Richard G. Lugar, Statesman of the Senate: Crafting Foreign Policy from Capitol Hill

3 The Tools of the Trade

3 The Tools of the Trade I In September 2005, Richard Lugar gave a lecture at the Library of CongresssponsoredbytheJohnBrademasCenterfortheStudyof Congress , a research center based at New York University. The center was beginning a lecture series to consider how Congress shapes American public policy, and Lugar and Democratic senator Paul Sarbanes were asked to give the inaugural lectures to a group of invited guests that included current and former members of Congress and congressional scholars. Sarbanes, a former chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, focused his remarks on domestic policy, discussing the history of the Sarbanes-Oxley law that he helped write to strengthen corporate accountingstandardsinresponsetoaraftof businessaccountingscandals. Lugar, then the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, described the various tools and techniques that individual lawmakers and Congress use to influence American foreign policy. He observed that in the foreign policy realm Congress has a mixed record, with notable failures as well as striking successes. The successes, he said, prove that Congress can be a serious player on foreign policy even though the president’s power to initiate foreign and military policies is enormous. The president can dispatch hundreds of thousands of troops around the world and negotiate agreements with foreign governments, with no need for congressional consent, at least at the outset. Congress alone x The Tools of the Trade 41 can declare war, though in the contemporary world this essentially means approving the use of force at the request of the president. And Congress’s formidable budget and taxing power is usually a response to the president’s fiscal agenda. Congress’s reactive approach to foreign policy is reinforced by the modest resources allocated for staffing and research compared to the executive branch. This makes it more difficult for lawmakers to develop policies that are relevant to a complex, fastchanging world. But even with these limitations, Lugar pointed to examples of how Congress has shaped American foreign policy. It developed anti-apartheid sanctions against South Africa in the mid-1980s, pushed for the expansion of NATO in the 1990s, and created the Nunn-Lugar program in 1991. “In each of these cases, the initiative for the policy, its basic outline and its main political support at its inception and over time came from the Congress. In each case, representatives of the executive branch voiced either outright opposition to the policy or discomfort with it. However, Congress was able to build strong majorities in favor of the policy and to solidify public opinion in favor of it,” he said.1 Lugar offered a detailed account of how the Nunn-Lugar program emerged in the face of an indifferent White House and an often hostile House of Representatives. From his perspective, the doggedness and determination of several committed lawmakers prevailed over inertia in the executive branch and outright resistance in the lower chamber. He observed that Congress has several unique strengths that allow it to create successful foreign policies. The first is sheer staying power. Presidentsserveforonly4oratmost8years ,whilesomeonCapitolHillwrite laws for decades. Veterans in the House and Senate can develop policy expertise, institutional memory, and the political understanding of an issue that carries over from administration to administration. Congress can also reflect public opinion and demonstrate broad support for an idea among the American people. Lawmakers can advance policies and programs by arranging votes in the House and Senate ,holdingpublichearings,gatheringlargenumbersof co-sponsors,or takingotherstepstoshowtheexecutivebranchevidenceof publicsentiment . In this way, Congress can provide shortcuts to the establishment of foreign policies that otherwise might be delayed by months of debate Richard G. Lugar, Statesman of the Senate 42 orturf battleswithintheexecutivebranch.Finally,Congresscanconfer abipartisanframeworkonapolicythatmightotherwisebeviewedwith suspicion by one or both parties. A bipartisan group of co-sponsors for a bill or policy can disarm potential opposition and establish a more unified and sustained basis for congressional support. Lugar acknowledged that Congress makes mistakes on foreign policy, such as its tendency to impose economic sanctions when it lacks othermeanstoexpressdispleasurewithagivencountry.Whilecongressional overreach and blunders are part of the historical record, Lugar argued that the nation has suffered more from Congress’s inattention to foreign policy than its overinvolvement. “Members of Congress know toolittleabouttheworldandaretoohesitanttospeakaboutitwiththeir constituents,” he said.2 He concluded by encouraging his colleagues to develop foreign policy expertise and create bipartisan coalitions to transformgoodideasintoconstructivelaw.Hepredictedtheirconstituentswouldusuallysupportandrespectthiswork .Thesenator’smessage was clear: lawmakers who are informed, strategic, and determined can make a real difference in crafting American foreign policy. But first they must learn the tools of the trade...