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Date sent: Thu, 29 Apr 1999 11:56:52 -0700
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From: Sid Shniad <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: HOUSE VOTES TO REQUIRE ASSENT FOR GROUND TROOPS - Washington
Post
The Washington Post Thursday, April 29, 1999; Page A1
HOUSE VOTES TO REQUIRE ASSENT FOR GROUND TROOPS
Republican members display misgivings about Clinton's handling
of war; Democratic resolution to support air war fails on tie vote
By Charles Babington and Juliet Eilperin
President Clinton signaled yesterday that the air campaign in
Yugoslavia may continue for at least another three months, while he
sought to quell congressional discontent by yielding to some GOP
demands on military spending and agreeing to legislative
consultation on the possible introduction of U.S. ground troops.
Despite his conciliation, the House voted 249 to 180 to block
funding for U.S. ground forces in the Balkans unless Congress first
gives its approval. Clinton, who had hoped to prevent the vote,
tried to remove some of its political sting by issuing a preemptive
letter agreeing to consult with legislators before sending in ground
troops. He repeated that he does not intend to use U.S. ground
troops to fight their way into Kosovo, but might deploy them in a
peacekeeping or "permissive" setting.
A Democratic resolution to support the air war later failed on a
tie vote of 213 to 213.
In Belgrade, meanwhile, Yugoslav President Slobodan
Milosevic fired Deputy Prime Minister Vuk Draskovic, a maverick
critic who had called for sending armed United Nations
peacekeepers to Kosovo. Clinton said it was a sign that the
Belgrade regime was splintering over the NATO campaign, though
it consolidated the control of Milosevic and other hard-liners over
the Yugoslav government.
And in Berlin, Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott said
the United States and its allies were close to an agreement with
Russia on how to manage an international peacekeeping force for
Kosovo, once the conflict is over. Such an agreement could open
the way to a new effort by Russia to broker a deal between NATO
and Yugoslavia to end the war.
The flurry of activity came as the House began voting on the
Kosovo war for the first time since hostilities began last month.
With GOP members already displaying misgivings about Clinton's
handling of the war, the president tried to minimize the impact of a
congressional debate that White House aides feared could give
comfort to Milosevic and undermine allied efforts to conduct rescue
missions and keep military options open.
At the same time, the president gave his clearest signal yet that
the air campaign may continue well into the summer. Clinton told
reporters that NATO pilots now can "fly around the clock, at lower
altitudes from all directions, in better weather. Historically, the
weather [in Yugoslavia] is better in May than in April, better in
June than in May, better in July than in June. And I feel very
strongly that we should stay with, and be very strong, in
determination to pursue our strategy."
Meeting with congressional leaders in the morning, the
president told House and Senate leaders he would consult with
them before sending ground troops, and he sent a letter to House
members shortly before yesterday's votes, reiterating that promise.
Clinton also appeared to compromise in the area of military
spending. He has asked Congress for $6 billion in emergency funds
for Kosovo military and humanitarian operations, but Republicans
have proposed doubling the amount to fund their own military-
related priorities.
While asking Congress to endorse his plan as introduced,
Clinton privately told lawmakers they could add to it, provided they
not make it so unwieldy and controversial that they delayed its
passage.
"He said, 'Just please don't overload it so it gets bogged down,'
" said House International Relations Committee Chairman Benjamin
A. Gilman (R-N.Y.). "He was showing a willingness to try to work
together with the Congress."
Many House leaders, however, said they could not afford to
trust Clinton after he had forged agreements with NATO on the
Balkans before conferring with Congress.
"We want to change that cycle," said House Majority Leader
Richard K. Armey (R-Tex.). "We want to say, 'Mr. President, your
relationship between the executive branch of this government and
the Congress of the United States . . . comes before your
relationship with allied nations.' "
After the meeting with the president, the House engaged in a
civil, occasionally emotional debate on the conflict in the Balkans.
The debate was precipitated by Rep. Tom Campbell (R-Calif.), who
invoked the War Powers Resolution in an effort to force Congress
to vote on two resolutions, one declaring war on Yugoslavia, the
other calling for U.S. troops to come home within 30 days.
Both measures were easily defeated, with only two members,
Reps. Joe Barton (R-Tex.) and Gene Taylor (D-Miss.), voting for
war. But a third resolution crafted by GOP Reps. Tillie Fowler
(Fla.), William F. Goodling (Pa.) and John R. Kasich (Ohio) --
calling for Congress to approve any introduction of ground troops
in Kosovo -- passed by a comfortable margin.
Forty-five Democrats joined 203 Republicans in voting for the
Fowler-Goodling bill, which would allow Clinton to deploy ground
troops without approval in order to rescue allied military personnel.
Maryland GOP Reps. Roscoe G. Bartlett, Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. and
Wayne T. Gilchrest voted in favor of the bill. GOP Rep. Constance
A. Morella joined Democratic Reps. Benjamin L. Cardin, Elijah E.
Cummings and Steny H. Hoyer in opposing it. Rep. Albert R. Wynn
(D) did not vote.
In the Virginia delegation, GOP Reps. Thomas J. Bliley,
Thomas M. Davis III and Robert W. Goodlatte supported the bill,
while Reps. Herbert H. Bateman and Frank R. Wolf opposed it.
Every Virginia Democrat except Rep. Virgil H. Goode Jr. voted
against the bill.
On the 213 to 213 tie over supporting the air war, 31
Republicans, 181 Democrats and one independent voted "yes," and
187 Republicans and 26 Democrats voted "no." Among those
opposed were Bartlett, Bateman and Goodlatte.
While House Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.)
criticized Republicans for sending a "confused" message, Rep.
Heather A. Wilson (R-N.M.), a former Air Force officer, said the
votes gave Clinton a clear signal of where Congress stands. "The
message should be there are deep reservations in the Congress
about the prosecution of this war," Wilson said. "It's been screwed
up from the first day."
The White House saw it differently. "The House today voted no
on going forward, no on going back and they tied on standing still,"
said White House spokesman Jake Siewert. "We will continue to
prosecute the air campaign and to stop the violence being
perpetrated by Milosevic."
"The speaker has been telling the president all along that he
needs to make the case for our involvement in Kosovo to the
Congress and to the American people," said John Feehery,
spokesman for House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.). "This vote
tonight proves that the president needs to make a better case."
Prospects for a Senate vote later this week on Kosovo appeared
to fade, only a day after Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-
Miss.) suggested that he would try to work out an agreement that
could be brought to the floor by Friday -- possibly along the lines of
the measure approved yesterday by the House.
But the House proposal ran into Senate objections, both from
Democrats and from Republicans who support a resolution
authorizing the president to use "all necessary force" to prevail in
Kosovo.
In another development yesterday, Clinton announced his first
foreign trip since the bombing began on March 24, saying he will
travel to Germany on May 4-5 to visit U.S. troops and review
efforts to help Kosovo refugees.
Staff writer Helen Dewar contributed to this report.
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