---
born: 1911-10-01
category: Iran-Contra
died: 2001-11-04
location: Springfield, Massachusetts
summary: Edward P. Boland was the Massachusetts congressman who sponsored the Boland
  Amendments prohibiting U.S. military aid to the Contras.
tags:
- person
- contra-war
---

Edward P. Boland was the Massachusetts Democratic congressman who sponsored the [Boland Amendments](/events/boland-amendment/), the series of congressional provisions that prohibited the use of taxpayer funds for covert military operations against [Nicaragua](/places/nicaragua/). The amendments, passed between 1982 and 1984, were named after Boland as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.[^1]

### The Boland Amendments

The amendments sought to rein in the Reagan administration's covert war by prohibiting the [Central Intelligence Agency](/organizations/central-intelligence-agency/), [National Security Council](/organizations/national-security-council/), or any other U.S. government agency from providing military aid to the [Contras](/organizations/contras/). The legislation directly led to [Oliver North](/people/oliver-north/)'s illegal efforts to fund the Contras through alternative sources, including [Iran](/places/iran/) arms sales proceeds, Saudi contributions, and [cocaine](/concepts/cocaine/) trafficking profits. The Boland Amendments exposed the tension between congressional oversight and executive branch determination to pursue the Contra war by any means necessary.[^2]

[^1]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Glossary.
[^2]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Ch. 16.