By Tom Raum, .c The Associated Press
WASHINGTON, 10 (AP) - Members of Congress are moving on various fronts to block efforts to return Elian Gonzalez to his father in Cuba. One such tactic - subpoenaing the 6-year-old boy to testify before a House committee - was being reviewed Monday by government lawyers.
Legislative activity was building as a state court judge in Miami asserted jurisdiction, granted the boy's Florida relatives temporary custody and ordered a March 6 hearing on the guardianship issue.
Lawyers for the Justice Department and the Immigration and Naturalization Service were evaluating the earlier congressional subpoena issued by Rep. Dan Burton, chairman of the House Government Reform Committee, in an effort to delay Elian's departure.
Also from Capitol Hill, Sen. Jesse Helms is seeking to make the boy a U.S. citizen, while other lawmakers are weighing resident status for the father.
The subpoena issued late Friday requires the child to testify before his committee Feb. 10. But Burton, R-Ind., does not expect to compel the boy to appear, spokesman Mark Corallo said Monday.
The INS ruled last week that Elian, who was rescued from an inner tube in the Atlantic Ocean on Thanksgiving Day after his mother drowned while fleeing Cuba, should be returned to Cuba and his father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, by Friday.
Monday's court ruling in Miami appeared to have the same effect as Burton's subpoena - assuring Elian would not soon go back to Cuba.
Some committee members questioned whether the subpoena could be enforced, anyway, given the boy's age and disagreement over who is his legal guardian.
Corallo said the subpoena was ``intended to give the courts a chance to hear this case.'' If the boy is returned to Cuba, he said, Burton will subpoena INS officials ``to explain to the American people why they would do such a thing.''
But Rep. Henry Waxman of California, the senior Democrat on the committee, said the subpoena ``is unenforceable and shouldn't have any effect on the proceedings.''
``Congressional subpoenas should be used for legitimate investigative purposes, not political stunts,'' Waxman said.
Helms, R-N.C., chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, embraced a citizenship bill originally proposed in late December by Sen. Connie Mack, R-Fla. Colleagues, including Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., flocked to add their names to the cause.
Cuban President Fidel Castro ``has won a single round. He did not win the war,'' said Sen. Robert G. Torricelli, D-N.J., one of the sponsors of the citizenship bill.
In the House, GOP Rep. Benjamin Gilman of New York, chairman of the International Relations Committee, proposed that Elian's father be granted resident status if he can make it to the United States.
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., a sponsor of the citizenship bill said she and other members of the Florida delegation also might support such an approach, although she wanted to give the Florida family a chance to be heard.
``Despite all the international intrigue, this all boils down to a custody battle,'' she said.
On the campaign trail, Al Gore broke ranks with President Clinton and Attorney General Janet Reno in questioning the INS decision.
``I'd like to see the dispute adjudicated in our courts, where traditionally questions like `what is best for this child' are decided,'' the vice president said on NBC's ``Today'' show.
He said he doubted that the INS had ``the experience and the expertise'' to make a custody decision. Gore also cited a lack of compelling evidence that Elian's father was sincere ``about what is in his child's best interest.''
Clinton, continuing to support the INS, said Monday: ``I think the INS tried to do what was right by the child and I think that they did the best they could with a difficult and controversial situation.''
Asked about Gore's comments, Clinton said, ``Well, anybody's free to express their opinion about this.'' The president, addressing Burton's subpoena, just said that Burton's moves were ``always interesting.''
Torricelli, who supports Burton's decision to issue the subpoena, said in an interview, ``This is a legitimate area of policy inquiry'' and not an example of congressional meddling. The senator visited the child in Miami last month.
AP-NY-01-10-00 1908EST
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