Boland Amendment
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Boland Amendment |
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The Boland Amendment is a term describing two U.S. legislative amendments between 1982 and 1984, both aimed at limiting
Beyond restricting overt U.S. support of the Contras, the most significant effect of the Boland Amendment was the Iran–Contra affair, during which the Reagan Administration circumvented the Amendment in order to continue supplying arms to the Contras.
Background
During the early years of the Reagan administration, a
The Boland Amendment, proposed by
The Boland Amendment prohibited the federal government from providing military support "for the purpose of overthrowing the Government of Nicaragua." It aimed to prevent CIA funding of rebels opposed to the revolutionary provisional junta. The Amendment sought to block Reagan administration support for the Contra rebels. The amendment was narrowly interpreted by the Reagan administration to apply to only U.S. intelligence agencies, allowing the National Security Council (NSC), which is not labeled an intelligence agency, to channel funds to the Contra rebels. To block the funding through the NSC, the amendment was changed to prohibit any funds for military or paramilitary operations.[4][5]
Administration officials argued that the Boland Amendment, or any act of Congress, could not interfere with the president's conduct of foreign policy by restricting funds, as the president could seek funds from private entities or foreign governments.
Legislature chronology
A chronology from John Negroponte.[8]
In December 1982 H.J.RES.631 became public law 97-377 making further continuing appropriations for the fiscal year 1983. The amendment S.UP.AMDT.1542[
But H.R.7355[permanent dead link] made appropriations for the Department of Defense and amendment H.AMDT.974[permanent dead link] to it by Representative Edward P. Boland passed with a recorded vote of 411–0 to prohibit the CIA or Defense Department to use the funds of the bill for military purposes in Nicaragua.
In December 1983, for the fiscal year 1984, H.R.4185[permanent dead link], sponsored by Representative Joseph P. Addabbo, which became public law 98-212, and H.R.2968[permanent dead link], sponsored by Boland, which became public law 98-215 limited the amount to be spent for military purposes in Nicaragua. Amendment H.AMDT.461[permanent dead link] by Boland to H.R. 2968 prohibited covert assistance for military operations in Nicaragua.
In December 1984, for fiscal year 1985, H.J.RES.648[permanent dead link], became public law 98-473, and prohibited funds available to the CIA and the DOD from being used in Nicaragua for military purposes.
In December 1985, for fiscal year 1986, S.960[permanent dead link] became public law 99-83 and also excluded military use for funds to be spent in Nicaragua.
Congressional Research Service
"In 1984, controversy over U.S. assistance to the opponents of the Nicaraguan government (the anti-Sandinista guerrillas known as the “contras”) led to a prohibition on such assistance in a continuing appropriations bill. This legislative ban is summarized below.
The continuing appropriations resolution for FY1985, P.L. 98-473, 98 Stat. 1935–1937, signed October 12, 1984, provided that: "During fiscal year 1985, no funds available to the Central Intelligence Agency, the Department of Defense, or any other agency or entity of the United States involved in intelligence activities may be obligated or expended for the purpose or which would have the effect of supporting, directly or indirectly, military or paramilitary operations in Nicaragua by any nation, group, organization, movement or individual." This legislation also provided that after February 28, 1985, if the President made a report to Congress specifying certain criteria, including the need to provide further assistance for "military or paramilitary operations" prohibited by this statute, he could expend $14 million in funds if Congress passed a joint resolution approving such action."[9]
See also
References
- ^ Congressional Limitations and Requirements for Military Deployments and Funding
- JSTOR 3480586.
The Boland Amendment was part of the Joint Resolution of December 21, 1982, providing further continuing appropriations for the fiscal year 1983
- ISBN 978-0-89608-295-3.
- ^ "The Truth is Stranger than Fiction". University of Sydney. Archived from the original on 2006-12-31.
- ^ Theodore Draper. A Very Thin Line: The Iran-Contra Affair. New York: Hill and Wang. pp. 17–27, 51.
- S2CID 147213452.
- ^ Hijazi, Ihsan (November 4, 1986). "Hostage's Release Is Linked to Shift in Iranian Policy". The New York Times.
There was also a report today in a Beirut publication that is usually well informed on Iranian affairs that said the United States had sent spare parts and ammunition for American-built fighter planes and tanks that Iran bought from the United States before the fall of Shah Mohammed Riza Pahlevi in 1979. [...] The Lebanese weekly magazine Al Shiraa, in its edition which went on sale over the weekend, reported what it said was the delivery by the United States of spare parts and ammunition to Iran. The magazine said the delivery came after a secret visit to Teheran by Robert McFarlane, the former national security adviser to President Reagan.
- ^ John Negroponte Nomination: Senate Confirmation Hearings, Debates, Press, Links Archived March 24, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Congressional Research Service, Congressional Use of Funding Cutoffs Since 1970 Involving U.S. Military Forces and Overseas Deployments, January 10, 2001, pg. 6. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-02-16. Retrieved 2015-04-04.
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: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
External links
- Thomas' Archived 2015-05-03 at the Wayback Machine summary for HR 2968 in the 98th Congress
- Government Accountability Office report B-201260
- Iran-Contra Hearings; Boland Amendments: What They Provided. New York Times