[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 67 (Tuesday, May 14, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S5016]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        HOUSE INVESTIGATION OF IRANIAN ARMS SHIPMENTS TO BOSNIA

 Mr. KERREY. Mr. President, last week the House of 
Representatives decided on an almost strict party line vote to create a 
special subcommittee to investigate the Clinton administration's 
decision not to stop Iran from shipping weapons to the Bosnian 
Government in violation of the arms embargo. And they voted to spend an 
additional $995,000 above their planned budget to conduct this 
investigation. $995,000. While not technically correct, I hope you can 
indulge me if I just round up and call it an even million. That's 
really what it is.
  Mr. President, while I believe Congress should look into this matter, 
we also need to be concerned about how we conduct our investigations.
  The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence has already held five 
hearings on the administration's decision not to intervene and prohibit 
the shipment of Iranian arms into Bosnia. Chairman Specter, myself, and 
the other members of the committee are well into our investigation at 
this point and will press on expeditiously to finish in a timely 
manner. It is important to note, however that we have conducted these 
hearings and will conduct further hearings as part of our normal 
oversight responsibilities using our regular committee staff fully 
within our regular committee budget for fiscal year 1996. And we have 
done this with the cooperation of both sides of the aisle.
  Mr. President, this is why I find the House Republican's actions so 
disconcerting. We on this side of the Capitol can investigate this 
matter with the cooperation of both parties, and without additional 
space, staffing, funding, and committees. Meanwhile, our House 
Republican counterparts have voted to spend an additional $1 million 
above their normal budget to acquire more space, to hire more staff, 
and to form another subcommittee to investigate this same issue. 
Knowing how difficult it is to start up a new organization, I'd bet we 
on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence will probably finish our 
investigation before the House's special subcommittee gets moved into 
its new offices.
  I know the House is just as concerned as the Senate about the cost of 
performing necessary Government functions in these times of billion 
dollar budget deficits. The new Republican House leadership took some 
important, difficult measures to cut the cost of running Congress when 
they took control in 1994. I believe that was the right thing to do. So 
why spend a million dollars unnecessarily? Especially in this election 
year, you do not have to be a cynic to believe it was for political 
reasons. But even a cynic would be dumbfounded trying to figure out why 
the House Republicans went this extra, excessive step to try to try and 
make a political point.
  Mr. President, when you talk day-in and day-out about billion dollar 
weapons systems, hundreds of billion dollar deficits, and trillion 
dollars budgets, a one with just six zeroes after it doesn't seem to be 
very much. And I guess 9-9-5 plus three zeroes looks even smaller. But 
it takes 135 average Nebraska families working full time for 3 months 
to produce $1 million dollars in tax revenue. When there's already a 
committee structure, staffing, and budget to do the job, the $1 million 
House Special Committee to investigate Iranian arms flow into Bosnia is 
a prime example of superfluous Government spending.
  Mr. President, I say, let's perform our legislative oversight 
responsibilities, let's look for the truth in this matter, let's 
determine who did what when and whether their actions were within the 
letter and spirit of the law. But let's do it the way we are already 
organized to do it and within the budgets we set for ourselves. Let's 
live within out means like we expect or citizens to do.

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