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SOA Legislation Summary
2003: 108th Congress
A new House bill to repeal authority for the institute known as the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHISC) is introduced by Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) and over 49 other representatives.
2002: 107th Congress
HR 1810: The bill (see below) gathered 113 co-sponsors. The House Armed Services Committee did not discuss the bill or follow-up on its request for executive comment from the Department of Defense. The 107th Congress ended and there was no further action.
2001: 107th Congress
HR 1810: Representatives Jim McGovern (D-MA), Joe Scarborough (FL-R), Joe Moakley (D-MA), Connie Morella (R-MD), Chris Shays (R-CT), and Lane Evans (D-IL) introduced a bill to close the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation on May 10, 2001. The school would close and a congressional task force conducted an assessment of the school?s education and training programs. The school could not re-open for at least ten months after the bill is enacted. It was referred to the Armed Services Committee
2000: 106th Congress
HR 732: See below.
SB 873: See below.
Authorizations: Rep. Moakley offered H. Amdt. 723 to the Defense Authorizations bill, HR 4205, to close the SOA. The amendment was offered on May 18, 2000. The amendment was defeated by a vote of 214 to 204.
The Defense Authorization Bill HR 4205, section 2166 called for the Department of Defense to close the SOA and open the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation.
1999 ? 106th Congress
HR 732: This bill was introduced in the House by Rep Joseph Moakley (D-MA) on February 11, 1999, and called for a close to the SOA. It was referred to the Armed Services Committee and was not acted on. It had 156 co-sponsors.
SB 873: Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) introduced this bill on April 22, 1999. It was referred to the Armed Services Committee and had 15 co-sponsors. A vote was taken to continue voting on the proposal which was defeated. There was no action taken on the bill.
Appropriations: On July 29, the House of Representatives voted 230 to 197 to partially cut funds for the School of the Americas. This vote was taken on an amendment offered by Rep. Moakley to the Foreign Operations Appropriations bill HR 2606, H. Amdt. 368. Although the vote only cut funds for scholarships used to recruit and bring students to the SOA, about 10 percent of the SOA's funding, this vote was seen as a monumental victory in the movement. The presence of so many supporters brought the sincerity and dedication of those concerned with the issue to the attention of the Pentagon.
Because the Senate did not approve a similar cut, the House-Senate conference committee was responsible for reconciling the two bills. The proposal to cut funding for SOA was defeated in the House-Senate conference committee by one vote, resulting in continued funding for the SOA.
1998 - 105th Congress
HR 611: See above.
SB 980: See above
Appropriations: Rep. Kennedy introduced an H. Amdt. 906 to the House Foreign Operations Appropriations bill HR 4569 to cut funding to the SOA. The amendment was defeated by a vote of 201- 212 on September 17, 1998.
1997: 105th Congress
HR 611: On February 5, 1997, Rep Joseph Kennedy (D-MA) introduced this bill to close the SOA. It was referred to the House Committee on National Security and had a total of 150 co-sponsors. It was never referred out of committee nor voted on.
SB 980: A bill to close the SOA was introduced by Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) on June 27, 1997. The bill was referred to the Senate Arms Services Committee, where it sat without action. It had 15 co-sponsors.
Appropriations: An amendment to the House Foreign Operations Appropriations bill (HR2159) was offered by Reps. Esteban Torres (D-CA) and Thomas Foglietta (D-PA). This amendment, H. Amdt. 314, would have cut funding to the U.S. Army School of the Americas. On September 4th the House of Representatives voted against this amendment. The vote in the House was 210-217.
1996: 104th Congress
Appropriations: An amendment was offered by Rep. Kennedy to the House Foreign Operations Appropriations bill HR 3540. Section 573 would strike funding for the SOA in the bill, it was withdrawn for lack of support.
1995: 104th Congress
HR 2652: In attempt to keep the issue on the floor, Rep. Kennedy sponsored a House bill to close the United States Army School of the Americas and establish a United States Academy for Democracy and Civil-Military Relations. This proposed academy would provide training to civilian and military personnel of Latin American and Caribbean countries through seminars, roundtable discussions, conferences, and a guest instructor program; would be committed to and have respect for democracy and human rights; and would have the oversight of an advisory committee which would provide advice on establishing and operating the Academy, as well as the review the content of its curriculum. This bill had 79 co-sponsors. On November 16, 1995, HR 2652 was introduced on the House floor and was referred to the House Committee on National Security and no action was taken.
It should be noted that this bill was wildly unpopular with many grassroots organizations and there was much disagreement over the intent of such a bill.
1994: 103rd Congress
Authorizations: With the presence of the first School of the Americas vote in the House the previous year, grassroots mobilizers prepared for a more organized legislative agenda. A forty-day fast was held on the steps of the capitol as Rep. Kennedy introduced another amendment to the Defense Authorization bill, HR 4301. Amendment 568 prohibited any funds authorized in the bill to be used to operate the Army School of the Americas. The vote was taken on May 20, 1994 and lost by a vote of 175-217.
1993: 103rd Congress
The first legislative attempt to close the School of the Americas was brought to floor came in the summer of 1993. Following the publication of an extensive investigation of the School of the Americas by Newsweek. In response to this article, Rep Marty Meehan (D-MA) spoke out against the U.S. training of Latin American soldiers at Ft. Benning. This was a shocking and appreciative surprise for those in the movement.
Appropriations: Continuing in Meehan?s concerns, Representative Joseph Kennedy (D-MA) introduced an amendment to the House Defense Appropriations Bill HR 2116 to eliminate Department of Defense funding to the School of the Americas. Amendment 333 sought to cut all funds to the School of the Americas, in the amount of $2.9 million. On September 30, 1993, the amendment garnered 174 votes in the House of Representatives; 256 voted to keep the funding going. Despite the loss, the issue of the School of the Americas had finally been brought to the attention of Congress.
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