” Dole’s assessment was shared by aides to several other Republican senators, conservatives as well as moderates, who said they believe the GOP caucus will shy away from what Sen. Bob Packwood (R-Ore.) described as “political cannibalism.”

Late Sunday, Hatfield issued a statement confirming Dole’s account and saying: “I made this offer out of loyalty to my party and out of loyalty to my leader. I was disturbed that some were using my vote to question his leadership.”

Dole, who is running for the Republican presidential nomination in 1996, also accused Democrats of using the balanced-budget amendment to undercut him and his candidacy.

Dole said he would consider stepping down as majority leader next year if he wins early presidential primary contests.