4

Sleek

Washington Watch

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Jewish Living In Met

Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and Sen.
Tom Daschle, D-S.D., as part of the
big Labor/Health and Human Services
appropriations bill. The amendment
mirrored the language of a House mea-
sure being promoted by Hadassah, the
women's Zionist organization that has
taken the lead in the genetic discrimi-
nation fight.
But at the last minute, Sen. James
M. Jeffords, R-Vt., introduced a nar-
rower alternative that stripped out lan-
guage dealing with employment dis-
crimination. That amendment passed
on a party line vote.
The resulting legislation is "unac-
ceptable," said Hadassah Washington
representative Marla Gilson, because it
excludes legal recourse for workers fac-
ing employment discrimination
because of genetic testing.
Hadassah and other Jewish groups
have been active in this fight because of
a growing body of data linking diseases
to specific hereditary conditions that
can now be detected through advanced
genetic testing. That has led to growing
concern that individuals who test posi-
tive for these genetic conditions will
face employment discrimination or dis-
crimination by health insurers.
This week, Hadassah was looking
for a silver lining in the Senate action.
"After working for genetic non-dis-
crimination legislation for nearly six
years, we were thrilled that this impor-
tant proposal saw the light of day and
was debated for over two hours on the
floor of the U.S. Senate," said
Hadassah president Bonnie Lipton in a
statement.
"However, we were very disappoint-
ed that it failed to pass, and we will
continue to work to ensure that all
Americans have the privacy protections
they need."

Courtly Maneuvers

In a 6-3 ruling Wednesday, the last day
of the U. S. Supreme Court's term, the
justices ruled that the government may
continue to provide money for religious
schools to buy instructional items.
The decision, coming hard on the
heels of the court's firm rejection of
prayer in school, was a powerful
reminder that one of the most crucial
stakes in the November presidential
election will be the court itself.
Three of the justices are in their 70s;
four have had serious illnesses in the
past few years. With this year's barrage
of 5-4 decisions, a swing of just two
votes could radically alter the legal
landscape on church-state, abortion
and religious freedom issues, said

Marshall Breger, a law professor at the
Catholic University of America and a
leading supporter of vouchers for pri-
vate and parochial school students.
The American people are getting
that message; two-thirds of those sur-
veyed in a Newsweek poll indicated that
Supreme Court nominations will factor
into their decisions in November.
Last week's decision in Mitchell v.
Helms noted that materials bought
with government money must be secu-
lar in content and not advance a reli-
gious point of view.
Many Orthodox schools rely heavily
on Title VI or Chapter 2 funding, fed-
eral programs designed to aid private
religious education. But other Jewish
groups, like the Anti-Defamation
League, say items such as computers,
could be diverted for religious purpos-
es.
In the opinion, written by Justice
Clarence Thomas, the court recognized
that risk, but concluded that "the evi-
dence of actual diversion and the weak-
ness of the safeguards against actual
diversion are not relevant to the consti-
tutional inquiry, whatever relevance
they may have under the statute and
regulations."

Housing Pact

Housing and Urban Development
Secretary Andrew Cuomo recently
returned from a three-day swing _
through the Middle East that included
the signing of an agreement to estab-
lish a Binational Commission on
Housing and Community
Development, the first of its kind
between the United States'and Israel.
The goal is to bring U.S. and, Israeli
housing experts together to share ideas
about expanding the supply of afford-
able housing and creating jobs.
The agreement will also focus on
ways to improve low-income housing
through innovations in architecture
and building technology, an area in
which Israel has been a leader.
"The United States and Israel are
both working hard to meet common
housing and urban development chal-
lenges," Cuomo said in a statement.
"Both of us must find ways tq build
more affordable housing, to create
jobs and provide job training for peo-
ple struggling to escape poverty, and
to revitalize cities with more-business-
es, homes and families."
Cuomo also met with Palestinian
officials in Gaza to discuss housing
and development issues. ❑

