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DAILY 03-02-10 MD RE A15 BLACK
TUESDAY, MARCH 2, 2010
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A health reform tactic that degrades democracy
Why one-size
fund a new entitlement we can’t afford. was ever intended for the purpose of support — demonstrating why recon-
by Orrin Hatch This is attractive to proponents because writing this kind of substantive reform ciliation was not even attempted. That
job relief
it sharply limits debate and amendments legislation.” They are both right. precedent should carry the day here.
A
merica’s Founders gave us a system to a mere 20 hours and would allow pas- Reconciliation was designed to bal- Rejected at first by a majority of
of governance designed to limit sage with only 51 votes (as opposed to the ance the federal budget. Both parties senators as an inappropriate way to pass
government power and maximize 60 needed to overcome a procedural hur- have used the process, but only when the health care, reconciliation was revived doesn’t fit all
liberty. The legislative branch is different dle). But the Constitution intends the op- bills in question stuck close to dealing after Scott Brown’s Senate victory in
from the executive, and the Senate is dif- posite process, especially for a bill that with the budget. In instances in which January. Confronted with the incon-
ferent from the House. No single branch would affect one-sixth of the American other substantive legislation was venient truth of an electoral rebuke, the by John A. Powell
has all the power. That can be frustrating economy. included, the legis- president is pivoting to this tactic that
for those with ambitious agendas, but This use of recon- lation had signif- polls show a growing majority of the
everyone benefits by respecting those ciliation to jam
Reconciliation was
icant bipartisan American people oppose. Some of my
checks and balances even as we fight through this legis-
intended to help balance
support. For colleagues, and others, have wrongly A
s President Obama tackles the finan-
cial crisis, his policies must address
the economic distress unevenly af-
over policies. lation, against the will example, Congress argued that using reconciliation to fecting Americans. Assessments of the im-
While the House is designed for ac- of the American
the federal budget, not as a
used reconciliation change only parts of this enormously pact cannot be reduced to abstract averag-
tion, the Senate is designed for delibera- people, would be
way for one party to pass a
to carry welfare unpopular bill would not be an abuse of es or gross aggregates. Jobless rates and
tion. That is why Senate rules and pro- unprecedented in reform in 1996, the process. But if the only way to pass other economic measures have human di-
cedures give a minority of senators the scope. And the havoc
sweeping, unpopular bill.
which ultimately this $2.5 trillion bill is through mensions that vary dramatically across the
power to slow or even stop legislation. wrought would passed with 78 reconciliation, then this continues to be nation.
Both parties do it when in the minority, threaten our system of votes. And when an abuse that stifles dissent and badly The White House has two responses to
and both find it frustrating when they checks and balances, corrode the reconciliation was used to create the undermines our constitutional checks this issue: one, that the president cannot
are in the majority. But such checks are legislative process, degrade our system of Children’s Health Insurance Program and balances. focus solely on African Americans; he
central to the nature of the institution government and damage the prospects that I authored with Sen. Edward M. The president said in his State of the must be concerned with all Americans.
and to the Senate’s place in our constitu- of bipartisanship. Kennedy in 1997, the program got 85 Union address that “we were sent here to The other response suggests that African
tional system. These rules temper major- Less than a year ago, the longest- votes and served as the glue to passing serve our citizens, not our ambitions. So Americans and other communities of color
ity power and generate strong incentives serving member of the Senate, West the first balanced budget in 40 years. let’s show the American people we can — disproportionately affected by fore-
to develop mainstream legislation that Virginia Democrat Robert Byrd, said, “I Both plans were negotiated with, and do it together.” I agree. Poll after poll tells closures, lack of health insurance and job-
commands broad, bipartisan support. was one of the authors of the legislation signed into law by, President Bill Clinton. us that is what Americans want. To do lessness — will be the primary ben-
To impose the will of some Democrats that created the budget ‘reconciliation’ But when President George W. Bush that we must start by taking the recon- eficiaries of a universal economic recovery
and to circumvent bipartisan opposition, process in 1974, and I am certain that and Congress created the prescription ciliation procedure off the table. Let’s program for all Americans.
President Obama seems to be encourag- putting health-care reform . . . legislation drug benefit in 2003, we Republicans in move forward instead with bipartisan While both responses appear to have
ing Congress to use the “reconciliation” on a freight train through Congress is an the Senate decided against using recon- legislation that doesn’t abuse the merit, they also have flaws. The first state-
process, an arcane budget procedure, to outrage that must be resisted.” Senate ciliation because it would have made the Senate’s rules but that does address the ment suggests that to be concerned about
ram through the Senate a multitrillion- Budget Committee Chairman Kent plan partisan and condemned this challenges our country faces. the condition of African Americans as a
dollar health-care bill that raises taxes, Conrad, also a Democrat, said last important legislation to failure. Instead, whole would be too narrow and parochial,
increases costs and cuts Medicare to March, “I don’t believe reconciliation the bill garnered significant bipartisan The writer is a Republican senator from Utah. similar to the rhetorical assertion that
President Ronald Reagan used when he
opposed civil rights legislation as a special
POST PARTISAN
interest. The second statement’s flaw lies
in its claim that universal remedies can be
addressed without pandering to the
Excerpts from The Post’s opinion blog, updated daily at
washingtonpost.com/postpartisan
interest of one group or ignoring the
concerns of others.
In reality, the goal of the civil rights
CHARLES LANE table as of early January, and then movement, like the goal of a fair recovery,
derived from that a range of 250,000 to
is universal. On most issues, the goal of
The flaw in
400,000 additional jobs per year over
blacks or Latinos is no different than the
10 years. That’s pretty modest in a total
goal of whites. What stands apart are the
labor force of more than 150 million,
varied needs of each group that must be
Pelosi’s logic
and even these small numbers
met to reach these goals, not merely
probably suffer from the spurious
because of race but also because they have
Was anyone else struck by House precision inherent in all such estimates
different opportunities and structures for
Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s argument in fa- — but the underlying theory is
advancement.
vor of health-care reform at last week’s plausible.
Despite the billions spent to rescue the
summit? To hear Pelosi tell it, reform is In fact, a main reason to worry about
financial sector, today’s economic climate
all about jobs, jobs, jobs: “In its life,” Pe- health-care costs at all is that the ever-
offers little for the average American to
losi asserted, reform “will create 4 mil- growing share of gross domestic pro-
cheer about. The housing bubble that
lion jobs, 400,000 jobs almost immedi- duct devoted to health care diverts
contributed so greatly to the recent
ately. Jobs, again, in the health-care in- resources from other productive
economic collapse hit blacks and Latinos
dustry but in the entrepreneurial world endeavors. We don’t want the country
particularly hard. Many in those commun-
as well.” Now that’s a novel view: health to go the way of General Motors, which
ities would have qualified for primary, or
care as economic stimulus! Let’s put went bankrupt largely because its
traditional, loans but were systematically
Americans to work puncturing one an- revenue from making autos could no
victims of predatory lending. While
other’s veins and cleaning bedpans. longer fund health benefits for union
unemployment in January was at 9.7
Actually, Pelosi was making a more workers and retirees.
percent for the nation overall, among
sophisticated point, even if she did not Here’s my problem, though: For
black or Latino populations the rates are
express it very clearly. To the extent Pelosi’s scenario to pan out, health-care
16.5 and 12.6 percent, respectively. How do
that the cost of providing health insur- reform must actually produce sub-
we make sense of government jobs pro-
ance is a deterrent to hiring, reducing stantial cost savings. And that is more
grams that help lower the unemployment
that cost would enable private-sector doubtful now that President Obama
ALIOSHA MARQUEZ/ASSOCIATED PRESS
rate for the overall population, while
employers to do more hiring — other has offered a version that postpones the Soldiers stand guard in the streets of Talcahuano, Chile, on Sunday.
unemployment continues to rise for
things being equal. And so, if health strongest cost-containment provision
people of color?
reform lowered costs, it would boost in the Senate bill — the “Cadillac tax” ANNE APPLEBAUM
Consider a historical example of this
jobs. on high-value insurance plans — until
phenomenon: President Bill Clinton
Pelosi’s claim was based on a study by 2018. The president did this largely to
hailed the G.I. Bill as one of the greatest
the Center for American Progress, appease organized labor and its allies
creators of the American middle class. Yet
which assigned a notional value of in the House Democratic caucus — led
In Chile, a democracy because whites and people of color were
savings to the health-care plans on the by Speaker Pelosi.
situated differently, this policy was of
much greater benefit to whites. The
majority of G.I.s were white; 98 percent
RICHARD COHEN
built to survive quakes
were male. The direct benefit of this policy
to women was negligible. Even though this
Apartheid? Not Israel
T
o say that Santiago looks far bet- every structure met the standards,
bill was seen as universal and race- and
ter today than Port-au-Prince is but many did. And residents of those
gender-neutral, it played into an arrange-
of no comfort to the people of that did not will have some recourse:
ment that was already heavily gender- and
Chile. It will not rebuild their ruined In the city of Concepcion, residents of
race-biased. Through direct government
T
oward the end of last year, Jimmy know, that it is a calumny. Interestingly,
houses, nor will it bring back their a new building that collapsed are
intervention, disparities were widened
Carter apologized for some of his they do not use it for Saudi Arabia,
dead. It will not reconstruct the dam- threatening to sue the builders,
between whites and people of color, and
very harsh statements about Is- which maintains as perfect a system of
aged airport or mobilize the field hos- according to one report. The fact that
between women and men.
rael. In an “open letter to the Jewish gender apartheid as can be imagined —
pitals and emergency supplies needed they are even discussing this option
More recently, stimulus programs
community” — and with a vagueness women can’t even drive, never mind
to keep the death toll from rising fur- implies that these apartment owners
emphasizing “shovel-ready” projects have
that ill becomes him — he airily men- vote — or elsewhere in the Arab world,
ther. It will not inspire charitable do- believe they have a court system that
poured money into a construction
tioned criticisms that “stigmatize Is- where Palestinians sometimes have
nations from around the world. works, a legal system that could force
industry that continues to be heavily
rael” but omitted his own contribution: fewer rights than they do in Israel.
Yet the comparison is unavoidable, builders to pay compensation, and a
staffed by white men. How is such an effort
the implication that Israel is, like the A recent op-ed on Israel in the Finan-
which is why so many people have al- building regulatory system that is
focusing on the needs of all Americans?
racist South Africa of old, an “apart- cial Times employs the word apartheid
ready made it: After all, two large and generally respected. Haiti has none of
Communities are situated differently in
heid” state. several times. Some of the time it seems
unusually debilitating earthquakes the above.
relationship to pathways for opportunity.
Carter used the term in his book “Pal- to be applied to the West Bank, but oth-
have struck not far from the capital cit- Though it is not especially
Focusing on a single factor will seldom
estine: Peace Not Apartheid.” It could er times it is applied to Israel proper.
ies of two Latin American countries fashionable at the moment to note
address the need or fashion an approach
be argued that he meant the label to ap- Either way, this shoe doesn’t fit. (Secu-
within a very short time. In both coun- these things, Chile, unlike Haiti, is
that acknowledges these differences.
ply only to the West Bank, but even so rity concerns are not rooted in racism.)
tries, political leaders were left strug- also a working democracy. In recent
Detroit, once described as the “arsenal
the use of the term was incorrect and The author of the piece is Henry Sieg-
gling for metaphors to convey the ex- elections, the center-left ruling party
of democracy,” is fighting for its life. And as
deliberatively provocative. Carter was man, a harsh critic of Israeli policies
tent of the catastrophe. The Chilean lost to the center-right opposition for
we grudgingly bail out General Motors, we
waving the bloody shirt of racism, and and a former executive director of the
president, Michelle Bachelet, called the first time in two decades. Power is
do precious little for Detroit — a struggling
he knew it. American Jewish Congress, so anti-
the earthquake “an emergency unpar- expected to change hands without
Rust Belt city in a struggling state in a
What can be said about others who Semitism is not the issue here — just
alleled in the history of Chile.” The incident when the new president,
struggling region. When the governor of
apply the term to Israel in general? No sound judgment. Sometimes impa-
Haitian president, René Préval, com- Sebastián Piñera, is inaugurated next
Michigan reaches out for help from the
apology has come from them — and the tience can lead to imprudence.
pared the destruction in Haiti “to the week. Although Piñera is a billion-
White House, it would be absurd to
way things are going, none will be But anti-Semitism is not so easily dis-
damage you would see if the country aire, he directed his campaign at
respond with the notion that aid must be
forthcoming. The use of the word has missed with others. This is “Israeli
was bombed for 15 days.” small-business owners, promised to
concerned with all American states or
become commonplace — Google “Israel Apartheid Week” on campuses across
But the effect on the respective sell off some of his assets to avoid
cities.
and apartheid” and you will see that the the world, and it is clear that what furi-
populations clearly will not be iden- conflicts of interest, and has just
The foreclosure program the admin-
two are linked in cyberspace, as love ously animates many of the protesters
tical. An earthquake always comes out appointed a cabinet that includes a
istration recently announced offers a more
and marriage are in at least one song. are not legitimate grievances but imag-
of the blue, and in that sense is always number of independent and even
targeted approach, assisting homeowners
The meaning is clear: Israel is a state inary ones. Israel is not above criticism
a piece of bad luck in the geological lot- center-left ministers. Of course, we
in Michigan and the four other states hit
where political and civil rights are and the Palestinians have their case,
tery, as my colleague David Ignatius don’t know what kind of president
hardest by the housing meltdown. Simi-
withheld on the basis of race and race but when that case is constructed out of
wrote in The Post in January. Yet the Piñera will ultimately be, but to be
larly, the jobs bill might set a universal
alone. This is not the case. lies about the Jewish state, it not only
short- and long-term aftereffects of an elected he had to appeal to millions of
goal, such as reducing unemployment to
The Israel of today and the South Af- represents a wholly unoriginal cover of
earthquake — the extent of the damage people, and not just to a wealthy,
pre-recession levels, and the unemploy-
rica of yesterday have almost nothing some old anti-Semitic ditties but also
it wreaks, the speed with which the partisan elite.
ment rate in all communities to no more
in common. In South Africa, the minor- denigrates the Palestinian cause. It
population reorganizes itself and re- In the aftermath of a natural
than 30 percent higher than the national
ity white population harshly ruled the does not need lies.
builds — have nothing to do with luck. catastrophe, this matters: To call
average. This would mean greater job
majority black population. Nonwhites As for Israel, its critics do it no good
Those who study famines have long ar- Chile a “democracy” is another way of
creation in communities hurting the most.
were denied civil rights, and in 1958, when they couch their criticism in in-
gued that they are created by bad poli- saying that Chile is a country whose
Most black Americans desperately want
they were even deprived of citizenship. sults. Years of this sort of stuff have
tics and bad economics as well as bad political leaders have to take voters’
the president to succeed, not just because
In contrast, Israeli Arabs, about one- made Israel tone-deaf to legitimate
weather: There is always food some- concerns into account. Chile’s earth-
he is black but also because it would be
fifth of the country, have the same civil criticism and exasperated with any at-
where, so if a particular country quake response will have to reflect
good for the country. We embrace many of
and political rights as do Israeli Jews. tempt to find fault. That’s why Israel re-
doesn’t have any, then there must be the same values as Chile’s famed
the universal goals that make our nation
Arabs sit in the Knesset and serve in the fused to cooperate with the South Afri-
an explanation other than “it was very pension system (designed by the
great. We acknowledge that a rising tide
military, although most are exempt can jurist Richard Goldstone when, on
hot last summer.” president-elect’s brother, José
may lift all boats. But first, you must have a
from the draft. Whatever this is — and behalf of the United Nations, he looked
A society’s ability to recover from a Piñera), which is intended to ensure
boat.
it looks suspiciously like a liberal de- into alleged war crimes. The United Na-
natural disaster is also a reflection of ordinary workers a decent retirement
Obama should be expected to address
mocracy — it cannot be apartheid. tions had once equated Zionism with
its economic and political culture. income. In the coming months, the
the disparities affecting Americans who
The West Bank, more or less under racism. After that, it was hard to care
There will be more “looting” in Chile state may not be able to help all of the
are situated differently — not because he is
Israeli military rule, is a different mat- what the United Nations thought.
this week as people struggle to survive poor who have suffered, but it cannot
black but because he is the president of all
ter. But it is not part of Israel proper, To Carter’s credit, he must have un-
in the ruins, but the Chilean army and ignore all of them indefinitely, either.
Americans.
and under every conceivable peace derstood that a hunk of his audience
police, not U.S. Marines, will control Disasters have no logic, and no
plan — including those proposed by Is- had stopped listening. He was right to
the situation. Weakened apartment political significance. But the
The writer is executive director of Kirwan
raeli governments — almost all of it will apologize, wrong not to have been more
blocks will abruptly collapse, but there recovery process that follows a
Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at
revert to the Palestinian Authority and specific and a bit late in appreciating
will be inspectors on hand to help as- disaster is always deeply political.
Ohio State University. The institute recently
become the heartland of a Palestinian the damage he’s done. Israel has its
sess which ones might be safe. Despite a stronger earthquake and
published on FairRecovery.org the report “ARRA
state. faults, (don’t get me started), but it is
Chile had regulations in place be- more damaging aftershocks, Chile
and the Economic Crisis One Year Later: Has
Yet Israel’s critics continue to hurl not motivated by racism. That’s more
fore the quake that required contrac- will return to normal faster than
Stimulus Helped Communities in Crisis?” He
the apartheid epithet at the state when than can be said for many of its critics.
tors of all new buildings to use Haiti. Luck has nothing to do with it.
also holds a chair in civil rights and civil
they have to know, or they ought to cohenr@washpost.com
earthquake-resistant standards. Not applebaumletters@washpost.com
liberties at Moritz College of Law.
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