Parsimony or Policy? Congress' Attempt to Merge the Foreign Affairs Agencies in 1995

Abstract

Abstract : From November 1994 to April 1996 a major legislative battle took place between Congress and the Executive Branch over the issue of restructuring the foreign affairs agencies. Specifically, Congress proposed merging three small agencies--the United States Information Agency (USIA), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA)--into the Department of State. This paper will focus specifically on Congress's attempt to consolidate foreign assistance into the State Department and eliminate USAID. It will take as its point of departure the initiative by Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC) Chairman Jesse Helms (R-NC) to abolish US AID, sharply reduce US funding for foreign assistance by eliminating development aid, and place the responsibility for humanitarian and emergency assistance programs directly under the Secretary of State. The discussion below will examine how a number of factors such as jurisdictional disputes between appropriations and authorization committees, confusion over the purpose of consolidation as being budgetary or policy-driven, the issue's disproportionate complexity to the political benefit to be gained from supporting it, and simply Helms's own style in pushing the issue, all undermined its prospects for success. It will also examine Executive Branch strategy to resist and ultimately defeat this initiative through an unwillingness to engage in a dialogue with Congress on foreign affairs restructuring, threats of Presidential vetoes at key junctures, and the astute use of public speeches and press placements by USAID to compel the Department of State and key White House staff to publicly close ranks and oppose consolidation.