Benjamin Gilman: “Mr. Chairman, it is surprising that we are once again debating the question of reorganizing the foreign affairs…”

“Mr. Chairman, it is surprising that we are once again debating the question of reorganizing the foreign affairs structure of our Government and abolishing agencies that have outlived their usefulness. Permit me to review the history of this reorganization issue. Two years ago we brought before this Chamber a bill entitled H.R. 1561, to abolish the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, the U.S. Information Agency, and the Agency for International Development. Not a single amendment was offered to the reorganization provisions of that bill. That bill passed this House. It was modified in the conference committee to mandate abolition of only one of those agencies, and subsequently the House passed the conference report. However, Mr. Chairman, the President vetoed H.R. 1561, objecting to the abolition of any of these agencies. It was not just that he objected to the way we abolished these agencies; he stated in his veto message that he did not want to abolish them at all. The President stated, and I quote from his veto message of April 16, 1996, 'the bill proceeds in an improvident fashion, mandating the abolition of at least one of three important foreign affairs agencies, even though each agency has a distinct and important mission that warrants a separate existence.' Now, Mr. Chairman, 1 year later the President has appeared to have changed his mind.”