Despite the era of good feeling ushered in by the budget deal, a few vigilant Republicans are holding the Clinton administration’s feet to the fire. Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Jesse Helms learned recently that the United States Information Agency, a branch of the State Department, was planning to fund a visit to the United States by two members of Hong Kong’s provisional legislature. The provisional legislature, which is not (yet) recognized by the U.S. government, is a creation of Beijing designed to supplant Hong Kong’s democratically elected Legislative Council. Under pressure from Helms, USIA relented and agreed to pull funding for the group’s trip. On the other side of the Capitol, Rep. Charles Canady of Florida recently made bold to ask that someone from the Justice Department testify before his subcommittee concerning the civil rights division’s programs and budget request. The administration came up with only a single person qualified to give testimony, acting assistant attorney general Isabelle Pinzler, and then informed Canady in a May 6 letter that Pinzler wouldn’t be available on the scheduled dates because “she will be attending a colloquium on equal opportunity and civil rights in Prague” where she “will participate in panel discussions which will include members of the Czech Parliament and Senate and the Czech Helsinki Committees.” Sounds riveting. Is it really more important than congressional oversight? And if so, is there really only one person in the entire Justice Department who can testify about the budget of the civil rights division?
