Boland Amendment

TheBoland Amendmentis a term describing two U.S. legislative amendments between 1982 and 1984, both aimed at limitingU.S. governmentassistance to theContrasinNicaragua.The first Boland Amendment outlawed U.S. assistance to theContrasfor the purpose of overthrowing the communist Nicaraguan government, while allowing assistance for other purposes.The Amendment was part of the House Appropriations Bill of 1982, which was attached as ariderto the Defense Appropriations Act of 1983, named for theMassachusettsDemocrat,RepresentativeEdward Boland,who authored it. TheHouse of Representativespassed the Defense Appropriations Act 411–0 on December 8, 1982, and it was signed by PresidentRonald Reaganon December 21, 1982.

Beyond restricting overt U.S. support of the Contras, the most significant effect of the Boland Amendment was theIran–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, acivil warraged inNicaragua,pitting the communistrevolutionarySandinistagovernment againstContrarebel groups. After theCIAcarried out a series of acts of sabotage without Congressional intelligence committees being made aware beforehand, the Boland Amendment was passed by Congress, cutting off appropriated funding for the Contras. Prior to its passage, an earlier amendment proposed byTom Harkinthat would have disallowed all funding for Contra efforts had failed to pass.

The Boland Amendment, proposed byEdward Boland,was a compromise because the Democrats did not have enough votes for a comprehensive ban. The Amendment gained traction due to widespread opposition among the American public to funding the Contras: according to authorHolly Sklar,'the trend of two to one opposition to Contra funding continued after Reagan's re-election.'It covered onlyappropriated fundsspent byintelligence agencies(such as the CIA). Some of Reagan's national security officials used non-appropriated money spent by theNational Security Council(NSC) to circumvent the Amendment. No court ever made a determination whether the Amendment covered the NSC and, because the law was a prohibition rather than a criminal statute, no one could be indicted for violating it. Opponents alleged that the White House violated the Amendment. Congress later resumed aid to the Contras, totaling over $300 million. The Sandinistas were voted out of power in 1990, and voted back in 16 years later in 2006.

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 revolutionaryprovisional 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 theNational 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.

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.In this spirit, and despite the Boland Amendment, Vice AdmiralJohn M. Poindexter,USN, and his deputy, Lieutenant ColonelOliver North,USMC, secretly diverted to the Nicaraguan contras millions of dollars in funds received from a secret deal that some alleged had explicit presidential approval – the sales ofanti-tankandanti-aircraft missilestoIranin spite of Reagan's public pledge not to deal with terrorists. In November 1986, a pro-Syriannewspaper inLebanon,Ash-Shiraa,revealed the secret deal to the world.This came asDemocratswon back control of the Senate in the 1986 elections. In public hearings of a joint House–Senate committee convened for purposes of investigating the affair, Democrats sought to prosecute North for his role. The final report published after the hearings blamed Reagan's passive style of leadership for allowing the conduct of foreign policy without involvement of any elected official. Elections in Nicaragua subsequently ousted the Sandinistas from power; later elections brought them back into power.

Legislature chronology

A chronology from John Negroponte.

In December 1982H.J.RES.631became public law 97-377 making further continuing appropriations for the fiscal year 1983. The amendmentS.UP.AMDT.1542by SenatorDaniel Patrick Moynihan,which aimed to prohibit the use of funds by the CIA or DOD to support military activities in Nicaragua, fell. AmendmentS.UP.AMDT.1541by SenatorChristopher J. Dodd"to declare Congressional support for restrictions on certain types of operations in Central America" was tabled.

ButH.R.7355made appropriations for the Department of Defense and amendmentH.AMDT.974to 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,sponsored by RepresentativeJoseph P. Addabbo,which became public law 98-212, andH.R.2968,sponsored by Boland, which became public law 98-215 limited the amount to be spent for military purposes in Nicaragua. AmendmentH.AMDT.461by Boland to H.R. 2968 prohibited covert assistance for military operations in Nicaragua.

In December 1984, for fiscal year 1985,H.J.RES.648,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.960became 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. "

See also

• Iran–Contra affair
• Clark Amendment
• Nicaragua v. United States

External links

• Thomas'Archived2015-05-03 at theWayback Machinesummary for HR 2968 in the 98th Congress
• Government Accountability Office report B-201260
• Iran-Contra Hearings; Boland Amendments: What They Provided. New York Times