4. To Authorize the Partial Suspension of the Arms Embargo on Turkey and To Authorize the Appropriation of Funds for Fiscal 1976 for the Board for International BroadcastingS. 2230 (by Mr. Sparkman for himself, and Mr. Case) Section 620 (x) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 required the President to suspend all military assistance, sales of defense articles and the issuance of licenses for the transportation of arms, ammunition and implements of war to Turkey, effective upon enactment (December 30, 1974). On July 11, 1975, in response to President Ford's urgent request the committee ordered reported S. 846, a bill to partially lift the embargo on arms deliveries to Turkey. On July 24, 1975, the House rejected S. 846. On July 31, 1975, the Senate passed S. 2230. A unanimous consent request to take the bill from the Speaker's table failed as did a request for the Rules Committee to have until 10 a.m. August 1, 1975, to file a report on S. 2230. The Congress then recessed until September 3, 1975. On September 17, 1975, again at President Ford's urgent request, the committee met and ordered reported S. 2230. On October 2, it passed the House and ultimately became law. S. 2230 authorized the President to: 1. To authorize the appropriation of $65,640,000 for the Board for International Broadcasting for fiscal year 1976. The major purposes of the legislation were: 2. To promote the national security of the United States by insuring a continuation of our mutual defense relationship with Turkey, within the framework of NATO, including continued access by U.S. military forces to critical military bases in Turkey. 3. To increase the ability of the United States to move the negotiations among the Governments of Greece, Turkey, and Cyprus toward a peaceful solution which is acceptable to all parties to the conflict; 4. To ease the embargo on the shipment of arms to Turkey by permitting delivery of defense articles and services with respect to which contracts of sale were signed under the Foreign Military Sales Act on or before February 5, 1975, and by authorizing the issuance of licenses for the transportation of arms, ammunition, and implements of war to Turkey; 5. To request the President to initiate discussions with the Government of Greece to determine the most urgent needs of that country for economic and military assistance, and to direct the President to report on these discussions, together with his recommendations for economic and military assistance to Greece for fiscal year 1976, within 60 days after enactment of this bill; 6. To alleviate the suffering of refugees and other victims of conflict on Cyprus and to foster and promote international efforts to ameliorate the conditions which prevent such persons from resuming normal and productive lives. S. 2230 also contains a provision which authorizes the President to suspend the provision of section 620 (x) (Turkish aid suspension) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended, with respect to the procurement of defense articles which the President determines and certifies to the Congress are necessary to enable Turkey to fulfill its defense responsibilities as a member of NATO. This authority would not become effective, however until after the Congress enacts foreign assistance legislation authorizing sales, credits and guaranties under the Foreign Military Sales Act for fiscal 1976. S. 2230 does not authorize grant military assistance to Turkey nor the transportation of grant military assistance frozen by the embargo. Legislative history July 20, 1975-S. 2230 introduced by Senators Sparkman and Case, to authorize appropriations for the Board for International Broadcasting for fiscal year 1976; and to promote improved relations between the United States, Greece, and Turkey, to assist in the solution of the refugee problem on Cyprus, and to otherwise strengthen the North Atlantic Alliance. July 31, 1975-Passed Senate, amended, by a record vote of 47 yeas to 46 nays. Sept. 17, 1975-Considered in open markup session by full committee and ordered favorably reported by a record vote of 20 yeas to 9 nays. Sept. 17, 1975-Rule requested. Sept. 22, 1975-Reported. House Report 94-500. Sept. 24, 1975-Hearing on request for rule. Rule granted. (H. Res. 737.) Oct. 2, 1975-Passed House, amended, by a record vote of 237 yeas to Oct. 3, 1975-Senate agreed to House amendment. Oct. 6, 1975-Approved. Public Law 94-104. 5. Japan-United States Friendship Act-S. 824 (by Mr. Javits, for himself and Senators Fong, Abourezk, Bayh, Brock, Brooke, Buckley, Case, Clark, Cranston, Dole, Gravel, Hatfield, Hathaway, Humphrey, Inouye, Jackson, Kennedy, McGee, McGovern, Mathias, Metcalf, Mondale, Moss, Nelson, Pell, Ribicoff, Roth, Scott of Pennsylvania, Sparkman, Stevens, Tunney, Williams, and Stafford) (H.R. 9667 by Mr. Hays of Ohio for himself and Representatives Zablocki, Diggs, Wolff, Ryan, Meyner, Buchanan, Roybal, Charles H. Wilson of California, and Esch) The principal purpose of this act was to permit the use of certain funds to promote scholarly, cultural and artistic activities between Japan and the United States. S. 824 authorized use of 712 percent ($24 million) of the money Japan is paying the United States for the reversion of Okinawa to Japan and the remaining dollar equivalent of yen ($12 million) owed for relief and assistance given Japan immediately after World War II, for a Japan-United States Friendship Trust Fund to be established in the U.S. Treasury. The $36 million Fund finances scholarly, cultural, and artistic activities between Japan and the United States. The Fund is administered by a commission, which also may accept gifts and donations. The Fund earns interest, and not more than 5 percent of the capital may be spent in any one year. Japan is a key country in our Pacific relations and, next to Canada, our most important trading partner. Since World War II Japan and the United States have devoted increased efforts to understanding each other better. The Japanese Government has created a Japan Foundation with an initial endowment of $100 million, much of it devoted to improving public understanding of Japan in the United States. The Japanese Government also has made generous contributions to U.S. institutions for Japanese-U.S. studies. S. 824 provided for the U.S. counterpart to these endeavors although with much more modest funding. Major attention is given by the Commission to programs in the United States that will strengthen an understanding of all aspects of Japanese culture and society, including language study. Legislative history of S. 824 and predecessor bills July 11, 1975-H.R. 8562 introduced by Representative Hays of Ohio, July 11, 1975–Referred to Subcommittee on International Operations. Sept. 17, 1975 Considered in open markup session by subcommittee, Sept. 24, 1975 Considered in open session by full committee and ordered Oct. 1, 1975-Conferees met in closed session and agreed to file confer- Oct. 2, 1975-Conference report filed in House. House Report 94-526. Oct. 7, 1975-Senate passed conference report. Oct. 29, 1975-Approved. Public Law 94-118. 6. Authorizing Additional Appropriations To Carry Out the Peace Corps Act-H.R. 6334 (by Mr. Morgan, by request) The main purpose of H.R. 6334 was to authorize an appropriation of $88,468,000 to finance the operation of the Peace Corps during fiscal year 1976 and $27,887,800 for the period July 1, 1976, through September 30, 1976. In addition, the legislation: (1) Raised the readjustment allowance for returning volunteers to $125 per month of service from $75, the first increase in the 14-year history of the voluntary organization. The increase was made uniformly applicable to all volunteers. (2) Raised the monthly stipend of VISTA workers to $75 from $50 and authorized the necessary sums to cover the increase. The VISTA increase would be contingent upon an appropriation earmarked for that purpose. (3) Prohibited discrimination among Peace Corps applicants and volunteers on the basis of sex. This bill also authorized $1 million for the period July 1, 1975, through September 30, 1976, to cover any salary and benefit increases taking effect during that period. Another provision required the director of ACTION, the Peace Corps' parent organization, to transfer by December 31, 1975, $315,000 from its current appropriations to the ACTION readjustment allowance account at the Treasury Department to make up for overpayments to volunteers between March 1, 1961, and February 1973. As passed, the authorization enables the Peace Corps to train an estimated 3,750 volunteer applicants in the coming year and 1,400 in the transition quarter. The estimated number of volunteer man-years in the field for fiscal year 1976 was approximately 6,052 and in the transition quarter approximately 1,434. The following table compares these estimates with figures available for the preceding 2 fiscal years: The projected decrease in volunteer man-years for fiscal year 1976 reflected in part the emphasis ACTION has placed upon the recruitment of more highly qualified and professionally skilled volunteers and the difficulties encountered by the agency in its efforts to recruit, train and place enough volunteers to meet host country requests. This trend toward greater selectivity was, however, consistent with the committee's recommendations of the past several years. Legislative history Apr. 23, 1975-A letter from the Director of ACTION, transmitting a draft of proposed legislation to amend further the Peace Corps Act. (Executive Communication 851.) Apr. 23, 1975—H.R. 6334 introduced by Representative Morgan (by request) to amend further the Peace Corps Act. May 13, 15, 1975-Considered in open session by full committee. June 3, 1975-Considered in open markup session by full committee, amended, and ordered favorably reported by voice vote. June 5, 1975-Rule requested. June 9, 1975-Reported. House Report 94-267. June 17, 1975-Hearing on request for rule, Rule granted. H. Res. 550. June 23, 1975-Passed House by 303 yeas to 70 nays, as amended by June 24, 1975-Referred to Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Oct. 7, 1975-Reported in Senate, Senate Report 94-412. Oct. 9, 1975-Passed Senate, amended, by voice vote and returned to the House. Oct. 28, 1975-House agreed to Senate amendment No. 3; disagreed to Senate amendments Nos. 1, 2, and 4; and agreed to the Senate amendment to the title of the bill; and returned to the Senate. Nov. 3, 1975-Senate receded from its amendments numbered 1 and 2, and further insisted on its amendment No. 4, and returned to the House. Nov. 4, 1975-House receded and concurred with amendment to Senate Nov. 5, 1975-Senate agreed to the House amendment to Senate amend- 7. Authorizing U.S. Contributions to United Nations Peacekeeping Forces-S. 818 (by Mr. Sparkman, by request) (H.R. 5457 by Mr. Fraser, for himself and Representatives Derwinski and Buchanan) The purpose of S. 818 was to authorize an appropriation for the payment of the United States share of the expenses of the United Nations peacekeeping forces in the Middle East (the United Nations Emergency Force and the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force) for the period October 25, 1974, until October 31, 1975. The rates of assessment for contributions by member nations of the United Nations were allocated by the General Assembly in 1973, and reaffirmed in 1974, according to a formula by which the permanent members of the Security Council were assessed 15 percent more than their rate of assessment for the regular budget of the United Nations. This was done in recognition of the special responsibilities for international peace and security held by the permanent members of the Security Council. Under the formula of regularbudget-percentage-plus-15-percent the permanent members of the Security Council were assessed as follows: Under the formula the dollar amount of the U.S. assessment is $28,837,000 which is the amount covered by S. 818. The authorization will remain in force for succeeding fiscal years as the United States is again assessed for these peacekeeping forces. As a result of the war in the Middle East in October 1973, two peacekeeping forces were established by the United Nations in order to separate the hostile forces from each other and to provide for policing the area between them. The United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) operates on the front between Israel and Egypt and the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) operates on the front between Israel and Syria. These forces play a crucial role by limiting the contact between belligerents while efforts are being made through international negotiations for a durable peace settlement between Arabs and Israelis. The number of men presently assigned to the two peacekeeping forces are 4,176 for UNEF and 1,202 |