Except for ‘Snow White Week’ and Burbank Flight Paths, Bills Range Afar--From Pachyderm Parts to Cuban Travel : Congressmen’s Initiatives Stray From Valley Issues

A bill to save the threatened African elephant by prohibiting the import of ivory and other pachyderm parts is included on the congressional agenda of U. S. Rep. Anthony C. Beilenson.

A measure to open the door for American travel to Cuba, Vietnam and other countries against which the United States has imposed an economic embargo is sought by U. S. Rep. Howard L. Berman.

And a resolution designating last July 13-20 as “Snow White Week” to commemorate the 50th birthday of the virtuous princess of Walt Disney’s first full-length animated film was pushed through Congress by U. S. Rep. Carlos J. Moorhead.

These three pieces of legislation are among two dozen diverse measures sponsored by the four Valley-area representatives during the first nine months of the 100th Congress. The initiatives generally deal with national issues--from excise taxes to copyright laws--rather than local concerns.

The bills also reflect the legislators’ interests and roles in Congress.

Beilenson, a reform-minded Democrat with a reputation for getting out front on difficult issues, is sponsoring several measures likely to antagonize large blocs of voters.

Berman, a liberal Democrat and active member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has introduced bills to expand travel rights and the free flow of information between America and countries at odds with the United States.

Not surprisingly, in a House controlled by a large Democratic majority, the two Valley Republicans have more modest legislative agendas.

Moorhead has concentrated on matters he has brought before the Judiciary Committee and the Energy and Commerce Committee, on which he serves as a ranking minority member. U. S. Rep. Elton Gallegly, whose clout is limited by his status as a freshman minority member, has co-sponsored legislation but has not introduced any measures on his own.

Most of the measures proposed by Valley-area congressmen are pending before House committees.

Only the innocuous “Snow White Week” resolution, which had 218 co-sponsors, has traversed the legislative Black Forest of the U. S. House and Senate and been signed by President Reagan. Still, because of legislative delays, it did not go into effect until July 21--the day after “Snow White Week” ended.

Such a lack of results at this stage is not unusual, however, in an institution that often appears determined to pass no law before its time. Congress generally creeps along until adjournment approaches and then rushes to pass a flurry of bills. Even then, most proposed laws never make it through the legislative labyrinth.

A total of 3,362 bills and 833 resolutions had been introduced by the 435 House members by last week, according to the House clerk’s office. Only 115 have become law.

A few of the bills sponsored by Valley representatives already appear dead. Others have been revived after failing to move in previous years or being vetoed by Reagan.

The initiatives include controversial proposals by Beilenson to slash the budget deficit by raising federal taxes on gasoline, cigarettes and liquor. The proposals also include one by Berman to permit victims of terrorist acts in America to collect monetary damages from the foreign governments sponsoring the crimes.

Moorhead, of Glendale, has sponsored a bill to prohibit importation into the United States of products produced by a process protected by an American patent and a measure to expand copyright protection for industrial designs of such items as telephones, luggage and automotive parts.

Gallegly said he had been drafting a bill to close the Palestine Liberation Organization’s observer mission at the United Nations and the Washington information office it finances because the group supports terrorism. But, instead, the Simi Valley lawmaker said, he decided to co-sponsor a similar measure by veteran U. S. Rep. Jack Kemp (R-N.Y.).

“Elton is not one to jump in and introduce bills for the sake of political expediency and making a splash,” said Mike Sedell, Gallegly’s administrative assistant. “It’s not common for freshmen to be the singular sponsor of bills.”

Misleading Gauge

Further, Valley representatives said, focusing on legislation they’ve sponsored can be a misleading way to gauge their congressional contributions. They may, for instance, insert significant amendments into other bills headed for passage, persuade more senior members to sponsor their initiatives or play key roles in legislative negotiations or behind the scenes in House committees.

“My bills are a relatively minor part of my legislative agenda,” said Berman, a savvy legislative in-fighter. “Our amendments to other bills in many cases are more meaningful.”

The Panorama City lawmaker has introduced an amendment in the foreign aid bill to reauthorize $5 million he has sponsored since 1984 to finance joint scientific research projects among the United States, Israel and Third World countries. Berman, a strong supporter of Israel, said the research focuses on agricultural food production and public health and helps “reduce Israel’s isolation in the Third World.”

Berman also has three amendments to a massive trade bill that has passed the House. One would establish a Western regional office in California for the Department of Commerce’s export licensing, which Berman said would expedite the processing of West Coast export applications.

Another provision would prohibit the Commerce Department from detaining goods for export at a port for more than 10 days when a valid export license has been issued. Sometimes, goods are now held for several weeks, Berman said.

A third provision would prevent the President from prohibiting the import or export of any publications, films, posters, records, photographs, microfilm, tapes or other informational material on First Amendment grounds. The flow of such materials to and from Cuba is restricted. Berman, who has much of the entertainment industry in his district, called prospects for passage of this measure very good.

Gerrymandered Flight Paths

Berman also persuaded a House colleague to insert a provision in a major airport improvement bill that would reroute the paths of 40% of Burbank Airport flights from Berman’s 26th District to Moorhead’s 22nd District. Moorhead failed to have that provision deleted in the House bill, but it is expected to provoke a further Senate battle.

Moorhead has also inserted one of his long-sought initiatives into both the House and Senate versions of the trade bill. The measure would prohibit the importation of products by a manufacturing process that is protected by a U. S. patent.

This protection exists in Western Europe and other industrialized countries but remains a loophole in U. S. law, said Tom Mooney, counsel to the House Judiciary Committee. The measure, which was passed by the House but died in the Senate last year, faces more promising prospects this time.

Moorhead sponsored the “Snow White Week” resolution at the behest of the Walt Disney Co., whose Burbank headquarters is in his district. It sparked initial opposition from senators who felt it was too commercial, said David Joergenson, a Moorhead aide. It passed, albeit belatedly, when the reference to Disney was dropped from its title.

‘Why Bash Dwarfs?’

“Oh hell, why should we bash dwarfs?” Joergenson said the senators eventually decided, referring to Snow White’s seven diminutive companions.

He added that such commemorative resolutions are a staple of legislative activity. “They don’t really cost anything,” Joergenson said.

Beilenson had introduced the ban on African elephant products previously without success. This year, with the elephant population plummeting, the Tarzana legislator said, “There’s some hope” for passage.

Although imports of elephant ivory are already sharply restricted, “regulations have been largely ineffective and unenforceable against sophisticated smugglers and forged exportation documents,” Beilenson said.

The African elephant population, officially designated as “threatened,” stands at about 750,000 and is declining 9% annually, according to the World Wildlife Fund. In addition to the market for ivory, elephant skins are in demand for cowboy boots.

Although acknowledging the political risks, Beilenson has also introduced bills to raise several excise taxes, which he says would reduce the budget deficit and produce other benefits. One would increase the federal 9-cents-a-gallon gasoline tax by 25 cents. Besides raising about $25 billion, Beilenson says, this would cut America’s dependence on foreign oil by encouraging conservation. He says it will also lower the nation’s trade deficit.

32 Cents More a Six-Pack

A second measure would raise the tax on beer by about 32 cents a six-pack and on an average bottle of wine by 7 cents--producing $2.5 billion a year. Beer and wine are taxed at much lower rates than distilled spirits and have caused hundreds of thousands of alcohol-related deaths from disease and drunk driving, Beilenson said.

A well-organized alliance calling itself the Coalition Against Regressive Taxes, including the trucking, gasoline, beer, wine and distilled spirits industries, is opposing the tax increases.

Beilenson’s third revenue bill would increase the excise tax on cigarettes from 24 cents a pack to 40 cents and permanently fix the tax to the Consumer Price Index. Beilenson said this would raise $4.8 billion a year and “help compensate the government for the costs associated with smoking-related illnesses.” Cigarette manufacturers have launched an intensive letter-writing campaign against this proposal.

Beilenson concedes that his bills are not likely to sail through Congress, but he said he hopes the ideas will be among those considered when the leadership of the House and Senate negotiate a new budget. Under the revamped Gramm-Rudman budget-balancing law, the fiscal 1988 deficit must be reduced by $23 billion.

“No one wants to raise their taxes,” Beilenson said. “But I think they need to be higher than they are. We have to bring the budget into balance. And I think people appreciate politicians being honest with them.”

He predicted that his opponents in the 23rd District will use the tax bills against him, as previous opponents have sought to use similar initiatives.

Another Beilenson bill would authorize the President to ask television and radio broadcasters to provide free air time for public-service announcements on the dangers of smoking. The measure, opposed by the broadcasting industry, faces uncertain prospects.

More certain is the fate of Beilenson’s bill to finance the general election campaigns of House candidates with public funds and limit spending to $200,000 in a bid to end the growing role of special-interest political action committees. Proponents of another campaign-spending reform bill in the Senate were unable to end an opposition filibuster last summer, apparently signaling the death of the issue in 1987.

Local Issues

On the local front, Beilenson has sponsored a measure to block the Reagan Administration from selling land around two Los Angeles-area Veterans Administration medical centers. The Administration has sought to sell 46 acres in Sepulveda and 109 acres in Westwood to commercial developers to help reduce the budget deficit. The communities and veterans groups oppose the sale of unused land, which might also preclude expansion of the veterans hospitals, Beilenson said.

Berman’s two major bills are also opposed by the Reagan Administration. One would remove the President’s authority to prohibit Americans from spending any money in countries against which the United States has placed an economic embargo--thus effectively precluding travel. Berman’s bill would allow Americans to spend money for travel-related costs.

This would apply to Cuba, Vietnam, Cambodia and North Korea. It would not apply to countries with which America is at war, engaged in armed hostilities or where Americans may be endangered.

Berman’s bill would also prohibit the United States Information Agency from refusing to certify documentary films as educational for overseas circulation simply because the agency doesn’t like the film’s point of view or feels it may be misinterpreted. Certifying the films as educational often waives costly import duties and taxes overseas. Berman’s measure is the latest salvo in a continuing controversy and is strongly opposed by USIA.

Terrorism Redress

Berman’s other major bill would permit victims or survivors of terrorism in the United States sponsored by a foreign government to collect monetary damages against the commercial assets of that nation in the United States.

The measure was prompted by the 1976 car-bombing death of former Chilean diplomat Orlando Letelier and his American friend, Ronni Moffitt, on Washington’s Embassy Row. A former Chilean secret police captain, one of three Chilean intelligence officials indicted in the slayings, pleaded guilty and was sentenced last May to seven years in prison for the bombing.

Letelier’s widow and sons won a $4.9-million judgment in a civil suit against the government of Chile and the former secret police. But, in 1984, an appeals court ruled that the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act prevented them from collecting damages against the U. S.-based assets of the Chilean national airline, LAN-Chile, which was used to carry out the assassination. Berman’s bill would amend the act to allow Letelier’s family and future victims or survivors to gain monetary redress.

The bill is backed by the American Bar Assn. but opposed by the State Department, which says such matters are best left to private communications between governments, Berman said.

“It is absolutely unconscionable and inconsistent with the U. S. counterterrorism policy to permit a foreign government to avoid responsibility for acts of terrorism,” Berman said. “We don’t see why the victims and the families of victims shouldn’t be able to enforce their rights.”

FROM TERRORISM TO SNOW WHITE

Some Legislation Introduced in 100th Congress by Valley Representatives

GAS TAX: Bill would impose an additional 25-cents-a-gallon tax on gasoline, diesel fuel and special motor fuels to help raise $25 billion and reduce the federal budget deficit. In House Committee on Ways and Means. Sponsored by U. S. Rep. Anthony C. Beilenson (D-Tarzana).

ELEPHANT PROTECTION ACT: Bill would prohibit the import or export of African elephant ivory and other products to discourage killing of the animals, which are threatened with extinction. In House subcommittee on fisheries and wildlife conservation and the environment. Sponsored by Beilenson.

CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM: Bill would provide public financing for general election campaigns of House members and limit an individual campaign’s spending to $200,000. In House subcommittee on elections. Sponsored by Beilenson.

RIGHT TO TRAVEL: Bill would remove the President’s authority to effectively prohibit Americans from traveling to countries against which the United States has an economic embargo. In House subcommittee on international economic policy and trade. Sponsored by U. S. Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-Panorama City).

TERRORISM: Bill would allow victims or survivors of terrorist acts in America sponsored by foreign governments to collect monetary damages against the U.S.-based assets of the foreign country. In House subcommittee on administrative law and governmental relations. Sponsored by Berman.

SNOW WHITE WEEK: A joint resolution designated the week beginning July 13, 1987, as “Snow White Week” to commemorate the Disney character’s 50th birthday. Passed and signed by President Reagan July 21, 1987. Sponsored by U. S. Rep. Carlos J. Moorhead (R-Glendale).

PROCESS PATENT: Bill would prohibit importation into the United States of any product produced by a process protected by a U. S. patent. Has been incorporated into two versions of a major trade bill that have passed the House and Senate. Sponsored by Moorhead.