Editing Boland Amendment

{{short description|1982–84 US laws aimed at limiting federal assistance to Nicaraguan Contras}}
{{U.S. Congressional opposition to war}}
[[File:CAC CC 001 18 26 0000 2538.jpg|thumb|Edward Boland (Right), Author of the Boland Amendment]]
The '''Boland Amendment''' is a term describing a series of U.S. legislative amendments passed between 1982 and 1986, aimed at limiting [[U.S. government]] assistance to the [[Contras]] in [[Nicaragua]]. The [[Reagan Administration]] supplied funding and military training to the Contras until revelations of human rights abuses led [[United States Congress|Congress]] to cut off aid through the Boland Amendment.<ref>{{Citation |title=The Wars for Central America |date=2021-08-27 |work=We Begin Bombing in Five Minutes |pages=121–144 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv1x675t8.11 |access-date=2024-11-25 |publisher=University of Massachusetts Press|doi=10.2307/j.ctv1x675t8.11 }}</ref> The Boland Amendment was passed over a series of five legislative amendments that increasingly restricted forms of aids and the source of the aid.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Timbers |first=Edwin |date=1990 |title=Legal and Institutional Aspects of the Iran-Contra Affair |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/20700112 |journal=Presidential Studies Quarterly |volume=20 |issue=1 |pages=31–41 |jstor=20700112 |issn=0360-4918}}</ref> 

The most significant effect of the Boland Amendment was the [[Iran–Contra affair]], during which the Reagan Administration circumvented the Amendment in order to continue supplying arms to the Contras.<ref>{{Cite report |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep11953.7 |title=The Iran-Contra Affair |last=Douville |first=Alex |date=2012 |publisher=Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College |pages=87–148}}</ref> This was achieved by funneling money to the Contras that was generated by secret arms sales to [[Iran]]. When revealed to the public, Congress attempted to prosecute [[John Poindexter|Vice Admiral John M. Poindexter]], [[United States Navy|U.S. Navy (USN)]], and his deputy, [[Oliver North|Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North]], [[United States Marine Corps|U.S. Marine Corps (USMC)]], for their direct role in the affair. [[Ronald Reagan|President Ronald Reagan]], while implicated, was not directly linked to the affair and avoided similar attempts at prosecution.<ref>{{Cite report |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep11953.7 |title=The Iran-Contra Affair |last=Douville |first=Alex |date=2012 |publisher=Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College |pages=87–148}}</ref>

==Background==
During the early years of the Reagan administration, a [[Nicaraguan Revolution|civil war]] raged in [[Nicaragua]], pitting the communist [[revolutionary]] [[Sandinista]] government against [[Contras|Contra]] rebel groups. The Reagan Administration and the [[Central Intelligence Agency|Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)]], led by [[William J. Casey|William Casey]], covertly supported the Contras through funding and military training.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Salehyan |first=Idean |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7591/j.ctt7z6bx |title=Rebels without Borders: Transnational Insurgencies in World Politics |date=2009 |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=978-0-8014-7754-6 |jstor=10.7591/j.ctt7z6bx }}</ref> Public knowledge of routine human rights abusees committed by the Contra rebels led to the passage of the Boland Amendment by Congress, which cut off any appropriated funding for the Contras that would be used for the purpose of overthrowing the Nicaraguan government. <ref>{{Cite book |last=Hunt |first=Andrew |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv1x675t8 |title=We Begin Bombing in Five Minutes: Late Cold War Culture in the Age of Reagan |date=2021 |publisher=University of Massachusetts Press |jstor=j.ctv1x675t8 |isbn=978-1-62534-577-6}}</ref>

The Boland Amendment, proposed by [[Edward Boland]], was a compromise because the [[Democratic Party (United States)|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 as opposition to funding the Contras hovered around two to one.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sklar |first=Holly |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IbFXs7_LutMC&dq=%22Holly+Sklar%22+Contra+funding+%22trend+of+two+to+one.%22&pg=PA192 |title=Washington's War on Nicaragua |date=1988 |publisher=South End Press |isbn=978-0-89608-295-3 |language=en}}</ref> It covered only [[appropriation (law)|appropriated funds]] spent by [[intelligence agencies]] (such as the CIA). Some of Reagan's national security officials used non-appropriated money spent by the [[United States National Security Council|National Security Council]] (NSC) to circumvent the Amendment.<ref>{{Cite report |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep11953.7 |title=The Iran-Contra Affair |last=Douville |first=Alex |date=2012 |publisher=Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College |pages=87–148}}</ref> No court ever made a determination whether the Amendment covered the NSC. Supporters of the NSC actions claimed that the Boland Amendment violated the [[Constitution of the United States|Constitution]] by violating the separation of powers principle, while opponents claimed that the Amendment passed in the constitutionally proscribed manner and the principle of separation of powers was not a legal defense.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Timbers |first=Edwin |date=1990 |title=Legal and Institutional Aspects of the Iran-Contra Affair |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/20700112 |journal=Presidential Studies Quarterly |volume=20 |issue=1 |pages=31–41 |jstor=20700112 |issn=0360-4918}}</ref> Congress later resumed aid to the Contras, totaling over $300 million. The Sandinistas were voted out of power in 1990 with the election of opposition leader [[Violeta Chamorro]] over the Sandinista candidate, [[Daniel Ortega]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Salehyan |first=Idean |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7591/j.ctt7z6bx |title=Rebels without Borders: Transnational Insurgencies in World Politics |date=2009 |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=978-0-8014-7754-6 |jstor=10.7591/j.ctt7z6bx }}</ref>

The Boland Amendment prohibited the federal government from providing military support that would be used to overthrow the [[Government of Nicaragua]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Timbers |first=Edwin |date=1990 |title=Legal and Institutional Aspects of the Iran-Contra Affair |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/20700112 |journal=Presidential Studies Quarterly |volume=20 |issue=1 |pages=31–41 |jstor=20700112 |issn=0360-4918}}</ref> It aimed to prevent CIA funding of rebels opposed to the revolutionary [[Junta of National Reconstruction|provisional junta]]. The Amendment sought to block Reagan administration support for the Contra rebels, but the amendment was narrowly interpreted by the Reagan administration to apply to only U.S. intelligence agencies, allowing the [[United States National Security Council|National Security Council]] (NSC), which is not labeled an intelligence agency, to channel funds to the Contra rebels.<ref>{{Cite report |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep11953.7 |title=The Iran-Contra Affair |last=Douville |first=Alex |date=2012 |publisher=Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College |pages=87–148}}</ref> To block the funding through the NSC, the amendment was changed to prohibit any funds for military or paramilitary operations.<ref name=rev>{{cite web|url=http://teaching.arts.usyd.edu.au/history/hsty3080/3rdYr3080/IranContra/Design/Campaign.htm|title=The Truth is Stranger than Fiction|publisher=University of Sydney|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061231031609/http://teaching.arts.usyd.edu.au/history/hsty3080/3rdYr3080/IranContra/Design/Campaign.htm|archive-date=2006-12-31}}</ref><ref name=Draper>{{cite book|author=Theodore Draper|title=A Very Thin Line: The Iran-Contra Affair|pages=17–27, 51|publisher=Hill and Wang|location=New York}}</ref>

== The Boland Amendment ==
The first Boland Amendment outlawed U.S. assistance from the CIA and [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense (DOD)]], to the [[Contras]] for the purpose of overthrowing the communist Nicaraguan government, while allowing assistance for other purposes.<ref name="clr">{{cite journal |last=Riesenfeld |first=Stefan A. |date=January 1987 |title=The Powers of Congress and the President in International Relations: Revisited |url=http://scholarship.law.berkeley.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1975&context=californialawreview |journal=California Law Review |publisher=California Law Review, Inc. |volume=75 |issue=1 |pages=405–414 |doi=10.2307/3480586 |jstor=3480586 |quote=The Boland Amendment was part of the Joint Resolution of December 21, 1982, providing further continuing appropriations for the fiscal year 1983}}<!--|accessdate=2007-11-07 --></ref> The Amendment was part of the House Appropriations Bill of 1982, which was attached as a [[Rider (legislation)|rider]] to the Defense Appropriations Act of 1983, named for the [[Massachusetts]] [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]], Representative [[Edward Boland]], who authored it. The [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] passed the Defense Appropriations Act 411–0 on December 8, 1982, and it was signed by President [[Ronald Reagan]] on December 21, 1982.<ref name="apa">[http://www.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/issues/2007/01/pdf/military_deployments.pdf Congressional Limitations and Requirements for Military Deployments and Funding<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

The four following legislative amendments adjusted the scope of the first Boland Amendment. The [[Intelligence Authorization Act]], passed December 9, 1983, limited the existing obligations of the CIA and DOD to the Contras to $24 million and expanded the act to include direct or indirect support for any Nicaraguan group or individual. On October 3, 1984, aid was completely cut to the Contras and all entities of the [[United States]] government were prohibited from providing aid, expanding the prohibition from just the CIA and DOD. The fourth amendment, encompassing 1985-1986, provided $27 million in humanitarian aid to the Contras, and the fifth and final form of the amendment in June 1986, provided $100 million in aid to the Contras.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Timbers |first=Edwin |date=1990 |title=Legal and Institutional Aspects of the Iran-Contra Affair |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/20700112 |journal=Presidential Studies Quarterly |volume=20 |issue=1 |pages=31–41 |jstor=20700112 |issn=0360-4918}}</ref>

== Relationship to Iran-Contra Affair ==
Officials in the Reagan Administration argued that the Boland Amendment, or any act of Congress, could not interfere with the president's conduct of foreign policy. This represented the culmination of an ongoing struggle between Congress and the President over the power of foreign policy. Since the end of World War II, Congress had taken steps to curtail unilateral foreign policy moves by the President. Two clear examples of this are the [[War Powers Resolution|1973 War Powers Act]], which required Congressional approval of troop commitments lasting longer than thirty days, and the [[Hughes–Ryan Amendment|1974 Hughes-Ryan Amendment]], which required a Presidential report to Congress concerning the necessity of all covert operations. The Boland Amendment represented another attempt by Congress to restrict Presidential power. The resistance of the Reagan administration via its circumvention was the flip-side of this power struggle.<ref>{{Cite report |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep11953.7 |title=The Iran-Contra Affair |last=Douville |first=Alex |date=2012 |publisher=Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College |pages=87–148}}</ref> 

In this spirit, 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.<ref name="fisher">{{cite journal |author=Louis Fisher |date=October 1989 |title=How Tightly Can Congress Draw the Purse Strings? |journal=American Journal of International Law |publisher=American Society of International Law |volume=83 |issue=4 |pages=758–766 |doi=10.2307/2203364 |jstor=2203364 |s2cid=147213452}}<!--|accessdate=2006-10-10--></ref> In this spirit, and despite the Boland Amendment, Vice Admiral [[John Poindexter|John M. Poindexter]], USN, and his deputy, Lieutenant Colonel [[Oliver 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{{spaced ndash}}the sales of [[anti-tank missile|anti-tank]] and [[Surface-to-air missile|anti-aircraft missile]]s to [[Iran]] in spite of Reagan's public pledge not to deal with terrorists.<ref>{{Cite report |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep11953.7 |title=The Iran-Contra Affair |last=Douville |first=Alex |date=2012 |publisher=Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College |pages=87–148}}</ref>
[[File:President Ronald Reagan meets with aides on Iran-Contra.jpg|thumb|President Ronald Reagan (Far Right), discusses his remarks on the Iran-Contra Affair while in the Oval Office.]]
On Monday, November 3rd 1986, a pro-[[Syria]]n newspaper in [[Lebanon]], [[Ash-Shiraa]], revealed the secret deal to the world<ref>{{cite book |author=Melissa Boyle Mahle |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uch7kgvdqX0C&pg=PA29 |title=Denial and Deception: An Insider's View of the CIA |publisher=Perseus Books Group |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-7867-3759-8 |page=29}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Ulrich von Schwerin |date=2015 |title=Mehdi Hashemi and the Iran-Contra-Affair |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/13530194.2015.1028520 |journal=British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies |volume=42 |issue=4 |page=521 |doi=10.1080/13530194.2015.1028520 |s2cid=218602348}}</ref> and [[The New York Times]] picked it up a day later on Tuesday, US election day.<ref>{{cite news |last=Hijazi |first=Ihsan |date=November 4, 1986 |title=Hostage's Release Is Linked to Shift in Iranian Policy |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/11/04/world/hostage-s-release-is-linked-to-shift-in-iranian-policy.html |work=The New York Times |quote=There was also a report today in a Beirut publication that is usually well informed on Iranian affairs that said the United States had sent spare parts and ammunition for American-built fighter planes and tanks that Iran bought from the United States before the fall of Shah Mohammed Riza Pahlevi in 1979. [...] The Lebanese weekly magazine Al Shiraa, in its edition which went on sale over the weekend, reported what it said was the delivery by the United States of spare parts and ammunition to Iran. The magazine said the delivery came after a secret visit to Teheran by Robert McFarlane, the former national security adviser to President Reagan.}}</ref> This came as [[United States Democratic Party|Democrats]] won back control of the Senate in the 1986 elections. In public hearings of a joint [[Joint committee (legislative)|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.<ref>{{Cite report |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep11953.7 |title=The Iran-Contra Affair |last=Douville |first=Alex |date=2012 |publisher=Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College |pages=87–148}}</ref>

==Legislature chronology==
A chronology from [[John Negroponte]].<ref>[http://homepage.ntlworld.com/jksonc/docs/congress-john-negroponte.html John Negroponte Nomination: Senate Confirmation Hearings, Debates, Press, Links<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070324223138/http://homepage.ntlworld.com/jksonc/docs/congress-john-negroponte.html|date=March 24, 2007}}</ref>

In December 1982 [https://www.congress.gov/bill/97th-congress/house-joint-resolution/631 H.J.RES.631] became public law 97-377 making further continuing appropriations for the fiscal year 1983. The amendment [https://www.congress.gov/amendment/97th-congress/senate-unprinted-amendment/1542 S.UP.AMDT.1542] by Senator [[Daniel Patrick Moynihan]], which aimed to prohibit the use of funds by the CIA or DOD to support military activities in Nicaragua, fell. Amendment [https://www.congress.gov/amendment/97th-congress/senate-unprinted-amendment/1541 S.UP.AMDT.1541] by Senator [[Christopher J. Dodd]] "to declare Congressional support for restrictions on certain types of operations in Central America" was tabled.

But [https://www.congress.gov/bill/97th-congress/house-bill/7355 H.R.7355] made appropriations for the Department of Defense and amendment [https://www.congress.gov/amendment/97th-congress/house-amendment/974 H.AMDT.974] to 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, [https://www.congress.gov/bill/98th-congress/house-bill/4185 H.R.4185], sponsored by Representative [[Joseph P. Addabbo]], which became public law 98-212, and [https://www.congress.gov/bill/98th-congress/house-bill/2968 H.R.2968], sponsored by Boland, which became public law 98-215, limited the amount to be spent for military purposes in Nicaragua. Amendment [https://www.congress.gov/amendment/98th-congress/house-amendment/461 H.AMDT.461] by Boland to H.R. 2968 prohibited covert assistance for military operations in Nicaragua.

In December 1984, for fiscal year 1985, [https://www.congress.gov/bill/98th-congress/house-joint-resolution/648 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. This legislation read: "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."<ref>Congressional Research Service, Congressional Use of Funding Cutoffs Since 1970 Involving U.S. Military Forces and Overseas Deployments, January 10, 2001, pg. 6. {{cite web |title=Archived copy |url=https://fas.org/man/crs/RS20775.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150216121120/http://www.fas.org/man/crs/RS20775.pdf |archive-date=2015-02-16 |access-date=2015-04-04}}</ref>

In December 1985, for fiscal year 1986, [https://www.congress.gov/bill/99th-congress/senate-bill/960 S.960] became public law 99-83 and also excluded military use for funds to be spent in Nicaragua.

==See also==
* [[Iran–Contra affair]]
* [[Clark Amendment]]
* [[Nicaragua v. United States]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d098:HR02968:@@@L&summ2=m&|TOM:/bss/d098query.html  Thomas'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150503170034/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d098%3AHR02968%3A%40%40%40L&summ2=m&%7CTOM%3A%2Fbss%2Fd098query.html |date=2015-05-03 }} summary for HR 2968 in the 98th Congress
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070930152505/http://redbook.gao.gov/14/fl0067296.php Government Accountability Office report B-201260]
* [https://www.nytimes.com/1987/07/10/world/iran-contra-hearings-boland-amendments-what-they-provided.html Iran-Contra Hearings; Boland Amendments: What They Provided. New York Times]

[[Category:Iran–Contra affair]]
[[Category:Nicaragua–United States relations]]
[[Category:Nicaraguan Revolution]]
[[Category:United States federal defense and national security legislation]]