Edward P. Boland
Edward P. Boland was the Massachusetts congressman who sponsored the Boland Amendments prohibiting U.S. military aid to the Contras.
Edward P. Boland was the Massachusetts Democratic congressman who sponsored the Boland Amendments, the series of congressional provisions that prohibited the use of taxpayer funds for covert military operations against 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, National Security Council, or any other U.S. government agency from providing military aid to the Contras. The legislation directly led to Oliver North's illegal efforts to fund the Contras through alternative sources, including Iran arms sales proceeds, Saudi contributions, and 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
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