[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 117 (Wednesday, July 19, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10315-S10316]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                           AFFIRMATIVE ACTION

  Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I want to speak for just a few moments 
in reaction to the speech made this morning by President Clinton on the 
subject of affirmative action. The principle that every individual 
should have an equal opportunity to rise as high as his or her ability 
will take them, regardless of race, gender, religion, nationality, or 
other group characteristic, is a defining ideal of our society. We must 
be very wary of any deviation from that principle, no matter how well 
intended. That is why it is clearly time to review all Government 
affirmative action programs in which an individual's membership in a 
group, whether defined by race, gender, national origin, or other 
similar characteristics, may determine whether he or she will be 
awarded a Government benefit.
  Mr. President, while America has clearly not yet realized the 
national 

[[Page S 10316]]
ideal of equal opportunity for all, it is important to note that we 
have made considerable progress over the three decades since President 
Johnson issued the first Executive order calling for affirmative action 
to end job discrimination. I think we should be proud of that 
progress--long overdue as it may have been. Every President since 
President Johnson, and every Supreme Court since then, has acknowledged 
that affirmative action programs were intended to be temporary. In the 
debate that is ongoing now, and on which the President made a major 
statement today, I believe we should pause to acknowledge not only our 
continuing commitment to equal opportunity and the work we still have 
to do to realize it for all Americans, but also to acknowledge our 
success in overcoming what was not only a legally sanctioned system of 
discrimination in our country but also ingrained biases about race and 
gender which were extremely widespread in our country. We have come a 
long way from those days. Today, poll after poll shows a very high and 
broad national consensus about ensuring equal opportunity for all, 
which, of course, was what the civil rights movement was all about.
  Unfortunately, Mr. President, some poorly conceived and implemented 
affirmative action programs have done more to disturb and confuse that 
broadly accepted national consensus about equal opportunity than they 
have done to help their intended beneficiaries. Affirmative action is 
dividing us in ways its creators could never have intended because most 
Americans who do support equal opportunity, and are not biased, do not 
think it is fair to discriminate against some Americans as a way to 
make up for historic discrimination against other Americans. For, after 
all, if you discriminate in favor of one group on the basis of race, 
you thereby discriminate against another group on the basis of race. In 
discussing this subject the other day, a young man offered me this 
simple wisdom that we all learned from our mothers and fathers: ``Two 
wrongs,'' he said, ``don't make a right.''
  President Clinton deserves our praise for his willingness to wade 
into this fray and examine whether affirmative action programs are 
advancing our goal of equal opportunity in a manner that is consistent 
with our ideals and our Constitution. In particular, I am encouraged by 
the President's expressed commitment to implement the Supreme Court's 
recent Adarand decision on affirmative action. The Department of 
Justice has informed all Federal agencies that every program employing 
race-based or similar criteria must be rigorously examined to ensure 
that it is narrowly tailored to meet a compelling governmental interest 
that cannot otherwise be achieved. If a program does not meet that 
test, it must be significantly changed, or it must be eliminated.
  In my own view, Mr. President, most Government programs in which 
race, gender, or similar status are dominant factors, will not survive 
the Supreme Court's new Adarand test. If that is in fact the case, we 
must work together to find new and, I would hope, more broadly 
acceptable ways to achieve the goal of promoting equal opportunity for 
all--particularly our poorest neighbors. I accept the premise, as I 
believe most Americans do, that there is still much work to be done. We 
must be prepared to devote more resources to enforcing our civil rights 
laws vigorously. We need to direct our attention, energy, and money to 
helping poor people, regardless of race or ethnic background, by making 
greater investments in education and job training, economic 
opportunity, and empowerment. Doing so would not only be more effective 
in achieving our national ideal of equal opportunity for all, but I 
think would restore a sense of traditional American fair play to this 
field that, sadly, for too many has been lost.
  Some critics of affirmative action are simultaneously urging the 
dismantling of programs that are keys to helping poor people gain the 
education and skills that will make equal opportunity real for them. I 
will join the President, as I have before, in fighting both to preserve 
and reform, where necessary, those programs, and in finding ways to 
address the profound problems faced by those who are victims not only 
of discrimination, but of poverty.
  I invite all our colleagues within this Chamber, in the House, and 
all people of good will throughout the country, who are committed to 
making our society as fair as possible--whatever their party 
affiliation or views on affirmative action--to join this important 
effort in the months and years ahead.


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