The House Foreign Affairs Committee today postponed its vote on a resolution disapproving the sale of five AWACS reconnaissance planes and other advanced weaponry to Saudi Arabia until tomorrow morning because of the attack on Egyptian President Anwar Sadat.
Because of early conflicting reports as to Sadat’s condition, opponents of the arms sale were at first reluctant to agree to the postponement which was proposed by Reps. Joel Pritchard (R. Wash.) and Paul Findley (R. III.). Both support the $8.5 billion sale.
Reps. Benjamin Rosenthal and Steven Solarz, New York Democrats, expressed fear that the Administration was resorting to delaying tactics. Rosenthal said the Administration has continuously tried to keep the House committee from voting on a resolution of disapproval. But when Rep. William Broomfield (R. Mich.) and other Republicans on the committee supported the postponement request, the Democratic majority went along.
Broomfield said that the White House had asked for the postponement .Solarz noted at that point that the House was working against a deadline on the resolution which must be adopted by the end of this month by both houses of Congress if the AWACS sale is to be blocked. He suggested that the Administration temporarily withdraw its official letter of notification of the sale. But Solarz found no supporters for that proposal.
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