Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 23, 1995 TAG: 9502230082
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
The battle threatens to divide the generation that came of age after most Americans, moved by the mistreatment of blacks, united behind equality programs.
Black and Hispanic lawmakers were able to count on the support of only seven white colleagues in Tuesday night's vote on a program that encourages minority ownership of broadcasting systems. Lawmakers voted 381-44 to scuttle it, 154 Democrats siding with the unanimous Republican opposition.
The concept of affirmative action last came under serious attack in the Reagan administration. According to Ralph Neas, executive director of a coalition of 180 civil rights organizations, Attorney General Edwin Meese wanted to dismantle such programs but the rest of the Cabinet rallied around them and persuaded President Reagan that they were vital. Every president from John Kennedy on has taken that view, Neas said.
But evidence is accumulating that the nation is questioning any use of governmental power to give minorities or women an advantage:
California, a pacesetter on many social issues, is likely to vote next year on an initiative to ban racial preferences in employment and education. If the issue is on the November 1996 ballot, it could attract a big conservative turnout and undercut President Clinton's chances of carrying California, vital to his re-election strategy.
Sen. Phil Gramm of Texas, a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, has pledged that one of his first acts if he is elected will be to issue an executive order abolishing federal affirmative action programs. Other candidates are likely to side with Gramm.
The Supreme Court is expected to rule this summer on the constitutionality of a 13-year-old affirmative action program in which billions of dollars worth of contracts are at stake. The law under challenge pays federal contractors a bonus if 10 percent of subcontracts go to ``disadvantaged business enterprises.''
The Library of Congress delivered to Capitol Hill a compilation that showed the existence in federal law of 160 preference programs in employment, housing and education. Included were minority-based timetables, goals, set-asides and quota programs. Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole requested the compilation two weeks ago, saying he wanted to see to see if the government discriminates against white men. The report could serve as a hit list for those who argue for a ``color blind'' federal establishment.
A conservative group, the Institute for Justice, said it would use the list to ask congressional committees to eliminate funding for specific preferences. ``The current system fuels racial division but does little to aid the truly disadvantaged,'' said William Mellor, the group's president.
An as-yet-unannounced agenda, drawn up by House Speaker Newt Gingrich for consideration after the GOP's ``Contract With America'' is acted upon, lists racially based affirmative action laws as a target.
At a news conference Wednesday, Gingrich argued against affirmative action. ``It is antithetical to the American dream to measure people by the genes of their great-grandmothers,'' he said.
At the White House, Clinton spokesman Mike McCurry offered a cautious defense of such programs. He said Clinton's position is that ``where there is discrimination there should be affirmative remedies.''
But he said the president also believes that what is needed is ``a civil conversation on what could be a potentially divisive issue.''
Tuesday night's bitter five-hour congressional debate raised the issue in a way that made it especially hard for friends of affirmative action to defend. At question was whether Viacom Inc., a multibillion-dollar cable company, should be denied $400 million in tax breaks, with the money devoted instead to allowing self-employed workers to continue deducting part of the cost of health insurance.
Gingrich pushed that point: ``This is not about helping the disadvantaged,'' he told the House. ``This is about simply rigging the game on behalf of one set of millionaires over another.''
Still, some drew a racial lesson. Rep. Chaka Fattah, D-Pa., said the vote showed that an internal debate had taken place within the GOP and ``has been won by the David Duke faction.'' Duke, a Louisiana politician, is a former leader of the Ku Klux Klan.
by CNB