[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 118 (Thursday, July 20, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S10416]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      UNANIMOUS-CONSENT AGREEMENT

  Mr. MACK. Mr. President, I have a consent agreement that has been 
approved on both sides of the aisle on a matter other than this bill.
  Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, as some of my colleagues may know, I am in 
the process of preparing legislation that is designed to get the 
Federal Government out of the business of granting group-preferences. I 
will be introducing this legislation next week.
  This legislation will stand for a simple proposition--that the 
Federal Government should neither discriminate against, nor grant 
preferences to, individuals on the basis of race, color, gender, or 
ethnic background.
  Whether it is employment, or contracting, or any other federally 
conducted program, our Government in Washington should work to bring 
its citizens together,
 not to divide us. Our focus should be protecting the rights of 
individuals, not the rights of certain groups.

  The amendment offered by my distinguished colleague from Texas is 
consistent with the approach embodied in the bill I will be introducing 
next week. And of course, I look forward to working with him as well 
with all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle.
  Rather than the piecemeal approach of amending each of the 
appropriations bills, I would prefer to address this very, very 
important issue more thoroughly and as a separate matter--and that's 
the point of my bill--to serve as a starting point for this discussion.
  This legislation may not be perfect, but it is my hope that it can 
act as the basis
 for a serious, rational, and, yes, optimistic dialog on one of the 
most contentious issues of our time.

  Of course, our country's history has many sad chapters--slavery, Jim 
Crow, separate but equal. And, of course, discrimination persists 
today. We do not live in a color-blind society. I understand this.
  But, Mr. President, fighting discrimination should not be an excuse 
for abandoning the color-blind ideal. The goal of expanding opportunity 
should not be used to divide Americans by race, by gender, or by ethnic 
background. Discrimination is wrong, and preferential treatment is 
wrong, as well.
  So, Mr. President, our goal should be to provide equal opportunity--
but not through quotas, set-asides,
 and other group preferences that are inimical to the principles upon 
which our country was founded.

  A relevant civil rights agenda means conscientiously enforcing the 
antidiscrimination laws. It means outreach and recruitment. And it 
means knocking down regulatory barriers to economic opportunity, 
including repeal of the discriminatory Davis-Bacon Act; enacting school 
choice programs for low income innercity families; and fighting the 
scourge of violent crime that is unquestionably one of the biggest 
causes of poverty today.
  This is the agenda upon which dreams can be built--and it is an 
agenda that this Congress should be relentlessly pursuing.


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