[House Report 104-559]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
104th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 104-559
_______________________________________________________________________
PROVIDING AMOUNTS FOR THE EXPENSES OF THE SELECT SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE
UNITED STATES ROLE IN IRANIAN ARMS TRANSFERS TO CROATIA AND BOSNIA OF
THE COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS IN THE SECOND SESSION OF THE
ONE HUNDRED FOURTH CONGRESS
_______________________________________________________________________
May 6, 1996.--Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Thomas, from the Committee on House Oversight, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
together with
MINORITY VIEWS
[To accompany H. Res. 417]
The Committee on House Oversight, to whom was referred the
resolution (H. Res. 417) providing amounts for the expenses of
the Select Subcommittee on the United States Role in Iranian
Arms Transfers to Croatia and Bosnia of the Committee on
International Relations in the second session of the One
Hundred Fourth Congress, having considered the same, report
favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend that the
resolution be agreed to.
The amendment is as follows:
Strike out all after the resolving clause and insert the
following:
That (a) there shall be paid out of the applicable accounts of the
House of Representatives not more than $995,000 for the expenses of the
Select Subcommittee on the United States Role in Iranian Arms Transfers
to Croatia and Bosnia (hereinafter in this resolution referred to as
the ``select subcommittee'') of the Committee on International
Relations, any part of which sum may be used for procurement of
consultant services under section 202(i) of the Legislative
Reorganization Act of 1946.
(b) Payments under this resolution shall be made on vouchers
authorized by the select subcommittee, signed by the chairman of the
Committee on International Relations, and approved in the manner
directed by the Committee on House Oversight.
(c) Amounts shall be available under this resolution for expenses
incurred during the period beginning on the date on which this
resolution is agreed to and ending on the date on which the select
subcommittee ceases to exist or ending immediately before noon on
January 3, 1997, whichever first occurs.
(d) Amounts made available under this resolution shall be expended in
accordance with regulations prescribed by the Committee on House
Oversight.
(e) The Committee on House Oversight shall have authority to make
adjustments in the amount under subsection (a), if necessary to comply
with an order of the President issued under section 254 of the Balanced
Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 or to conform to any
reduction in appropriations for the purposes of such subsection.
general discussion
H. Res. 417, as amended, provides $995,000 for the expenses
of the Select Subcommittee on the United States Role in Iranian
Arms Transfers to Croatia and Bosnia of the Committee on
International Relations in the second session of the One
Hundred and Fourth Congress. Any part of this amount may be
used to procure consultant services under section 202(i) of the
Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946.
The select subcommittee investigation
The Honorable Benjamin Gilman, Chairman of the Committee on
International Relations, appeared before the Committee on May
1, 1996 to discuss the need for the investigation and to
explain the funding request.
As presented to the Committee, the Select Subcommittee is
needed to investigate the issues and questions that have arisen
following the revelation that the Clinton Administration
acquiesced over two years ago in the creation of an Iranian
arms pipeline to Croatia and Bosnia. The Administration's
policy (1) directly contradicts the stated position of the
United States Government; (2) was not revealed to Congress; (3)
has allowed the terrorist nation of Iran to gain a foothold in
Europe; (4) affects the United States exit strategy from
Bosnia.
Discussion at the Committee meeting raised several
unanswered questions. How was this policy developed? What was
the U.S. role in implementing it? What are its consequences?
Was Congress deceived or misled? Has any U.S. law been
violated? As Chairman Gilman discussed, the serious nature of
these issues warrants further investigation by the Select
Subcommittee established specifically for this purpose.
The funding request
Before beginning its investigation, the Select Subcommittee
has requested a fixed budget and fixed expiration date for
funding the completion of their work. This request is far
different from the last similar such funding request for ``The
October Surprise Task Force.'' That Task Force spent over
$769,000 and operated for over seven months before receiving
the needed funding authorization from the House for its
investigation.
Chairman Gilman requested a total of $1,200,000 to fund the
personnel and non-personnel expenses of the Select
Subcommittee. The request allocates personnel resources to the
minority in excess of the ratio of minority membership on the
Subcommittee. The justification for the request is outlined in
the letter and budget category summary submitted to the
Committee on House Oversight and printed below.
The committee amendment
The Committee's amendment in the nature of a substitute
reduced the funding request by $205,000 to $995,000. This
amount includes an estimated $236,000 in costs which, the due
to new budgeting requirements, were not absorbed by previous
similar entities.
No supplemental appropriations or reprogrammings of
existing appropriations are required to support the funding
level of $995,000. There are sufficient Fiscal Year 1996 funds
available within the appropriate House account to fund the
expenses of the Select Subcommittee, without jeopardizing other
Committees' funding needs or violating the commitment made in
the Contract with America to reduce committee staffing levels
by one-third.
H. Res. 417 as amended also does not violate the commitment
to reduce committee funds by 30% in the 104th Congress. The
committee funding resolution for the 104th Congress, H. Res.
107 approved by the House on March 15, 1995, reduced committee
funding by $67 million, or 30%, from 103rd Congress levels.
During 1995, Committees voluntarily contributed further savings
by underspending the authorized amount by nearly $6 million.
Even with the additional funding authorization of $995,000,
House committees will achieve the 30% reduction in spending.
funding request
The following letter was submitted on behalf of the
Committee on International Relations:
House of Representatives,
Committee on International Relations,
Washington, DC, April 30, 1996.
Hon. William M. Thomas,
Chairman, Committee on House Oversight, House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
Dear Bill: I am writing to request consideration by your
Committee of H. Res. 417, providing amounts for the expenses of
the Select Subcommittee on the U.S. Role in Iranian Arms
Transfers to Croatia and Bosnia of the Committee on
International Relations in the second session of the One
Hundred Fourth Congress. Attached for your consideration is a
budget proposal in support of H. Res. 417.
As set forth in paragraphs (c)(1) through (c)(7) of H. Res.
416, the scope of the investigation to be undertaken by the
Select Subcommittee includes matters relating to (1) the policy
of the U.S. Government with respect to the transfer of arms;
(2) the nature and extent of the transfer of arms or other
assistance; (3) any actions taken by the U.S. Government to
facilitate or to impede such transfers; (4) any communications
or representations made to the U.S. Congress or American people
with respect to the transfers or with respect to the
international arms embargo of the former Yugoslavia; (5) any
implication for the safety of U.S. Armed Forces deployed in and
around Bosnia; (6) any actions taken to review, analyze, or
investigate the above matters; and (7) all deliberations,
discussions, or communications relating to the above matters.
The Select Subcommittee shall cease to exist 6 months after the
date on which H. Res. 416 is agreed to.
We are requesting $1,200,000 for this six-month
investigation. The bulk of the request--$1,111,000 or 93%--is
to cover personnel costs. Of that amount, $675,000 has been
budgeted for expenses of contract counsels and their staff.
While we have not finalized any contracts, surveys and analysis
were conducted of the expenses and contract amounts of recent
or on-going special investigations. The budget also includes
$226,000 to cover salaries for eight regular-salaried staff
members and overtime for four staff members for the duration of
the investigation and $210,000 for three detailees from the
Federal Bureau of Investigation to assist with interviews.
$89,000 has been budgeted for non-personnel items,
including domestic travel and witness expenses, supplies,
telephone lines, equipment and tolls, and computer-related and
other equipment.
I hope that during its consideration of H. Res. 417, the
Committee will bear in mind that inclusion of certain costs,
such as reimbursement for detailees' salaries and benefits,
overtime, and telephone lines, are now mandatory beginning with
this Congress. Similar expenses, therefore, were not reflected
in previous special investigatory budgets.
I look forward to meeting with you and Members of the
Committee on House Oversight soon.
With best wishes,
Sincerely yours,
Benjamin A. Gilman,
Chairman.
Proposed budget for Select Subcommittee on the Role in Iranian Arms
Transfers to Croatia and Bosnia
Personnel:
Consultant Authority (Special Counsel Requests)........... $675,000
Committee Staff Salaries.................................. 215,000
Overtime.................................................. 11,000
Detailees................................................. 210,000
--------------------------------------------------------------
____________________________________________________
Subtotal................................................ 1,111,000
==============================================================
____________________________________________________
Non-personnel:
Travel.................................................... 10,000
Witness expense........................................... 10,000
Equipment................................................. 26,500
Supplies.................................................. 20,500
Telephone................................................. 10,000
Publications.............................................. 5,000
Outside Computer.......................................... 2,000
Miscellaneous............................................. 5,000
--------------------------------------------------------------
____________________________________________________
Subtotal................................................ 89,000
==============================================================
____________________________________________________
Total................................................... 1,200,000
committee action
On May 1, 1996, by rollcall vote (7-5), a quorum being
present, the Committee agreed to a motion to report the
resolution favorably to the House, as amended.
rollcall votes
In compliance with clause 2(l)(2)(B) of rule XI of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, with respect to each rollcall
vote on a motion to report the resolution and on any amendment
offered to the resolution, the total number of votes cast for
and against, and the names of those Members voting for and
against, are as follows:
house resolution 417, rollcall no. 1
Motion by Mr. Thomas. Subject: Previous question on the
amendment in the nature of a substitute and the resolution.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Member Aye Nay Present
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. Thomas............................. X ......... .........
Mr. Ehlers............................. X ......... .........
Mr. Roberts............................ X ......... .........
Mr. Boehner............................ X ......... .........
Ms. Dunn............................... X ......... .........
Mr. Diaz-Balart........................ X ......... .........
Mr. Ney................................ X ......... .........
Mr. Fazio.............................. ......... X .........
Mr. Gejdenson.......................... ......... X .........
Mr. Hoyer.............................. ......... X .........
Mr. Jefferson.......................... ......... X .........
Mr. Pastor............................. ......... X .........
--------------------------------
Total.............................. 7 5 .........
------------------------------------------------------------------------
house resolution 417, rollcall no. 2
Motion by Mr. Thomas. Subject: Report resolution, as
amended, favorably to the House.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Member Aye Nay Present
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. Thomas............................. X ......... .........
Mr. Ehlers............................. X ......... .........
Mr. Roberts............................ X ......... .........
Mr. Boehner............................ X ......... .........
Ms. Dunn............................... X ......... .........
Mr. Diaz-Balart........................ X ......... .........
Mr. Ney................................ X ......... .........
Mr. Fazio.............................. ......... X .........
Mr. Gejdenson.......................... ......... X .........
Mr. Hoyer.............................. ......... X .........
Mr. Jefferson.......................... ......... X .........
Mr. Pastor............................. ......... X .........
--------------------------------
Total.............................. 7 5 .........
------------------------------------------------------------------------
committee oversight findings
In compliance with clause 2(l)(3)(A) of rule XI of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee states that the
findings and recommendations of the Committee, based on
oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the
Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the
descriptive portions of this report.
statement on budget authority and related items
The resolution does not provide new budget authority, new
spending authority, new credit authority, or an increase or
decrease in revenues or tax expenditures and a statement under
clause 2(l)(3)(B) of rule XI of the Rules of the House of
Representatives and section 308(a)(1) of the Congressional
Budget Act of 1974 is not required.
congressional budget office cost estimate
In compliance with clause 2(l)(3)(C) of rule XI of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee states, with
respect to the resolution, that the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office did not submit a cost estimate and
comparison under section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974.
oversight findings of committee on government reform and oversight
The Committee states, with respect to clause 2(l)(3)(D) of
rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, that the
Committee on Government Reform and Oversight did not submit
findings or recommendations based on investigations under
clause 4(c)(2) of rule X of the Rules of the House of
Representatives.
MINORITY VIEWS
Everything about this effort to establish a Select
Subcommittee-- from procedure to substance--seems profoundly
flawed. Indeed, there are so many objectionable aspects to this
funding request that it is difficult to know where to begin.
procedural rush to judgment
Some of these many problems might have been avoided had the
Republican majority not chosen to act with such unnecessary
haste. We note, for example, that we were notified of a
legislative mark-up of H. Res. 417, shortly after its
introduction, and just 24 hours before the mark-up actually
occurred. Until the morning of the mark-up, we received no
supporting documentation of any kind justifying the requested
$1.2 million expenditure of tax dollars, or the $1 million
which the Committee majority eventually approved. We further
note that the House has not even created the entity which the
Republicans seek to have funded--namely, a Select Subcommittee
of the House Committee on International Relations. We are aware
of no extraordinary circumstances that require the Republican
majority to ram this legislation through the House with so
little thought, discussion, preparation or analysis. This is no
way to do the people's business--a criticism that has become
increasingly common in this Congress.
$2.4 million annualized subcommittee budget request
Having told the minority virtually nothing about the need
and purpose of this Subcommittee, and having rushed this
process to a ludicrous degree, the majority suddenly presents
us with a Subcommittee budget for 6 months of $1.2 million in
taxpayer money. This $2.4 million annualized amount would have
made it the most expensive subcommittee established by the
Republican majority this Congress.\1\ That is nearly three
times the average amount for each of the House International
Relations Committee's other standing subcommittees. By any
measure, even the amount eventually approved, this is a
substantial sum of the public's money, and we should not
authorize its use without an equally substantial and compelling
justification for doing so.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ During mark-up, the majority erroneously left the impression
that the ``October Surprise'' Task Force spent $4.5 million. In fact,
the actual amount disbursed by the House was $1.47 million.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
justification or rationalization
What, then, is the majority's justification? Based upon the
substance of the Republican request, the best we can determine
is that the majority is asking for taxpayer money to do nothing
more than review an aspect of the President's, and this
country's, foreign policy--a policy which has proven highly
successful to date. This $1.2 million request for taxpayer
money was not being sought by the Republican majority for use
in the investigation of any crimes--for no such allegations
have been made. Nor was this $1.2 million request for taxpayer
money being sought by the Republican majority to resolve either
critical factual disputes or troubling uncertainty in the law,
for as the former Chairman of the International Relations
Committee noted in his statement before the Committee, there
seems to be no disagreement on either the underlying facts or
the applicable rules of law in this affair. The relevant
controversy, to the extent that one exists at all, is one that
relates to policy, and, as such, is an inappropriate subject
for the creation of an expensive new Subcommittee.
This is not to say that the Congress should play no role in
the conduct of this country's foreign affairs. On the contrary,
our national legislature has a responsibility to contribute to
the formulation, funding, implementation, and oversight of
United States foreign policy. But we believe that this role
should first be exercised through our time-tested committee
system. The Republican majority chooses to ignore the fact that
the American taxpayer has already fully funded a standing House
Committee to do this very job--the Committee on International
Relations--and that Committee has already been funded in the
104th Congress to the tune of over $10 million.
taxpayers pay for duplicative committee functions
Everything the Republican majority proposes for this Select
Subcommittee--however unnecessary or unwise the undertaking
itself--can be achieved by the existing Committee on
International Relations and done so within its existing budget.
We have seen nothing that is unique or extraordinary to justify
the creation of yet another new House entity, with its own
separate funding, staffing, and mandate. We already have an
excellent House standing Committee in the foreign policy arena,
and if the Republican majority really cares to pursue this
particular matter, it should use the standing committee and
existing resources which the House created and authorized for
that purpose. Under these circumstances, to allocate an
additional $1 million in taxpayer funds is a waste and an
embarrassment. Surely Republicans must have more respect for
tax dollars than is suggested by this resolution.
what's wrong with this picture?
The establishment of a Select Subcommittee in this
situation is neither necessary, appropriate, frugal nor wise.
It does, however, achieve one purpose which is readily
apparent. Speaker Gingrich imposed a strict staffing freeze,
and the House funding resolution specified funding limits, on
all House committees. At the time, the Republican majority
represented that it was serious about reducing the size and the
cost of government, and touted the staffing freeze and reduced
funding levels as indicative of its commitment. It even claimed
credit for reducing the number of subcommittees, and in an
ironic twist, the very subcommittee which would ordinarily
oversee this matter was eliminated at the beginning of this
Congress, its jurisdiction being taken over by the full
Committee on International Relations. Yet the Republican
majority's creation of a special Select Subcommittee, fully
funded and newly staffed within a standing committee of the
House, circumvents the staffing limitations imposed on the
House, while allowing the Republican majority to say one thing
and do another.
must be that time again
Despite so little basis to support this resolution, one
need not venture very far to determine what is really at stake
here. For in the Republican majority's actions there is the
unmistakable whiff of election year politics in the air. From
Speaker Gingrich's press release, issued during the week
preceding the introduction of H. Res. 417, it is quite clear
that the purpose of this proposed Subcommittee is to gin up
criticism of the President's foreign policy. That's why the
American taxpayers are being asked to foot a $1 million, six
month investigation, and everyone knows it. The purpose of this
exercise is as transparent as the election in November is
certain.
Indeed, this proposal to create yet another new panel can
best be understood in the context of the majority Leadership's
recent memorandum to its committee chairs directing them to dig
up information with which to attack the Clinton Administration.
Apparently, this is all part of the Republican election year
strategy. And as the Republican candidate for the White House
continues to do poorly in his campaign, we assume that we'll
see more of the same.
But for the Republican majority to so brazenly manipulate
the machinery of government in this manner is to violate the
public trust and squander hard-earned tax dollars. Far too much
of our time and the resources of this Congress are being spent
by the majority in pursuit of political gain in its efforts to
tarnish unfairly an increasingly successful and popular
President.
how much is too much?
The most obvious of these is the so-called Whitewater
investigation, which, in the Senate alone, has produced 44
hearings, 136 witnesses, 244 depositions, and a stack of
documents more than 180 feet high. The total money authorized
for all Whitewater-related investigations now totals a mind-
boggling $30,000,000.00. The costs of numerous other Republican
investigations of this Administration, such as the inquisition
into the White House Travel Office, add up to hundreds of more
pointless hours, and hundreds of thousands of additional public
dollars. It is a staggering amount of time and money, all of
which has been enormously wasted in a partisan effort to
discredit the President and obtain political advantage.
while rome burns
The real tragedy in all this is that the time and resources
expended by the majority in these efforts could have been put
to far better use in furtherance of a substantive legislative
agenda. This is politics at its worst and the majority gravely
underestimates the patience of the American public in pursuing
this course. The minority has done what it can to point out the
needlessness of this undertaking. Absent a more compelling
basis than has been presented thus far, the House should reject
the present effort to convert appropriated funds to undertake
yet another baseless attempt to attack this Administration.
Vic Fazio.
Sam Gejdenson.
Steny Hoyer.
Wm. Jefferson.
Ed Pastor.