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Pro-Israel PACs
Seem Safe
From Reform Plan
Are pro-Israel political ac-
tion committees worried
about the recently announced
White House proposal to curb
the power of PACs as part of
a broader election reform
effort?
Not much, according to
several critics of the increas-
ingly sophisticated campaign
finance organizations.
"What we've seen so far
would not have any impact on
the pro-Israel PACs," said
Kathleen Sheeky of Common
Cause, the government wat-
chdog group that has been a
persistent critic of the PAC
system of financing congres-
sional races. "We've only
heard the outlines of the plan.
But what we're hearing is
that the president's package
includes only a ban on PAC
contributions by labor unions
and corporations; it would not
limit contributions by
`ideological' PACs, those PACs
which underwrite their own
overhead expenses."
Pro-Israel PACs, which
raise and distribute money in-
dependent of other organiza-
tions, would not be affected.
But Sheeky pointed out
that the Bush plan is not yet
in final form — and that the
administration continues to
consult with Republican
legislators about ways to trim
PAC power.
Not incidentally, PACs tend
to perpetuate Democratic con-
trol of Congress by giving a
strong advantage to in-
cumbents. So any attempt to
limit PAC influence will pro-
bably face stiff opposition
from the Democratic side of
the aisle.
But groups like Common
Cause will press for more
stringent limits on all PACs.
"We want to see a serious
reduction in the influence of
PACs," Sheeky said, "as well
as some provision for alter-
native resources for congres-
sional candidates — reduced
mailing and broadcasting
rates, matching funds, some
kind of benefits for candidates
facing rich opponents."
Currently, there are bet-
ween 85 and 100 pro-Israel
PACs; according to some
figures, pro-Israel PACs gave
almost $7 million to congres-
sional candidates during the
1986 campaigns.
Arab Group
Seeks To Re-Open
Probe Of Labor
In April, pro-Israel activists
breathed heavy sighs of relief
when an interagency panel
under the auspices of the U.S.
Trade Representative (USTR)
issued its report on an in-
vestigation of Israel's labor
practices — an investigation
triggered by a petition filed
by the American Arab
Anti-Discrimination Commit-
tee (ADC).
But now, the ADC is trying
to re-open the investigation.
In a recent letter to the
USTR's office, the Arab-
American advocacy group
argued that the investigating
panel did not follow its own
rules in looking at Israeli
labor practices. ❑
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I NM • ,
B'rith. "There is almost cer-
tain to be some legislative ac-
tion. But it's a difficult pro-
cess to form legislative
remedies for these decisions;
Congress tends to be 'broad-
brush' in legislation, and
these cases involve tremen-
dous amounts of details."
The American Jewish Com-
mittee has already signaled
its willingness to help
legislators pass legislation re-
establishing legislation void-
ed by the Court.
Jewish activists here have
vivid memories of the fierce
battle that ended with last
year's passage of the Civil
Rights Restoration Act,
another bill designed to
remedy an earlier court deci-
sion. Jewish groups played a
significant role in that
legislative clash.
"The Civil Rights Restora-
tion Act took a tremendous
amount of energy by a
number of Jewish groups, as
well as the broader civil
rights coalition," said one of-
ficial with a major Jewish
organization here. "Now
we're faced with an all-out
judicial assault that cut to the
heart of the civil rights pro-
cess; what we need to do is
figure out how best to utilize
our limited resources."
Several Jewish activists
suggested that their groups
will probably concentrate on
the court's recent decision in
`Patterson v. McLean Credit
Union', which suggested that
anti-discrimination laws
cover only discrimination in
hiring, not unfair treatment
on the job. There have been
early rumblings in Congress
of legislation to enforce the
earlier judicial interpretation
of the law.
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