Senate to scrutinize Bush on Asia<\/p>\n
By Sonya Hepinstall<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON (Reuters): Democrats in control of the U.S. Senate
\nwill set a different tone on Asian affairs, subjecting the Bush
\nteam to greater scrutiny on issues such as a new missile defense
\nand policy toward North Korea, foreign policy experts said.<\/p>\n
Asia can also expect to see a greater Senate focus on
\nSoutheast Asia and on \"opportunities\" rather than threats when it
\ncame to countries like China, Democratic Senate aides said.<\/p>\n
However, the overall U.S. picture will not be dramatically
\ndifferent and in terms of legislation, not much will change.<\/p>\n
\"I think one could see this changeover in the Senate making a
\nmore lively debate at home. But in the final analysis the change
\nin the Senate doesn't change any votes,\" Nicholas Eberstadt, Asia
\nexpert at the American Enterprise Institute, said on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Democrats will take control of the Senate on Tuesday after
\nVermont Sen. James Jeffords decided to quit the Republicans and
\nbecome an independent. Jeffords is expected to vote with the 50
\nDemocrats, giving them a slim majority in the 100-seat body. The
\nHouse of Representatives continues to be Republican-led.<\/p>\n
The shift means that committee chairmanships will be handed
\nover to Democratic senators next week, although the membership
\nmake-up of each committee still needs to be negotiated.<\/p>\n
The key handover for Asia and the rest of the world will be in
\nthe Foreign Relations Committee, where Delaware Sen. Joseph Biden
\nwill replace Sen. Jesse Helms of North Carolina.<\/p>\n
In the six years that Helms chaired the committee he was both
\nbeloved and reviled for his unapologetically ideological agenda,
\ninformed by a fervent anti-communism and conservative world view.
\nBiden is known for his moderate-to-liberal voting record and
\nforeign policy expertise, with special interest in the Balkans
\nand national missile defense.<\/p>\n
\"I think the chairman, Helms, really only focused on the
\nthreats -- economic from Japan, or military security from China
\nor North Korea -- emanating from east Asia, and I think Sen.
\nBiden will focus more on the opportunities,\" said one Democratic
\nSenate staff person.<\/p>\n
Other key committees include Finance which handles trade
\nissues which will now be chaired by Montana Sen. Max Baucus,
\nArmed Services which will go to Michigan Sen. Carl Levin, and
\nAppropriations to be headed by West Virginia Sen. Robert Byrd.<\/p>\n
Biden said when he announced his chairmanship that he looked
\nforward to backing Secretary of State Colin Powell against
\nconservative hard-liners in the administration of George W. Bush,
\nacknowledging that the president is the driving force in U.S.
\nforeign policy.<\/p>\n
Foreign policy experts said the points at which Bush can
\nexpect to go head-to-head with a Democrat-led Senate on Asia will
\nbe in how to handle relations with Pyongyang, now undergoing
\nreview after a period of warming under ex-President Bill Clinton,
\nand plans to possibly scrap the Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty of
\n1972 in favor of a missile defense system.<\/p>\n
Bush says his missile defense would be a shield against \"rogue
\nnations\" like North Korea and Iraq. Many Democrats say they have
\ndoubts about the system, which is opposed by China and Russia on
\ngrounds it could spur a nuclear arms race.<\/p>\n
The main power the Senate has stems from its control over the
\nbudget to pay for the president's initiatives and the authority
\nto confirm or reject nominees for senior government positions.
\nSenate committee chairmen also schedule and set the agenda for
\nhearings, and bring bills to the floor for a vote.<\/p>\n
\"The big advantage of that is that it allows Democrats to sort
\nof put forth the things they think we should be working on
\ninstead of reacting to the things that Republican chairmen think
\nwe should be working on,\" said another Democratic aide.<\/p>\n
That meant, among other things, focusing on parts of the
\nregion that have not been high on the Republican agenda as yet,
\nsuch as Indonesia, Cambodia and the Philippines, and putting
\nperhaps less emphasis for the moment on Taiwan, the aide said.<\/p>\n
\"It's not that the other side wouldn't do those ... (but) I
\njust don't think we're going to see so much emphasis on things
\nsuch as Taiwan where the Republicans wanted to make a mark,\" the
\naide said.<\/p>",
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