Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, September 1998, pages 42-46

Election Watch ’98

Halls of Fame and Shame: Records of Every Member On Matters Related to the Arab-Israeli Dispute

By Shirl McArthur

With the 1998 election looming soon, the tables starting below present a very subjective picture of the positions of the members of the 105th Congress on Middle East issues. The tables are presented negatively; that is, an X shows an action against U.S. and for Israeli interests in the Middle East, as defined by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

The tables do not include floor votes, because voting records are not always useful, for several reasons. For one thing, many of the more extreme bills and resolutions are passed by voice vote, with no record. Furthermore, with some bills there are other issues involved, and how a congressman votes may or may not have anything to do with the Middle East. For example, the recently passed Iran Missile Sanctions Act was strongly promoted by Israel, but it was also opposed by many people (including President Clinton, who vetoed it) because it limits the administration’s flexibility in dealing with Russia. Furthermore, the final version had the Chemical Weapons Treaty Implementation Bill attached to it, so many people who have strong beliefs about the chemical weapons treaty probably voted for the overall bill, regardless of their opinion of the Iran Missile Sanctions portion.

Co-sponsorship of certain anti-Arab resolutions seems to be a better gauge of a member’s true intent, so the tables include co-sponsorship of three resolutions in the House, and four in the Senate. In addition, since the recent congressional visit to Jerusalem to help Israel “celebrate” its 50th anniversary turned into such a fiasco, participation in that visit is also included. The rest of the tables show who signed the worst of the congressional letters opposing improved U.S. relations with the countries of the Middle East. Most of the issues selected concern Palestine and Israel; however, issues concerning Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon are also included.

Finally, each table shows, in bold type, the “good guys” whose names appear in none of the ten columns, and, in italics, the “bad guys” whose names appear in at least five columns. It is perhaps interesting that 125 representatives—more than a quarter of the House—managed to avoid the AIPAC juggernaut and made the “good guys” list, compared with 22 “bad guys.” However, this probably is misleading, because many of the 125 are simply not interested in foreign policy issues, or would rather not get caught up in what they see as the turmoil of the Middle East. The tally in the Senate is closer to real life, with eight “bad guys” and six “good guys.”

SENATORS

REPRESENTATIVES

Senate Key

A = Part of the congressional delegation to Israel’s 50th anniversary celebration in May 1998 B = Signed the April 1998 “81 senators” letter to President Clinton critical of the administration for threatening to publicize the American plan for Israeli withdrawal from West Bank C = Signed the April 1998 “six senators” letter to Clinton commending the administration for efforts to achieve peace, but saying that the U.S. must not try to impose an agreement D = Signed the May 1998 letter to Clinton urging him “in the strongest terms” not to grant French, Russian, and Malaysian oil companies a waiver under the “Iran-Libya Sanctions Act” E = Co-sponsored the March 1998 resolution expressing the sense of Congress that the U.S. must promote an end to Israel’s exclusion from U.N. regional blocs, including rotating membership on the Security Council F = Co-sponsored the March 1998 resolution calling for an international tribunal to try Saddam Hussain for “crimes against humanity” and urging the administration to take steps to assure that Saddam is “brought to justice” G = Signed the November 1997 letter to Clinton complaining about the removal of Syria and Lebanon from the list of drug-producing and -trafficking countries H = Co-sponsored the September 1997 resolution expressing outrage over the terrorist bombing in Jerusalem, saying that the U.S. should cut off all aid to the PA until the PA fulfills its Oslo commitments, without mentioning Israel’s commitments I = Signed the September 1997 letter to Clinton saying he should let President Arafat know that the U.S. “recognizes” that Arafat is responsible for terrorism J = Co-sponsored the May 1997 resolution congratulating the residents of Jerusalem on the 30th anniversary of the “reunification” of the city, and urging Clinton and Albright to publicly affirm that Jerusalem must remain the undivided capital of Israel Bold type = HALL OF FAME; name appears in none of the columns Italics = HALL OF SHAME; name appears in at least five columns

House of Representatives Key

A = Part of the congressional delegation to Israel’s 50th anniversary celebration in May 1998 B = Signed the May 1998 letter to President Clinton critical of administration for threatening to publicize American plan for Israeli withdrawal from West Bank C = Signed the April 1998 letter to Clinton commending administration for efforts to achieve peace, but saying that the U.S. must not try to impose an agreement D = Co-sponsored the February 1998 resolution expressing the sense of Congress that the U.S. must promote an end to Israel’s exclusion from U.N. regional blocs, including rotating membership on the Security Council E = Signed the December 1997 letter to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu saying that Congress will support him in resisting pressure to relinquish additional territory to the Palestinian Authority F = Signed the November 1997 letter to Clinton complaining about the removal of Syria and Lebanon from the list of drug-producing and -trafficking countries G = Signed the October 1997 letter to Secretary of State Albright complaining about her balanced statements during her trip to the Middle East H = Co-sponsored the September 1997 resolution expressing outrage over the terrorist bombing in Jerusalem, saying that the U.S. should cut off all aid to the PA until the PA fulfills its Oslo commitments, without mentioning Israel’s commitments I = Signed the September 1997 letter to Albright saying she should reaffirm the U.S.’s strong support for Israel and deliver a “strong rebuke” to President Arafat J = Co-sponsored the June 1997 resolution congratulating the residents of Jerusalem on the 30th anniversary of the “reunification” of the city, and urging Clinton and Albright to publicly affirm that Jerusalem must remain the undivided capital of Israel * = Elected in 1998 to replace resigned or deceased incumbent

Bold type = HALL OF FAME; name appears in none of the columns

Italics = HALL OF SHAME; name appears in at least five columns