Despite the shift to conservative positions by many members in both houses of Congress, the 23 Jewish Representatives and seven Senators mostly remain in the ranks of the liberals or in the center of the political spectrum.
This conclusion is drawn from the voting record for 1979 of the 435 House members and 100 Senators on 19 issues reported by the liberal Americans for Democratic Action (ADA) which observed “Congress continued to move to the fight” in domestic policy and “the foregoing of progressive initiatives” in foreign affairs.
Domestic issues about which ADA conducted its annual survey included busing, assisted housing, nuclear power, abortion, food stamps, low income energy assistance, windfall profits tax. Foreign policy matters concerned relations with the People’s Republic of China, Rhodesian sanctions, foreign economic aid, a nuclear aircraft carrier and the M-X missile.
Of the 12 Senators who supported ADA positions three out of four times, two are Jewish — Howard Metzenbaum (D.Ohio) and Carl Levin (D. Mich.). Among the 65 Senators who approved ADA positions less than half the time were Richard Stone (D.Flo.), Rudy Boschwitz (R.Minn.) and Edward Zorinsky (D.Neb.).
Metzenbaum ranks third among the Senate’s members in support of liberal viewpoints. With a record of 84 percent, Metzenbaum trails only Senator George McGovern (D.S.D.) who has a perfect record, and Patrick Leahy (D.Vt.) with 89 percent. Second to Metzenbaum among the seven Jewish Senators is Levin with 74 percent, while third is Jacob Javits (R. NY) with 63 percent. Other Senatorial records as reported by ADA: Abraham Ribicoff (D.Conn.) 53 percent, and Stone, Boschwitz and Zorinsky, each with 21 percent.
In the House, four of the 14 Congressmen achieving perfect records in the ADA scoring are Democrats Richard Ottinger and Ted Weiss, both, of New York; Anthony Beilenson (Calif.) and Howard Wolpe (Mich.). In second place were seven Congressmen with 95 percent. Of these, four are Jewish — Democrats Henry Waxman (Calif.), Sidney Yates (III.) and Frederick Richmond and Stephen Solarz, both of New York.
RECORDS OF OTHER CONGRESSMEN
The records of other Jewish Congressmen ore: Ken Kramer (R.Colo.) 5 percent; William Lehman (D.Flo,) 89; Elliott Levitas (D.Go.) 68; Abner Mikvo (D.III.) who retired in September, 91; Dan Glickman (D.Kans.) 47; Gladys Spell-man (D.Md.) 63; Lester Wolff (D.NY) 74; Benjamin Rosenthol (D. NY) 68; James Scheuer (D. NY)84; Elizabeth Holtzman (D.NY) 84; Benjamin Gilman (R.NY) 53; William Green (R.NY) 68; Willis Grodison (R.Ohio) 16; Marc Marks (R.Pa.) 32; and Martin Frost (D.Tex.) 37 percent.
Of the 127 House members — about two-sevenths of the chamber’s total — who voted pro-ADA at least two out of three times, 16 are Jewish — a factor of about two-thirds of their total membership. No Jewish member was among the 24 recorded in the House having a zero record by ADA’s standards. Only five voted less than half the time for ADA points of view.
No Jewish Senator was included among the 30 — close to a third of the Senate’s membership whose — record was less than 21 percent by ADA reckoning. Among the 19 domestic measures surveyed was Metzenbaum’s amendment to increase budget authority In fiscal year 1980, 1981 and 1982 for nutritional programs for older Americans. His amendment was approved 68-21.
In the House, Kramer introduced the amendment to allow elected officials to veto VIS projects within their jurisdictions. Kramer’s amendment, opposed by ADA, carried 229-178. The ADA-backed offered by Weiss to reduce the fiscal year 1980 defense spending by $1 billion in budget authority and $355 million in outlays and to transfer those funds to selected human needs programs was rejected 92-321.
The ADA report noted that Zorinsky supported the bipartisan effort in the Senate to block restoration of U.S. military training to Guatemala, while Wolff heid “a major hearing on the continuing famine” in Indonesia related to opposition to military aid to that southeast Asian country which is warring against East Timor. The ADA supported both the Zorinsky and Wolff actions.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
