[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 64 (Thursday, May 9, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E740]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            H. RES. 416, 417

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                          HON. JOHN D. DINGELL

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                         Wednesday, May 8, 1996

  Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, today the House leadership brought to the 
floor a resolution to establish and fund a select subcommittee to 
investigate the United States role in Iranian arms transfers to Bosnia 
and Croatia. This is an excellent example of the type of government 
spending that the current majority is fond of railing against.
  It was public knowledge early in 1994 that Iran was sending arms into 
Bosnia, and the Republican majority raised no objections. In fact, it 
was also in 1994 that Congress passed the Defense Authorization Act 
mandating that the President stop enforcing the arms embargo against 
Bosnia, making this current Republican effort clearly a cynical 
political undertaking.
  The President's Intelligence Oversight Board has investigated the 
matter, and concluded that the administration has broken no laws. In 
addition, three separate investigations of United States policy in 
Bosnia are currently underway. The new subcommittee would be conducting 
a fourth investigation at the cost of $1 million, making it the most 
expensive subcommittee in the House of Representatives.
  Mr. Speaker, it seems apparent the House leadership is attempting to 
establish a new subcommittee to dim the President's foreign policy 
achievements. They are ignoring their own calls to end frivolous 
government spending by attempting to establish an unneeded 
subcommittee. If new House leadership feels so strongly that another 
investigation into this matter is warranted, at the taxpayers expense, 
then the International Relations Committee is fully capable of 
conducting such an inquiry with existing funds. This is a cynical 
political exercise because it wastes $1 million of the taxpayers' 
money.

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