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 Battle Over Highway Funding Ends With Stopgap Bill (11-18-97)
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Text of S-1173: Intermodal Transportation Act of 1997
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Affirmative Action Program Preserved In Highway Bill
WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, March 6) -- Affirmative-action foes suffered a loss Friday as the Senate voted to preserve a program that awards up to 10 percent of federal highway construction contracts to minority and female-owned businesses. The Senate tabled an amendment offered by Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), to repeal the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program in a 58-37 vote. If the Senate had adopted the measure it would have been attached to a massive $173 million transportation bill that would fund highway projects over the next six years. President Bill Clinton opposed the anti-affirmative action effort and administration officials had indicated that the president might veto the whole bill if the amendment was included. McConnell had wanted to end the 'set-asides' and replace them with state sponsored outreach and technical services programs. He argued the current law is a plain and simple quota for "a preferred group of citizens."Arguing that rewarding contracts on the basis of sex or race was unconstitutional, McConnel said, "We must stand up for the Constitution. We must guarantee equal protection of the laws for every citizen of this country, without regard to race and gender," he said during the floor debate. But Sen. John Chafee (R-R.I.), the chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee responsible for pushing through the highway bill, said this bill was not the appropriate platform for a showdown on affirmative action. "That is just too high a price to pay," Chafee said. Supporters of the 'set-asides' said program was still necessary. Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) said before the program was started 20 years ago, women and minority construction firms were able to get less than two percent of highway construction contracts. "This is not a quota," said Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) "It is a set-aside of a specific amount of money, but there is no specific direction on who gets that money." The Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan in 1983, and sets a goal of awarding 10 percent of federal construction contracts to traditionally disadvantaged groups such as women and minorities. Earlier in the week, the Senate approved an amendment to the transportation bill aimed at curbing drunk drivers. It would require states to lower the blood alcohol level to .08 percent. The Associated Press contributed to this report. |
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Friday March 6, 1998
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