House Adopts Civil Rights Bill, but May Have Lost Jewish Backer

In adopting an amended civil rights bill on Wednesday, the House of Representatives may have unwittingly lost the support of one of the first Jewish groups to back the controversial legislation.

The bill, which now goes to the Senate, was approved 273-158, after it was amended to explicitly outlaw the use of hiring and promotion quotas by employers in certain circumstances.

But the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith expressed concern Wednesday that the new language may, in fact, imply that the use of quotas in other circumstances is permissible.

The House Democratic leadership added the language in the hope of winning more votes for the legislation, which President Bush has said he will veto.

The president contends that if the bill were adopted, employers would institute quotas to protect themselves from lawsuits filed by minority applicants turned down for jobs or promotions.

But the Democratic leadership felt the new language, while not swaying the president, might win additional votes for the legislation, which could be used to override a presidential veto.

As it turned out, the Democratic leadership on Wednesday was not able to muster more than the same 273 votes the civil rights bill won last year, which was not enough to override a veto.

IMPLIES SOME OUOATS ARE PERMISSIBLE

Ironically, until this week, ADL had consistently disputed the president’s assertion that the bill would lead to quotas. It appears to have changed its mind because of the specificity of the new language barring the use of quotas.

Specifically, the ADL found that “the bill’s too-narrow definition of quotas is clearly subject to the unacceptable interpretation that quotas are permissible as long as they involve only qualified individuals.”

This concern was also expressed by Agudath Israel of America and the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, which unlike the ADL, had found many things wrong with the original bill.

Abba Cohen, director of Agudath Israel’s Washington office, said Wednesday that the a-mended bill could be “susceptible” to an interpretation that only quotas that result in hiring unqualified people would be illegal.

House Majority Leader Richard Gephardt CD-Mo.) engaged in a colloquy, or formal dialogue, on the House floor Tuesday with Rep. Jack Brooks (D-Texas) aimed at preventing this interpretation.

“The language forbids quotas being applied to any employment situation — whether it would involve qualified or unqualified persons,” said Brooks, who is chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

This colloquy, in which the ADL, Agudath Israel and other groups had an input, was designed to give the courts a record of “legislative intent” should the issue ever come before them.

The ADL also expressed concern that the amended bill approves previous voluntary or court-ordered agreements instituting racial preferences. The original bill was neutral on this subject.

“Our continued support will depend on modifications to the bill which address our concerns,” the ADL said in a statement signed by Melvin Salberg, the group’s national chairman, and Abraham Foxman, its national director.

AJCONGRESS WELCOMES BILL

Jess Hordes, director of the ADL’s Washington office, said the league would be working to see that, as the bill is modified in the Senate, it will be clear in its prohibition on quotas and will not approve racial preferences.

But Mark Pelavin, Washington representative of the American Jewish Congress, welcomed the bill, observing that “there is a broad consensus that something must be done” to override five 1989 Supreme Court decisions making it harder for victims of discrimination to sue employers.

But Pelavin stressed that the AJCongress also will be pressing the Senate to ensure that “the bill’s anti-quota language is in fact anti-quota language.”

While Bush maintains that the legislation is a “quota bill,” the House Democratic leaders have stressed that the bill for the first time gives women and religious minorities the right to seek compensatory and punitive damages for discrimination. But the amended version, in an effort to get more votes, limited the amount of money women can receive in damages to $150,000.

Before adopting the bill Wednesday, the House rejected two other versions Tuesday. It defeated the Bush administration’s bill, as well as one backed by women members of the House and the Congressional Black Caucus, which would have removed the $150,000 cap.

Jewish organizations are still studying a bill introduced by nine moderate Republican senators, led by Sen. John Danforth (R-Mo.), aimed at a compromise between the administration and the Democrats. The bill would allow compensatory but not punitive damages for victims of sexual or religious discrimination.

Meanwhile, Jewish groups on both sides of the issue have praised two new provisions in the amended bill. One would ban race-norming, in which employment aptitude tests are adjusted on the basic of race. The other extends federal employment discrimination protection to Americans working overseas for U.S. companies.