Jewish ‘agenda’ Fared Well in First Session of Congress

While important battles still lie ahead, Jewish officials view the recently concluded first session of the 103rd Congress with a sense of accomplishment.

On one domestic issue after another, this year Jewish groups saw long-awaited goals transformed into legislative realities.

“Many issues that were high on our priority list for five, six, seven, eight years, we finally saw enacted this year,” Mark Pelavin, Washington representative of the American Jewish Congress, said this week.

Pelavin’s words were echoed by others in the community, many of whom were frustrated on domestic issues during the Reagan and Bush years.

Among the domestic bills backed by Jewish groups and making their way into law this year were the landmark Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the Brady gun control bill, and the Family and Medical Leave Act.

“The nice thing about it was that these weren’t Pyrrhic victories but were real gains made for real people,” Sammie Moshenberg, Washington representative of the National Council of Jewish Women, said this week.

The new laws’ “impact will be felt immediately,” she said.

On the international side, in a year when foreign aid was an unpopular topic, Congress passed a bill maintaining Israel’s $3 billion a year in U.S. aid.

Congress also approved a large aid package for Russia, which is home to at least 1.5 million Jews.

In addition to foreign aid, Congress passed legislation urging an end to the Arab League economic boycott of Israel.

Many Jewish officials here credit President Clinton with creating a climate that made it easier for some of these issues, at least those dealing with domestic concerns, to pass.

CLINTON DOMESTIC AGENDA PLEASES JEWS

Clinton, who received about 80 percent of the Jewish vote last year, has a domestic agenda more in line with that of many Jewish groups than his predecessors had.

With both Congress and the White House now controlled by one party — the Democrats — some in the community had a sense last January that some of the gridlock afflicting Washington could be broken.

And with the success of this session, “the Jewish community and other Americans can look to Congress and say there’s a possibility for moving ahead,” said Abba Cohen, Washington representative of Agudath Israel.

This year, issues backed by many Jewish groups such as the Family and Medical Leave Act and the “motor voter” act, which facilitates voter registration, were signed into law.

In February, Clinton signed the Family and Medical Leave Act, allowing unpaid leave to workers with new children or seriously ill relatives.

“Starting the year with the Family and Medical Leave Act put us all at such a great starting point,” Reva Price, assistant director for international, governmental, and Israel affairs at B’nai B’rith, said this week.

Mainstream Jewish groups, most of whom support abortion rights, also hailed congressional passage of legislation allowing the District of Columbia to finance abortions for poor women.

National service for young people was another issue backed by many in the Jewish community that received strong support from the Clinton administration and was signed into law.

This year’s budget also contained anti-poverty measures supported by the Jewish community.

Such provisions contain “the moral visio people were hoping for from the Clinton administration,” Rabbi David Saperstein of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism said this week.

And last month, as Congress was winding up its session, it passed the Brady handgun control bill. The measure, which calls for a five-day waiting period before the purchase of a handgun, has long been a priority of Jewish groups.

Perhaps the biggest domestic issue on the Jewish agenda was the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, also signed into law last month.

“It will be viewed by many as a landmark piece of legislation,” Jess Hordes, Washington representative of the Anti-Defamation League, said this week.

The law, which garnered support from a large coalition of religious groups, protects religion from government infringement. It reversed a 1990 Supreme Court ruling that had made it easier for states to pass laws banning certain religious practices.

There were other issues backed by the Jewish community that made progress this year on Capitol Hill although they have yet to be signed into law.

One of these, strongly backed by the ADL, is a bill that would increase federal penalties for hate crimes. That measure has been passed by both houses of Congress.

This congressional term also was noteworthy for the absence of some staunch supporters, such as former Rep. Stephen Solarz (D-N.Y.) who was defeated last year.

But Jewish officials here said Rep. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) had picked up the lead this session on issues including the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

And Jewish groups are looking ahead to a host of other issues in the next session.

Health care reform is on the agenda when Congress returns in January, as is welfare reform, foreign aid reform, immigration reform and so-called “religious accommodation” legislation.

“Although the Religious Freedom Restoration Act has been enacted, the battle to protect free exercise liberties of all Americans is not over,” Richard Foltin, legislative director for the American Jewish Committee, said this week.