Brownback: Congress must look at Kosovo

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Apr 9, 1999 by GENE SMITH

Sen. Sam Brownback really wanted to talk about Social Security and American culture Thursday when he met with The Capital-Journal editorial board -- but the crisis in Kosovo proved the major topic of discussion.

"I don't know how we got to where we are," the Kansas senior senator fretted, recalling the Senate debated the NATO intervention and the U.S. role in it for only half an hour before the Easter recess, with each side limited to 15 minutes total. "Obviously we have to do as much humanitarian aid now as we can as rapidly as we can," but "(Congress) needs to have a big debate when we get back."

Noting the president had "already made up his mind" to order air strikes, the GOP senator said he has no recommendations because he lacks the information President Clinton had available, but "I don't think we should commit ground troops." "Our (senators') lever is to cut off funding, and we don't have the votes to do that," Brownback shrugged, adding he is particularly concerned about the threat to future U.S. relations with Russia and Ukrainia that the Yugoslav involvement represents. "There is a strong visceral reaction from Russia. They don't like this at all," and while they may not be strong enough to intervene militarily, they can certainly supply weaponry to the Serbs or, just as likely, simply peddle them to other U.S. enemies such as Iran and Iraq, said Brownback. He said there is evidence such shipments to Iran have been intercepted in Azerbaijan, formerly a Soviet republicBut worries about Kosovo and the plight of half a million ethnic Albanian refugees shouldn't interfere with Congress' chance at significant overhaul of the Social Security system in these times of a strong economy, Brownback continued. The GOP majority wants to move the whole program off budget and allow wage earners to earmark 2.5 percent of their 12.4 percent FICA taxes for individually managed retirement accounts; a dedicated version of the IRA. Further, the second-term Republican said he believes enough Democrats will support such a plan to make passage highly possible in this 106th Congress. He listed several Senate Democrats who favor the accounts. Finally, Brownback said he believes the country is moving toward a "cultural debate" to answer the question "Where to now?"Explaining there is a growing consensus that culturally the country has been headed down a wrong path for years, he said he will host a "cultural summit discussion" on the topic Tuesday, with most of the spokesmen for the religious right invited. "The (Baby) Boomers in the '60s really took us a long way the wrong way. We cannot ignore this cultural shift that's going on. This will be an enormous issue in the coming presidential debate, (but) to renew a culture is a much broader issue than just politics. "Now is not the time to give up." Brownback says "most of" the issue should be dealt with by "nonlegislative" means.