Reagan Jumps the Gun on Notifying Congress of Proposal to Sell Awacs to Saudis; but Clock Will Not S

President Reagan will send Congress on Aug. 24 the informal notification of his Administration’s proposal to sell Saudi Arabia five AWACS reconnaissance planes and other sophisticated military equipment. But State Department spokesman Dean Fischer said last Friday that the 50-day period in which Congress may reject the proposed sale will not actually start until after Congress returns from its summer recess in September.

The Aug. 24 date was announced Friday morning by Max Friedersdorf, the President’s Assistant for Legislative Affairs, at a breakfast meeting of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Sources at the State Department denied that there was any connection in the timing of the AWACS announcement and the expectation that

Reagan will announce this week the lifting of the suspension of delivery to Israel of 10 F-16 and two F-15 jet fighter planes.

Fischer said he could not say whether the U.S. had completed its negotiations with the Saudis on the AWACS. The negotiations reportedly concern continued U.S. control of the highly sophisticated planes in order to calm the fears of Congressmen opposed to the sale. The President has delayed submission of the proposal since last May on the advice of Senate Majority leader Howard Baker (R. Tenn.) and other Republican leaders who feared that the proposal would be rejected by Congress.

In a letter to Senate and House leaders Reagan urged Congressmen, as they left for vacation earlier this month, not to “prejudge” the sale until they saw the completed proposal. The sale goes through automatically unless rejected by both houses of Congress. Congress has a 20-day-informal notification period followed by a 30-day formal period during which it can adopt resolutions voiding the sale.