The Changing Congress; Foreign Policy: Whose Affair?

National Educational Television and Radio Center · July 4, 1965

Although Congress has the power to give or withhold approval of treaties and authorizes foreign aid funds, program narrator Joseph McCaffrey points out that Congress in fact has denied very little to any President in the past twenty years on foreign affairs matters. The controversy over the formulation of foreign policy reached a high point of debates this spring when President Johnson requested and got a blank check approval by Congress for $700 million appropriations to pursue U.S. objectives in Vietnam. The foreign affairs issue was further argued following U.S. actions in the Dominican Republic. The opinions of opponents and backers of Administration foreign affairs policies are examined by interviewer William Korns, senior writer and analyst for The Congressional Quarterly, as he talks with five U.S. Senators all members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and an Administration official. In particular, the program covers the areas of foreign aid, briefings, Presidential power, checks and balances between Congress and the executive branch, and precedents in foreign affairs policy. Appearing in the program are U.S. Senators Wayne Morse (D Oregon), George Aiken (R Vermont), Joseph Clark (D Pennsylvania), Bourke Hickenlooper (R Iowa), John O, Pastore (D Rhode Island), and U.S. Undersecretary of State, George Ball. The legislators are divided on several questions put to them by report Korns. On the matter of whether Congress gets all the information it needs, Senator Pastore says, The irony that you raise now lies in the fact that the President is exposing himself too much and briefing the members of Congress too much. Taking the opposite view, Senator Aiken contends, No, not for the last three years. Not particularly on the Southeast Asian affairs And we dont get much prior consultation till action has been taken by the executive branch. An outspoken critic of the Administrations foreign policies, Senator Morse charges, Let me tell you what they do let us see (they dont let us see very much). But what they do let us seat the Pentagon and State Department and White House level its marked top secret, secret and confidential 85 percent of it minimum never should have been so labeled. Just putting that label on it doesnt justify keeping it from the American peopleHeres a principle that Id have you never forget. In a democracy there is no substitute for the full public disclosure of the peoples business. And you fellow Americans let me say your government is concealing from you great bodies of vital information that you are entitled to know about. In reference to the overwhelming Congressional support of President Johnsons blank check approval for $700 million appropriation to Vietnam as a vote of confidence, Senator Clark reflects on his vote It was a very difficult one too having as I though seen the American people repudiate Goldwaterism and John Foster Dullesism, suddenly to find ourselves confronted with a situation where perhaps because things have changed; or maybe despite the fact that they havent changed, were asked our of loyalty to the Administration to cast a vote for a belligerent policy. I decided to do it. I did it with a heavy heart. It was a very tough decision to make. Taking a jab at the reservationists vote, Senator Morse countered, Since when do we have to back our President or should we when the President is proposing an unconstitutional act? Discussing the delicate line of checks and balance between the executive and legislative branches on foreign affairs matters, Secretary Ball observes, I think most of the big decisions have been to a considerable extent cooperative decisions. I mean by that, that the President has had to make the ultimate judgment, but in making it in almost all cases, he has been greatly influenced by the advice he has had from Congress, the result of the consultations which he carried on as a result of Congressional hearing and so on. Senator Hickenlooper adds, Congress has said in effect some of these details are too minute and too ramified for a Congressional body and therefore we are willing to turn over the administrative details to the executive. (Description adapted from documents in the NET Microfiche) Covering the broad spectrum of our nation's legislative branch, "The Changing Congress" explores with interviews, commentary, film excerpts, and on-location coverage the colorful history of Congress, its evolution, development, problems, achievements, operation, inner workings, image, performances, relationship with other government branches, its function as the representative body of the American people, and future courses. The Changing Congress scrutinizes where the power lies in Congress, Washington life as seen through the activities of a Senator and Representative, the power structure and hurdles that must be surmounted for legislation to pass, the pros and cons of Congressional probes, influences of the constituency and lobby groups on Congress, the increasing dominance of the executive branch with respect to legislation, the extent to which Congress shapes foreign affairs, and proposals for Congressional reform. The series host, John F. McCaffrey, dean of Washington television news correspondents and award-winning commentator, has been an observer of the Capitol Hill scene for more than twenty years. Mr. McCaffrey started in news broadcasting while working as a newspaper reporter prior to World War II. Following active service, he joined the Washington bureau of CBS. Later, he served as Washington editor for Mutual Newsreel of the Air. In 1954, he started his own Washington bureau, serving mid-western radio and television stations. Besides appearing on television, Mr. McCaffrey hosts, "Today in Congress," the only daily radio program devoted to Capitol Hill happenings. A lecturer and author of political affairs, Mr. McCaffrey is a two-time winner of the Washington chapter of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Emmy Award. The Changing Congress is a 1965 production of National Educational Television. It consists of 9 half-hour episodes that were originally recorded on videotape. (Description adapted from documents in the NET Microfiche)