C O N G R E S S WAT C H Mid-Term Report Card on 106th Congress Shows Mixed Results By Shirl McArthur To prepare the Washing- of the bills concerning Jeru- ton Report’s attached mid- Hall of Fame Hall of Shame salem (see below). Senate Nominees Pro-Israel PAC Senate Nominees Pro-Israel PAC term report card on mem- Donations (Career) Donations (Career) SENATE: THE bers of the 106th Congress, Spencer Abraham (R-MI) $ 15,000 Connie Mack (R-FL) $105,422 six issues were chosen to Robert Byrd (D-WV) 67,500 Arlen Specter (R-PA) 366,123 GOOD… rate the members. However, John Chafee (R-RI) 0 A. Pollard. In January the issues for members of Larry Craig (R-IL) 20,750 House Nominees Pro-Israel PAC 1999, Intelligence Commit- the Senate and for members Patrick Leahy (D-VT) 118,200 Donations (Career) tee Chairman Richard Strom Thurmond (R-SC) 0 Howard Berman (D-CA) 46,750 of the House of Representa- Paul Wellstone (D-MN) 5,700 Joseph Crowley (D-NY) 500 Shelby (R-AL) and Rank- tives are not the same. Peter Deutsch (D-FL) 28,241 ing Minority Member Bob The limited number of is- House Nominees Pro-Israel PAC Eliot Engel (D-NY) 81,200 Kerrey (D-NE), joined by sues probably means that it Donations (Career) Michael Forbes (D-NY) 15,000 58 other senators, wrote to would be premature to make David Bonior (D-MI) 23,000 Bob Franks (R-NJ) 3,500 President William Clinton the magazine’s current nom- John Conyers (D-MI) 2,500 Martin Frost (D-TX) 124,864 strongly opposing any com- John Dingell (D-MI) 9,500 Gene Green (D-TX) 0 inations for its Halls of Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL) 1,000 Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) 25,811 mutation of the life sen- Fame and Shame permanent. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) 13,500 Stephen Horn (R-CA) 0 tence given to convicted Is- However, in each house there Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) 7,250 Sue Kelly (R-NY) 750 raeli spy Jonathan Pollard. are some members who al- George Miller (D-CA) 1,250 Rick Lazio (R-NY) 13,500 A plus in the A column in- ready merit honorable men- Jim Moran (D-VA) 0 Frank Lobiondo (R-NJ) 4,250 dicates a signer of the letter tion and, conversely, there Nick Rahall (D-WV) 0 Nita Lowey (D-NY) 81,588 opposing release of Pollard. John Sununu (R-NH) 0 Michael McNulty (D-NY) 8,500 are some who bear watch- Maxine Walters (D-CA) 0 Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) 12,000 B. Palestinian Statehood. ing as likely candidates for Mel Watt (D-NC) 4,777 Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) 32,740 In March, both houses the Hall of Shame. Jim Saxton (R-NJ) 41,850 passed by a huge majority Seven senators received Bob Schaffer (R-CO) 0 resolutions expressing op- marks in three of the posi- Brad Sherman (D-CA) 26,280 position to the unilateral de- tive columns and none of Anthony Weiner (D-NY) 0 claration of a Palestinian the negative columns. They In case anyone thinks it doesn’t pay a congressman well to follow Israel lobby instructions, here are some examples state. Only five senators did of what happens when you vote against the lobby (first column) or for it (second column). Clearly, it pays. But why the are Senators Spencer Abra- inconsistencies, with some Hall of Famers receiving money from PACs directed by the American Israel Public Affairs not co-sponsor the resolu- ham (R-MI), Robert Byrd Committee (AIPAC), Israel’s principal lobby, and some Hall of Shamers receiving nothing? tion, and two others spoke There are a lot of possible reasons. Some members of Congress have pledged to their constituents that they won’t (D-WV), the late John take money from PACs, at all. It doen’t mean, however, they didn’t earn lots of “soft money” by their actions on behalf out on the floor against the Chafee (R-RI, since re- of Israel, or that they didn’t get lots of large contributions from pro-Israel individuals in their areas. It’s just that we resolution’s one-sided na- can’t document it. placed by his son, Lincoln), And why are there names in the “Hall of Fame” who nevertheless have received generous funding from AIPAC’s ture. A plus in the B column Larry Craig (R-ID), Patrick PACs? Sometimes it represents a mid-career switch in voting patterns—perhaps because they belatedly saw how un- indicates one of these seven questioning support of Israel was hurting peace, the United States, and even moderates in Israel itself. Or sometimes Leahy (D-VT), Strom close to the end of their service incumbents start voting from considerations of conscience rather than career. In any who did not oppose a Pales- Thurmond (R-SC), and case, support for anyone in the Hall of Fame can’t go wrong, just as support for any opponent to those in the Hall of tinian state. Paul Wellstone (D-MN). At Shame can only yield a change for the better. —Hugh Galford, Richard B. Curtiss C. Jerusalem. In July, 84 the other end of the Senate senators signed a letter to spectrum, two senators, Connie Mack (R- ranking House Democrat, merits special Clinton objecting to his exercising the FL) and Arlen Specter (R-PA), figured in mention as the only one figuring in all three waiver provision of the Jerusalem Embassy both the negative columns and none of the of the positive columns. At the other end of Act of 1995. A plus in the C column indi- positive ones. the House’s Middle East-related spectrum cates one of the 16 senators who did not In the House, 12 representatives received 21 representatives showed up in all three of want the U.S. Embassy moved to Jerusalem marks in at least two of the positive the negative columns and none of the posi- before the city’s final status is agreed in columns and none of the negative ones. tive ones. They are Representatives Howard Palestinian-Israeli negotiations. They are Representatives David Bonior (D- Berman (D-CA), Joseph Crowley (D-NY), D. Anti-Intolerance. Also in the sum- MI), John Conyers (D-MI), John Dingell Peter Deutsch (D-FL), Eliot Engel (D-NY), mer, resolutions were introduced, S. Res. (D-MI), Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL), Dennis Michael Forbes (D-NY), Bob Franks (R- 133 in the Senate, condemning anti-Muslim Kucinich (D-OH), Cynthia McKinney (D- NJ), Martin Frost (D-TX), Gene Green (D- intolerance and discrimination and recog- GA), George Miller (D-CA), Jim Moran TX), Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), Stephen Horn nizing the contributions of American Mus- (D-VA), Nick Rahall (D-WV), John (R-CA), Sue Kelly (R-NY), Rick Lazio (R- lims. While the resolutions were not brought Sununu (R-NH), Maxine Waters (D-CA), NY), Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ), Nita Lowey to a vote, the five senators who co-spon- and Mel Watt (D-NC). (D-NY), Michael McNulty (D-NY), Jerrold sored this pro-religious tolerance resolution House Minority Whip Bonior, the second- Nadler (D-NY), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R- are indicated by a plus in column D. FL), Jim Saxton (R-NJ), Bob Schaffer (R- CO), Brad Sherman (D-CA), and Anthony …AND THE BAD Shirl McArthur, a retired foreign service officer, Weiner (D-NY). Ros-Lehtinen bears special E. Anti-Palestinian Incitement. In is a consultant in the Washington, DC area. opprobrium as the only co-sponsor of all five March, four senators signed a joint House- 24 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS MARCH 2000 Senate letter to Clinton reiterating Israeli 2. Anti-Secret Evidence. In June, Rep- Semitic language in the Palestinian media Lobby charges of a “systematic use of anti- resentatives Bonior, Campbell, Conyers, and textbooks” are indicated by an X in Semitic language in the Palestinian media and Barr introduced the Secret Evidence column 4. and textbooks.” An X in column E indicates Repeal Act, H.R. 2121, seeking to end the 5. Jerusalem. During July and August, a signer of this Israel lobby-originated letter. use of “secret evidence” in immigration five different House bills were introduced, F. UNGA Res. 181. In May, five sen- cases under the pretext of combatting ter- H.R.s 2515, 2529, 2584, 2768, and 2785, tors, later joined by 12 additional co-spon- rorism. To date, 54 representatives have that would effectively reinforce Israel’s sors, introduced a resolution, S. Con. Res. joined the original four in co-sponsoring the claim over Jerusalem as Israel’s capital 36, saying, among other things, that any at- bill. A plus in column 2 indicates one of without awaiting the results of Israeli-Pales- tempt to resurrect U.N. General Assembly those 58 seeking to overturn this act, which tinian negotiations. Although no more than Resolution 181 (the original U.N. partition so far has been used only against Muslim 59 representatives have co-sponsored any plan providing 47 percent of the Mandate Arab Americans, or their spouses or Chris- one of these bills, a total of 98 have co- of Palestine for a Palestinian state) would tian Arab associates. sponsored one or more of them. An X in be regarded by the U.S. as an attempt to 3. Anti-Intolerance. To date the House column 5 indicates one of these 98. sabotage the peace process. An X in col- version of the resolution condemning anti- 6.