[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 24 (Tuesday, February 7, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H1294-H1295]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  SUPPORT OUR AFFIRMATIVE ACTION LAWS

  (Mr. STOKES asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 
 [[Page H1295]] minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. STOKES. Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my strong support for the 
affirmative action laws of the United States. Within the last two 
decades, affirmative action has been the primary tool that has allowed 
minority and women workers to break through the many barriers of 
employment discrimination.
  Despite the steps our Nation has taken to move forward in the area of 
affirmative action, we are now faced with a new onslaught on civil 
rights, as evidenced by the recent statements of a Republican Senate 
leader. In a Washington Post article published yesterday, this 
Republican Senate leader is quoted as asserting that affirmative action 
has caused some Americans to ``Have to pay'' for discrimination 
practiced ``before they were born.'' A congressional leader who opposes 
affirmative action should realize that jobs do not belong specifically 
to one race of people. Black Americans born in this country, also have 
a contract with America. That contract, by virtue of birth, is rooted 
in both the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.
  The truth of affirmative action programs is that they do not grant 
preferential treatment to selected Americans, but provide for a means 
of equal opportunity employment for all members of our society.


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