---
category: "Political Figure"
tags:
  - IranContra
  - person
  - contra-war
summary: Edward P. Boland was the Massachusetts congressman who sponsored the Boland Amendments prohibiting U.S. military aid to the Contras.
born: 1911-10-01
died: 2001-11-04
location: "Springfield, Massachusetts"
---
Edward P. Boland was the Massachusetts Democratic congressman who sponsored the [[Boland Amendment|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 Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence|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]

### Footnotes

[^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.