Building A New Consensus: Congress and Foreign Policy

BUILDING A NEW CONSENSUS: CONGRESS AND FOREIGN POLICY John BrademasCharles Percy Harold BrownJames Schlesinger Alexander HaigBrent Scowcrqft1 Melvin LairdCyrus Vance Edmund Muskie JLhe ie conclusions and recommendations below, and the general thrust (though not every sentence) of the attached working memorandum on Congress and foreign policy were endorsed by Messrs. John Brademas, Harold Brown, Alexander Haig, Melvin Laird, Edmund Muskie, Charles Percy, James Schlesinger, and Cyrus Vance. 1.The uniquely American system ofshared responsibilities and overlapping powers between the president and Congress in foreign policymaking has worked well in the past, and can continue to work well in the future. Experience shows that policies formed through consultation between the two branches are better and more effective than those formed without such consultation. 2.The success of this system of commingled powers and responsibilities requires full faith and confidence by each branch in the pledged word of the other. In short, the executive must neither dissemble nor willfully mislead, and interpretations given by administration spokesmen in justification of proposed treaties prior to ratification are authoritative . Neither Congress nor the nation can be held to an interpretation which has not been set forth as part of the public record. 3.It is equally important to have clarity on the main lines of policy. Congress should present foreign policy issues to the nation and to the president so that they can be addressed head on, and avoid the practice of attaching riders to legislative subterfuges such as year-end "Continuing 1 . Owing to his recent appointment, Mr. Scowcroft is not formally associated with the conclusions and recommendations of this report, although he was actively involved in its preparation . This report was first published in December 1988 as part of an ongoing series of policy consensus reports by The Foreign Policy Institute. 61 62 SAIS REVIEW Resolutions." For his part, the president must be willing to use the veto and take the issue to the people, rather than attempt to circumvent or undermine covertly the effect of legislation in which he did not believe but to which he acquiesced publicly. 4.With regard to covert actions, as a general rule, Congress should be notified prior to the commencement of a covert action by the receipt of a written "Finding" signed by the president. The form of the notification to Congress should allow for the exercise ofjudgment by the president based on the sensitivity of the action involved. Only in the rarest of instances, such as those involving the loss of lives, should the president face the grave political risk of withholding notification for any significant period of time. The existing Intelligence Committees should be replaced by a new Joint Committee with a small staff. 5.In its present form, the War Powers Resolution does not work satisfactorily, and often creates a confrontational rather than a cooperative atmosphere. Improved procedures for consultations prior to the commitment of American forces in situations of actual or imminent hostilities and termination of combat involvement should be developed along the lines of the Byrd-Nunn-Mitchell-Warner amendment to the War Powers Resolution proposed in 1988. 6.For practical accommodation to be reached, cultural barriers and mutually antagonistic attitudes between the two branches must be surmounted . One way to accomplish this objective is to expand programs, such as the Pearson Fellowship program, which allow more Executive branch people to work on Capitol Hill. Another is to give greater weight to congressional experience in considering candidates for important positions in the Executive branch. 7.For its part, in order to discharge effectively its duties as a responsible partner in foreign policy, Congress must undertake certain reforms. Perhaps chief among these is a consolidated leadership structure that is manageable in size and capable of speaking for the membership on foreign policy matters. The "Permanent Consultative Group" of congressional leaders suggested by the recently introduced Senate leadership amendments to the War Powers Resolution is an encouraging step in this direction. Also helpful would be changes in the rules of both chambers to permit effective disposition of foreign policy-related matters; greater authority for the foreign affairs committees in both chambers; and, to permit more effective oversight, a two-year budget cycle. 8...