Edwards, Hon. Don, a Representative in Congress from the State of Califor- nia, and chairman, Subcommittee on Civil and Constitutional Rights Allen, William Barclay, Chairman, U.S. Civil Rights Commission Berry, Mary Frances, Commissioner, U.S. Civil Rights Commission Buckley, Esther Gonzalez-Arroyo, Commissioner, U.S. Civil Rights Chan, Sherwin T.S., Commissioner, U.S. Civil Rights Commission 49 54 Flemming, Arthur S., chairman, Citizens' Commission on Civil Rights 109 36 85 103 128 114 LETTERS, STATEMENTS, ETC., SUBMITTED FOR THE HEARING Simmons, Althea T.L., director, Washington Bureau, NAACP Allen, William Barclay, Chairman, U.S. Civil Rights Commission: Berry, Mary Frances, Commissioner, U.S. Civil Rights Commission: Prepared Buckley, Esther Gonzalez-Arroyo, Commissioner, U.S. Commission: Prepared statement Chan, Sherwin T.S., Commissioner, U.S. Civil Rights Commission: Prepared McClure, Phyllis, director, division of policy and information, NAACP Legal 131 REAUTHORIZATION OF THE UNITED STATES COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 1989 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON CIVIL AND CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS, COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY, Washington, DC. The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2 p.m., in room 2141, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Don Edwards (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Present: Representatives Don Edwards, Robert W. Kastenmeier, Patricia Schroeder, F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr., and Craig T. James. OPENING STATEMENT OF CHAIRMAN EDWARDS Mr. EDWARDS. Subcommittee will come to order. This afternoon the subcommittee begins hearings on the question of reauthorization of the United States Commission on Civil Rights. The Commission was originally established by the Civil Rights Act of 1957 as a temporary six member commission charged with studying discrimination and denials of equal protection and investigating specific allegations of discrimination. For 25 years, the Commission proved to be the premiere Federal factfinding agency in the field of civil rights. It held numerous hearings and consultations over the years to gather facts and information. Its detailed reports and analyses vividly illustrated the problems of discrimination in our Nation and they were instrumental in getting enacted the great civil rights acts of the 1960's. In 1983, the Commission was due to be extended for another period, as had occurred on seven previous occasions. In an unprecedented move, President Reagan tried to pack the Commission with his appointees which led to congressional stalemate. Compromise legislation eventually passed reconstituting the Commission as an eight member panel, half appointed by the President and half by Congress. Since this Commission was reauthorized in 1983, this subcommittee has been concerned with the operation of the Commission and has raised a number of questions. Has the Commission continued its historic factfinding mission? Has the Commission continued to monitor Federal civil rights enforcement? Has the Commission utilized its State advisory committees, its self-proclaimed eyes and ears in the States? Has the Commission been managed in a responsible manner and has the Commission retained the confidence of the President and (1) the executive branch, the Congress and the public and retained its credibility as a strong and independent factfinding agency? During the past 5 years, this subcommittee held a number of hearings on these questions. We looked into the operations of the State advisory committees. We also looked at the findings of the GAO audit of the operations of the Commission and documented serious managerial problems. Instead of taking steps to address and correct the problems documented by the General Accounting Office, the Commission continued to question the motivation of the Congress in requesting the audit and the integrity and fairness of the GAO. The results of the hearings were most disturbing. Our findings I believe led the Appropriation Committees to take steps to severely curtail and restrict the Commission's appropriation beginning in 1987. Despite the cutback and restrictions the Commission has spent a sizable amount, over $55 million, during this authorization. For $55 million, what have been the accomplishments? Looking back is not the primary purpose of these hearings. We want to look forward to whether there should be a future to the Commission on Civil Rights and if so, what the future should look like and so we welcome our witnesses today. We're pleased that so many Commissioners could join us to share their individual views on reauthorization. We dearly look forward to hearing all of you today. Before I introduce our first panel, I will yield to the distinguished gentleman from Wisconsin, Mr. Sensenbrenner. Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I would like to thank the Commissioners for taking the time to appear before the subcommittee. I am however deeply disappointed in the infighting among the Commissioners as to the future direction of the Commission. No bipartisan agency or commission will ever agree on everything. That is certainly true but for this Commission to disagree and fight over all issues and then air their fight in the press is unconscionable and the fighting is bipartisan, ladies and gentlemen. The testimony by the Commissioners here today indicates the lack of any coordination or management by Chairman Allen and in addition indicates the absence of the spirit of cooperation among the members. To present a draft bill to this subcommittee to change the composition of the Commission before ever getting a consensus of the Commissioners shows this subcommittee nothing and is a waste of our time. There's no suggested direction and it's simply bickering. I will not be an arbitrator for the Commissioners' personality fights and nor should this subcommittee and nor will I consider with any credibility any draft proposal by the so-called staff of the Commission. That's not what they're paid by the taxpayers to do, ladies and gentlemen. I'm looking forward to working with the administration and the majority on this subcommittee to develop a proposal that can be supported and enacted into law. What has come up out of the Commission in my opinion can neither get the support nor will it be enacted into law. Before we can be prepared to take directions on a new Commission, we need maturity in leadership from the Commission itself. Reading the newspapers over the last several months has made this Commission into a laughingstock and a waste of the taxpayers' money. The Commission must work together to find solutions to the problems that it was created to look into or simply stated, there will be no Commission. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. EDWARDS. Thank you, Mr. Sensenbrenner. Mr. Kastenmeier. Mr. KASTENMEIER. Mr. Chairman, I want to congratulate you for calling this hearing. It is a clearly indicated and necessary hearing because the future as has been indicated. In a sense of the Civil Rights Commission this is probably the most fundamental hearing we have had in many years and I appreciate the chairman calling it. I think it is obviously very important. Mr. EDWARDS. Thank you, Mr. Kastenmeier. [Witnesses sworn.] Mr. EDWARDS. Mrs. Schroeder. Mrs. SCHROEDER. That's OK, Mr. Chairman. I just wanted to thank you for having the hearing too and I do think it's terribly important and I salute you for keeping the focus on some of the things that have been going on and we do hope there is a new day. Mr. EDWARDS. Thank you, Mrs. Schroeder. We welcome all of you. My understanding is that the Commission does not yet have a position on reauthorization so we're interested in your individual opinions. Chairman Allen, why don't we begin with you. Welcome. STATEMENT OF WILLIAM BARCLAY ALLEN, CHAIRMAN, U.S. CIVIL RIGHTS COMMISSION Mr. ALLEN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and I thank each of the members of the subcommittee for giving us the opportunity to come speak with you. You have my written testimony and I will not elaborate on what's presented there in writing. I will take just a moment further however to say to you how important I think the task you've undertaken is. It may indeed be the case that you see reflected before you a disparity of views and a fundamental lack of organization but I pray you not to imagine that that reflects this country's necessities. That may reflect something entirely independent of the urgency of civil rights in the United States. You of course have established a Commission in the past in order to assist you in making precisely these kinds of determinations. A Commission in the future must do precisely that. How we get there will depend on many conversations including this one. I hope we shall all participate in those conversations with that spirit of inquiry and generosity which is needed in order to bring us to the kind of consensus which prevailed in 1957 when first this enterprise was launched. I want to say a further word about the character of the mission. We've often heard it said that the expression, a colorblind Constitution, is not part of American law or history but rather merely a passing phrase in a dissenting court opinion. We've heard it said that it has not been established in the history of this Nation. I would like to point you to a still more vener |