Newspaper Article

AFTER THE WAR: War Budget; House, Voting $15 Billion for War, Warns Allies to Pay Their Part

ADAM CLYMER, Special to The New York Times

1991

Overview

The resolution was proposed by Representative Jim Chapman, Democrat of Texas, who complained about \"allied pledges that the checks are in the mail.\" Other countries have pledged $54.5 billion in contributions to help pay for the war, but only $16.9 billion of it has been paid so far. Neither his proposal nor the debate offered any suggestions about what Congress might do if other countries did not meet the demand to achieve \"substantial compliance or an agreed upon payment schedule no later than April 15.\" The opponents generally insisted that they were supporters of Israel. But they said the $3 billion Israel now gets annually was enough. Representative Tim Valentine, Democrat of North Carolina, who offered the amendment, said more aid for Israel was inappropriate \"when we are struggling under the weight of a recession.\" The aid to Israel was adopted under a provision of last year's budget act, under which \"emergency\" needs were exempt from the spending limits set at that time. Representative Robert H. Michel of Illinois, the House Republican leader, voted for the aid to Israel, but warned against using the concept too loosely. \"Let's not let the word 'emergency' fall victim to semantic inflation,\" he said.

• Publisher: New York Times Company
• Subject: BUDGETS AND BUDGETING / CLYMER, ADAM / FEDERAL AID (US) / FINANCES / FOREIGN AID / INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS / LAW AND LEGISLATION / PERSIAN GULF WAR / UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS / WELK, LAWRENCE