European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 21, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 10 the stars and stripes saturday december 21, 1985 James Kilpatrick president entitled to have his Choice of nominees a regrettable cont Versy has developed in the Senate Over a Basic principle of government. The principle simply stated is that barring the most com Pelling reason a president is entitled to have his executive nominees confirmed. This time the controversy revolves around Robert k. Dawson a 39-year-old Alabama lawyer nominated by the president to become chief of the army corps of engineers. Dawson s credentials arc impeccable. He served for seven years As administrator of the House committee on Public works. For the past four and a half years he has served As principal Deputy assistant and since last May As acting assistant Secretary of the army for civil works. Not the slightest question has been raised about his integrity or his character. Yet his confirmation is in limbo. In mid september four environmental groups including the highly respected National wildlife federation issued a statement opposing confirmation in the strongest possible the organi actions charged Dawson with an overt hostility to Protection of in october a bipartisan group of 10 senators warned of extended debate if the Dawson nomination is brought to the floor. What s it ail about at one level the dispute involves interpretation of Section 404 of the clean water act of 1972, which gives to the corps of engineers an Uncer Tain jurisdiction Over the Waters of the United Al another we have one of those dispiriting Battles Over turf so familiar in Washington among the corps of engineers the fish and wildlife service the Environ mental Protection Agency and state governments. At the Bottom of All of this lies a fundamental Issue. Ronald Reagan campaigned in 1980 and again in 1984 on a Promise to reduce the regulatory Burden of the Washington bureaucracy. Dawson sincerely believes that he is carrying out that Promise in seeking to Speed the processing of permits to fill and thus to destroy areas identified As the environmental groups have taken a Broad View of the corps jurisdiction their position is that the Waters of the United states embrace virtually every Rill Creek run Stream Marsh or bog throughout the nation. Dawson is nol so sure that Congress meant to give his office authority Over every isolated pothole or persistent puddle from the Florida keys to inc alaskan Tundra. These wetlands however they arc defined arc vitally important to ground water flood control spawning fish and migratory Birds. They have been disappearing at an alarming rate. The Interior department has Cost Imald that 215 million acres of wetlands existed in the Continental United Stales when inc first Spanish scullers arrived four can lyrics ago. Today Only 95 million acres Are Houghl to remain. In some states the loss of wetlands has been severe. Iowa once had 2.3 million acres of natural marshes Only 36,500 acres Are left. California has lost All but 450,000 of 5 million acres. Nebraska s rain Ater Basin has dwindled Over the centuries from 94,000 acres to 8,500. The picture is not wholly Bleak. Half the slates have passed heir own wetlands conservation acts. Pro prams in new Jersey. Maryland and Delaware have been especially . Even .10. Inc Drain goes on. Dawson insists that he is As concerned As anyone about preservation of wetlands thai truly Mailer. He Points out Hal most of the annual loss has nothing whatever to do with his office. The Interior department estimates that 87 percent of the loss comes from exempt agricultural conversion 8 percent results from Urban development and 5 percent from other development. Of the 12.000 applications a year for pc rails to fill about 4 percent arc disapproved outright and another 18 per cent Are withdrawn to avoid disapproval. The other 78 percent Are granted most Al the Dis Ricl level. Dawson s position As i understand it is tint he is nol a policy maker he is a Public servant. If Congress wants to veto the Surca lined regulations he has proposed. Congress assuredly has thai statutory Power. If Congress wants to prohibit further losses of wetlands to commercial development Congress com a Ihori a Purchase of especially valuable areas. Mean while. Dawson understandably feels Hal he must be doing something right or Reagan would not have nominated him to head inc corps of engineers. And Hal is he key. The president has chosen him for the Job. Our chief executives Musi have leeway to shape their Public policies through inc Che Culic agencies. Presidents arc in filled to presidents men and Daw son is this president s Man. To 1985 Universal for is Syndicate Flora Lewis broken promises hinder relations with Oval office usually there Are two things that can be done with bargaining chips bargain with them or save Ihm. The administration has been trying to establish a third use to extract Money from con Gress for policies Congress opposes. This is not the Only reason for the cur rent disaffection Between inc White House and Capitol Hill just a year Afler Percsi Donl Reagan s Triumph and re Clec lion. Bul broken promises have contrib used substantially to the strained relations Between the legislators and inc executive. The to o most flagrant cases concern missiles and Nicaragua. When Congress walked at the re quest for 100 my mis Siles the president appointed a commit Sion headed by former National Security adviser Brent scowcroft to study the Issue. In recommended a Compromise and a Deal was made. Funds were appropriated for 50 missiles plus some spares. In return the administration agreed logo ahead with Midge Man a Mobile sin go warhead missile Hal would escape inc problem of my vulnerability. Bui now the administration has changed the policy and has offered the russians a ban on All Mobile missiles. It is highly unlikely that Moscow would accept but the offer puts inc whole basis of the Washington Compromise in question. Further the defense department has Dawdle in drawing up specifications for Midge than so the designers can t work on it. The Promise has t been explicitly withdrawn bul Hal certainly seems to be the Isle lion. The Una vowed reason is apparently thai Midge Man which would t need to be defended with anti missile mis Siles could undermine the argument advanced for Star if you insist on defending big missiles Ihen you need More big missiles to defend nol Little ones instead. In a similar pattern Congress was persuaded to appropriate funds openly for the nicaraguan contras with a Promise that the United slates would negotiate with the sandinista government to seek a political settlement. But the negotiations Nave been stalled not formally broken off just not continued. Now Secretary of stale George Shutlz says the United american backed slates won l negotiate unless Nicaragua first makes an agreement with the rebels mediated by the Church. Something approaching this turn around seems 10 be developing Wilh an Gola As Well. The ban on Aid for inc uni la forces of Jonas Sav Imbi the South Afri can backed rebel was lifted with the argument Hal it would put pressure on the angolan government to accept a Deal in which it would expel cuban troops in re turn for South african withdrawal from neighbouring Namibia. Now Sav Imbi s essentially tribal group is being called Freedom it addles the mind to try to figure out Why any american administration would want co take Over from South Africa the Burden Cost and serious political disadvantage of helping Sav Imbi. Adminis ration experts Are Well aware thai Sav Imbi cannot Triumph in Angola. He is essentially limited to his tribal base and if he is reinforced to the Point of threatening the Luanda regime the cubans with soviet backing would simply reinforce inc government. This is a no win War. All three of these cases not Only reflect a Bac Down from policies developed with u of i and Deli cat Compromise within the . Government. They provoke the question of what . Policy is now Bui the answer from Many parts of Washington is just another question whose policy arc you talking about in each Case there Are some people in the adminis Lvalion who want to stick with the decisions made who want to pursue negotiations. And there Are some people who a � k " us any Cusco ploy available to break away from the search for agreements. They manage to give the appear acc of an administration position by agreeing on Short irm tactics to we the nicaraguan contras for example while they arc really in conflict on in longer term goals of the operations. So nobody knows where the United states stands on these important Jiuu and no announcement can be considered definitive. The Battle of the Potomac 0ej on and on. There has been a congressional attempts to Lake foreign policy initial Ives in inc last couple 0 years because of this vacuum and Index Sion. But Congress is just nol equipped w take the Lead. It can support or Coppom and grumble when in feels it Hai bees tricked. That is what is happening. In i98s new York times
