ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times

DATE: Thursday, December 14, 1995            TAG: 9512140058
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL   PAGE: A-1  EDITION: METRO 
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Associated Press 

NO ROADBLOCK TO BOSNIA CONGRESS DEPLORES POLICY, BUT DOESN'T CUT OFF FUNDS

The Senate gave grudging endorsement Wednesday to deployment of U.S. troops to keep the tenuous peace in Bosnia. But reflecting the deep divisions on Capitol Hill, the House voted to express ``serious concerns and opposition'' to President Clinton's Bosnia policy.

As U.S. military air cargo planes were landing in Bosnia amid record snowfall, both houses rejected resolutions earlier Wednesday to deny funds for sending the 20,000 American troops there.

``[Clinton] can fairly say, certainly, he's got congressional support,'' Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole told reporters after the Senate voted 69-30 in favor of a resolution that he and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., drafted in consultation with the White House.

Dole, the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination next year, noted that the resolution does not specifically endorse Clinton's policy nor the peace agreement reached in Dayton, Ohio, last month. ``This resolution does support our men and women in uniform,'' he said.

Shortly before the Senate voted, the House passed, 287-141, a resolution sponsored by Reps. Stephen Buyer, R-Ind., and Ike Skelton, D-Mo., expressing ``serious concern and opposition'' to Clinton's policy but supporting the troops.

The votes were taken as Clinton flew to Paris, where the agreement reached in Dayton will be signed today. It is under that agreement that a NATO peacekeeping force of 60,000, including 20,000 Americans, will deploy in Bosnia.

Before adopting the Dole resolution, the Senate rejected, 52-47, a proposal similar to the one that passed the House. It declared that ``the Congress opposes President Clinton's decision to deploy United States military ground forces into the republic of Bosnia.'' A second sentence in the resolution said Congress ``strongly supports the United States military personnel.''

The outlook for that resolution, backed by Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Tex., and James Inhofe, R-Okla., was regarded as so close that Vice President Al Gore presided in case his vote was needed to break a tie.

As part of his resolution, Dole insisted that the administration agree to a plan for arming and training the Bosnian military to allow it to defend the nation after the NATO mission ends in one year.

The House resolution voiced ``serious concerns and opposition to the president's policy'' to deploy troops. But it expressed support for the soldiers and urged Clinton to provide them with whatever equipment is requested by field commanders.

Skelton has repeatedly said that any U.S. involvement in arming and training the Bosnians would make American troops targets of Serb attacks. The Buyer-Skelton proposal said the United States should remain impartial and evenhanded in its dealings in Bosnia.

The Senate measure to deny funds for the operation was defeated on a 77-22 vote. ``Having voted overwhelmingly not to shut off funding is, in a sense, supporting the president's judgment,'' White House spokesman Mike McCurry said afterward.

But hours later, in the House, the margin was much smaller. By 218-210, the House rejected a measure by Rep. Bob Dornan, R-Calif., that would have reaffirmed a vote last month to deny the funds.

Asked if Clinton could accept a resolution supporting the troops but not the policy, McCurry said, ``If it's a question of supporting the troops and being grudging in support of the mission, we understand that.''

The Senate Republican leadership was split on the issue, with Assistant Majority Leader Trent Lott of Mississippi opposing deployment. ``U.S. personnel will become targets; it will happen sooner or later,'' Lott said.

Senator after senator, Republicans and Democrats, opened their remarks by conceding that they were powerless to halt the deployment of U.S. troops as part of a 60,000-member NATO peacekeeping force in Bosnia.

``U.S. troops will be deployed in Bosnia, no matter what the Congress does,'' said Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa. ``Congress should support the troops without endorsing the president's policy.''

LENGTH: Medium:   81 lines
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO:  AP. An old man and a boy make their way through snow in 
          Sarajevo on Wednesday. Almost two feet of snow fell in 24 hours, 
          cutting water and power to many. color. Graphic: Chart: U.S. troops 
          in Bosnia: How Virginia's senators voted. color.