Boland Amendment
-
What is the Boland Amendment?
The Boland Amendment is a series of acts passed by Congress to prevent President Ronald Reagan's administration from interfering in Nicaragua.
After Reagan took office in 1981, he sought to overthrow the Sandinista pro-communist regime and requested funds from Congress to support the anti-communist Contras. However, Congress withdrew its support after learning that the CIA had been mining harbors in Nicaragua.
In response to the Presidentās actions, Congress passed the first Boland Amendment on December 1, 1983, which prohibited government agencies involved in intelligence from using funds to overthrow the Nicaraguan government. The second Boland Amendment, passed on December 8, 1985, was structured to close loopholes from the first. It prohibited any government agency from offering military support to the Contras and banned the Reagan administrationās practice of soliciting funds from third-party countries and private donors.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
Why was the Boland Amendment created?
The Boland Amendment was created by the U.S. Congress to prevent President Ronald Reagan's administration from aggressively interfering in Nicaragua's affairs.
Reagan aimed to overthrow the Sandinista regime, which he considered pro-communist, and sought congressional appropriations to support the anti-communist Contras. However, Congress withdrew its support after discovering that the CIA had mined Nicaraguan harbors, fearing an international incident if Soviet ships were damaged.
In response to Reagan's activities, Congress passed the first Boland Amendment in 1983, which prohibited government agencies involved in intelligence from using funds to overthrow the Nicaraguan government or engage in military exchanges with Honduras. Though Reagan signed the amendment into law, he found ways to circumvent it, leading to the second Boland Amendment in 1985, which further restricted aid to the Contras.
4 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What did the Boland Amendment prohibit the U.S. government from doing?
The Boland Amendment was a series of acts passed by the U.S. Congress to prevent President Ronald Reagan's administration from interfering in Nicaragua's affairs. The first Boland Amendment, passed in 1983, prohibited the CIA, the Department of Defense, and other government agencies involved in intelligence from using funds to overthrow the Nicaraguan government or provide military exchange between Nicaragua and Honduras.
A second Boland Amendment in 1985, intended to close loopholes in the first, prohibited any government agency from offering military and paramilitary support to the Contras and banned the Reagan administrationās practice of soliciting funds from third-party countries and private donors. These activities violated the Boland Amendment.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
Who were the Contras, and how did the Boland Amendment relate to them?
The Contras were Nicaraguan counterrevolutionaries who opposed the Sandinista government in the 1980s. They were funded and supported by the Reagan administration.
The Boland Amendment was a series of legislative acts passed by the U.S. Congress to limit the Reagan administration's interference in Nicaragua. The amendment prohibited the use of funds by the CIA, the Department of Defense, and other government agencies to overthrow the Nicaraguan government or provoke military exchange between Nicaragua and Honduras. Later versions of the Boland Amendment sought to close loopholes, further restricting aid to the Contras. The Reagan administration's circumvention of the Boland Amendment led to the Iran-Contra Affair, where funds from arms sales to Iran were diverted to support the Contras.
3 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How did the Boland Amendment impact U.S. involvement in Nicaragua during the 1980s?
The Boland Amendment was a series of legislative acts passed by the U.S. Congress to limit the Reagan administration's intervention in Nicaragua.
The first amendment in 1983 restricted the use of funds by the CIA and other intelligence agencies to overthrow the Nicaraguan government. However, the Reagan administration circumvented this by using the National Security Council (NSC) to continue covert support for the Contras.
A second Boland Amendment in 1985 aimed to close loopholes, prohibiting any government agency from providing military support to the Contras. Despite these restrictions, the Reagan administration continued to fund the Contras through covert operations, leading to the Iran-Contra Affair and congressional investigations.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What connection does the Boland Amendment have to the Iran-Contra Affair?
The Boland Amendment aimed to prevent President Reagan's administration from interfering in Nicaragua. It prohibited certain government agencies from funding the Contras, who were attempting to overthrow the Sandinista regime.
The Iran-Contra Affair involved the Reagan administration selling arms to Iran in exchange for the release of American hostages. Some of the money from these sales was then diverted to illegally fund the Contras, circumventing the Boland Amendment's restrictions on providing military aid. This covert funding of the Contras through the Iran-Contra Affair directly violated the Boland Amendment.
3 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Boland Amendment, series of acts that were passed by the U.S. Congress as a means of preventing the aggressive attempts by Pres. Ronald Reaganās administration to interfere with the state of affairs of Nicaragua.
Shortly after taking office on January 20, 1981, Reagan decided that he would do everything possible to overthrow the Sandinista pro-communist regime in Nicaragua. Reagan regularly sent requests to Congress seeking appropriations to support the rebel anti-communist Contras. Congress complied for two years. However, after it became known that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had been mining the harbours in Nicaragua, Congress realized that if CIA explosives destroyed Soviet ships anchored nearby, an international incident of gigantic proportions could occur. Congress subsequently withdrew its support for funding the Contras. Undaunted, Reagan continued his quest to overthrow the leftist Sandinista regime. The activities of his administration created a major scandal and threatened his presidency.
In response to the presidentās activities in Nicaragua, on December 1, 1983, Congress passed the first Boland Amendment, attaching it to an omnibus appropriation bill for fiscal year 1983. The Boland Amendment, named after its chief sponsor, Democratic Rep. Edward P. Boland from Massachusetts, prohibited the CIA, the Department of Defense, and other government agencies or entities that were involved in intelligence from using any funds whatsoever āfor the purpose of overthrowing the government of Nicaragua or providing a military exchange between Nicaragua and Honduras.ā The Boland Amendment passed both houses of Congress. Without a line-item veto, Reagan had no choice but to accept the amendment or veto the entire appropriations bill. Reagan signed the Boland Amendment into law on December 21. Because Congress had attached the Boland Amendment to defense appropriations, the restriction was effective only from December 1984 to December 1985.
" height="20" alt="HEW Logo">
Even before the Boland Amendment took effect, Reagan had already told national security adviser Robert (āBudā) McFarlane to keep the Contras together ābody and soul.ā The fact that the first Boland Amendment contained two significant loopholes made McFarlaneās task easier. First, Congress had given the CIA permission to offer aid to the Contras as long as its stated purpose was something other than overthrowing the Sandinistas. Second, the Reagan administration had determined that it could use the National Security Council (NSC) rather than the CIA to conduct covert activities in Nicaragua and still obey the letter of the law. Four months later the president was still assuring Congress that he was not trying to overthrow the Nicaraguan government at the same time that his administration was busily seeking ways to fund the covert activities. As 1985 drew to a close, Congress was determined to end all funding to the Contras and informed the president that the $24 million appropriation for humanitarian aid for 1985 would be the last appropriation.
On December 8, 1985, Congress passed the second Boland Amendment, aimed at closing the loopholes of Boland one. It was structured to pick up when Boland one expired and to remain in effect until December 30, 1986. In the new amendment, Congress prohibited any government agency from offering military and paramilitary support for the Contras and banned the Reagan administrationās practice of soliciting funds from third-party countries and private donors. During debate on Boland two, Representative Boland was asked if there were any exceptions to the ban, and he stated that there were none. Even humanitarian aid to the Contras was banned. Republican Rep. Dick Cheney of Wyoming called Boland two a ākiller amendment,ā specifically intended to make the Contras give up their fight.
After the Iran-Contra scandal broke (which revealed covert funding for the Contras), Congress investigated the Reagan administrationās defiance of the Boland Amendment and learned that between 1984 and 1986 Reagan and the NSC staff had raised $34 million for aid to the Contras from third countries such as Saudi Arabia. Millions more were raised from donors at conservative fund-raisers.
Initially, these funds were deposited in a Swiss bank account controlled by the Contras, but in July 1985 Lieut. Col. Oliver North, a member of the NSC staff, took control of the money. For 19 months after Congress banned funding to the Nicaraguan Contras, the Reagan administration continued to conduct a covert war in the Central American country.
The trusted destination for professionals, college students, and lifelong learners.
SUBSCRIBE
In July 1989 New York Democratic Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan introduced a bill designed to permanently keep a president from subverting the wishes of Congress by making it a felony to do so. Reaganās vice president and successor, Pres. George H.W. Bush, promised to veto the bill if it passed, arguing that it was an intrusion into a presidentās constitutional right to conduct foreign policy. The bill passed both houses of Congress, and Bush vetoed it as promised.