Senate to scrutinize Bush on Asia

By Sonya Hepinstall

WASHINGTON (Reuters): Democrats in control of the U.S. Senate will set a different tone on Asian affairs, subjecting the Bush team to greater scrutiny on issues such as a new missile defense and policy toward North Korea, foreign policy experts said.

Asia can also expect to see a greater Senate focus on Southeast Asia and on "opportunities" rather than threats when it came to countries like China, Democratic Senate aides said.

However, the overall U.S. picture will not be dramatically different and in terms of legislation, not much will change.

"I think one could see this changeover in the Senate making a more lively debate at home. But in the final analysis the change in the Senate doesn't change any votes," Nicholas Eberstadt, Asia expert at the American Enterprise Institute, said on Thursday.

Democrats will take control of the Senate on Tuesday after Vermont Sen. James Jeffords decided to quit the Republicans and become an independent. Jeffords is expected to vote with the 50 Democrats, giving them a slim majority in the 100-seat body. The House of Representatives continues to be Republican-led.

The shift means that committee chairmanships will be handed over to Democratic senators next week, although the membership make-up of each committee still needs to be negotiated.

The key handover for Asia and the rest of the world will be in the Foreign Relations Committee, where Delaware Sen. Joseph Biden will replace Sen. Jesse Helms of North Carolina.

In the six years that Helms chaired the committee he was both beloved and reviled for his unapologetically ideological agenda, informed by a fervent anti-communism and conservative world view. Biden is known for his moderate-to-liberal voting record and foreign policy expertise, with special interest in the Balkans and national missile defense.

"I think the chairman, Helms, really only focused on the threats -- economic from Japan, or military security from China or North Korea -- emanating from east Asia, and I think Sen. Biden will focus more on the opportunities," said one Democratic Senate staff person.

Other key committees include Finance which handles trade issues which will now be chaired by Montana Sen. Max Baucus, Armed Services which will go to Michigan Sen. Carl Levin, and Appropriations to be headed by West Virginia Sen. Robert Byrd.

Biden said when he announced his chairmanship that he looked forward to backing Secretary of State Colin Powell against conservative hard-liners in the administration of George W. Bush, acknowledging that the president is the driving force in U.S. foreign policy.

Foreign policy experts said the points at which Bush can expect to go head-to-head with a Democrat-led Senate on Asia will be in how to handle relations with Pyongyang, now undergoing review after a period of warming under ex-President Bill Clinton, and plans to possibly scrap the Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty of 1972 in favor of a missile defense system.

Bush says his missile defense would be a shield against "rogue nations" like North Korea and Iraq. Many Democrats say they have doubts about the system, which is opposed by China and Russia on grounds it could spur a nuclear arms race.

The main power the Senate has stems from its control over the budget to pay for the president's initiatives and the authority to confirm or reject nominees for senior government positions. Senate committee chairmen also schedule and set the agenda for hearings, and bring bills to the floor for a vote.

"The big advantage of that is that it allows Democrats to sort of put forth the things they think we should be working on instead of reacting to the things that Republican chairmen think we should be working on," said another Democratic aide.

That meant, among other things, focusing on parts of the region that have not been high on the Republican agenda as yet, such as Indonesia, Cambodia and the Philippines, and putting perhaps less emphasis for the moment on Taiwan, the aide said.

"It's not that the other side wouldn't do those ... (but) I just don't think we're going to see so much emphasis on things such as Taiwan where the Republicans wanted to make a mark," the aide said.