10 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, March 8, 1995 Affirmative action sparks political debate Los Angeles Times WASHINGTON - As the debate on affirmative action strains the relationship between the White House and civil rights leaders, women's groups, black academ- ics and ministers are working together to persuade the administration to hold firm on federal policies intended to overcome discrimination. Civil rights activists have met in around of discussions with Vice President Al Gore, Housing and Urban Devel- opment Secretary Henry G. Cisneros and White House staff members in an effort to win over President Clinton. According to civil rights strategists, who spoke with the Los Angeles Times on the condition they not be identified, the activists are saying they will accept nothing less than full support from Clinton on retention of existing affirmative action programs. "The civil rights community has made it clear they will battle to death on this one," said one administration official. "They have been pressing the White House to make a clear statement of intent, whether it is with them or against them. So far, the administration has held off on taking that stand." Affirmative action is the subject of a fierce debate within the administration, as Clinton's advisers struggle to deal with an issue that has deep roots in the Democratic Party but clearly has created a backlash - especially among white males - that Republicans are stepping forward to address. Yesterday, leaders representing the Feminist Majority Foundation and the National Council of Negro Women joined with black civil rights leaders in accusing the administration of employing "divide and conquer" tactics to pit the interests of women and racial minorities against those of white men in the affirmative action debate. "Women in this nation and worldwide face an unprec- edented backlash that-seeks to roll back the advances of the last century and to prevent women from moving forward toward equality," said Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority Foundation. The leaders say they worry that Clinton may be look- ing for cover to embrace GOP arguments against affirma- tive action in an effort to prevent Republicans from capitalizing on growing public sentiment against using race as a criterion in employment, scholarships and other social benefits. Many swing voters in the November election were conservative white men who ardently op- pose affirmative action policies. "I can understand the anxieties of Democrats who fear their elections will be jeopardized if they in fact embrace affirmative action," said Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), co-chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus' affir- mative action task force. "They are looking for a way out. The way out is to educate people... "The idea that the president and others have quickly talked about a review signals that perhaps something is wrong with affirmative action and that it needs to be 'fixed.' I do not want people starting with the idea some- thing is wrong before first understanding what affirmative action is and is not." As they wait for a definitive statement from the presi- dent, women's groups and civil rights leaders have gone on the offensive to combat advisers in the White House who are urging Clinton to reject affirmative action. Falling value of dollar may lead to inflation The Washington Post WASHINGTON-The dollar continued to plummet yesterday, again hitting new lows against the Japanese yen and German mark. Clinton administration officials remained silent on the currency's plunge and did not intervene in foreign exchange markets to try and bolster its value. A broad range of analysts said no crisis is at hand despite the dollar's precipitous drop, be- cause the currency turmoil has not triggered a major sell-off in U.S. stock and bond markets. "I don't think this is a crisis," said William Poole, a Brown University economist and former member of President Ronald Reagan's Council of Economic Advisers. "The dollar has been depre- ciating against other currencies for a long time." "To this point, this is not a crisis and there is no need for big alarm or for a major policy response," said C. Fred Bergsten, director of the Institute for International Economics. Bergsten noted that the markets had driven up long-term interest rates, which rise as bond prices fall, only slightly while the dollar has dropped sharply against the mark and yen. That indicates that U.S. and foreign investors have more confidence in the U.S. economy than the dollar, he said. Administration officials have not com- mented publicly on the matter since Friday, when Treasury Secretary Robert E. Rubin sought to talk up the dollar with a statement that a strong dollar was "in our national interest." Treasury and Federal Reserve officials have been in close contact with their counterparts in Europe and Japan since Friday, but the Fed has not gone into foreign currency markets to buy dollars in hopes of propping up the currency since late last week. In late New York trading yesterday, it took 90.05 yen to buy a dollar, down sharply from 92.80 on Monday - a 3-pereent loss. At one point yesterday, the dollar dropped to 89.05 yen. And it took 1.3702 marks to buy a dollar, down from 1.4048 Monday. Since the beginning of the year, the dollar has fallen 11.3 percent against the mark, and 9.5 percent against the yen. Robert Hormats, vice chairman of Goldman Sachs International, said the fact "that the U.S. economy is doing extremely well but the dollar is still collapsing" underscores the fact that "the dollar is a structurally weak currency. We have a critical savings shortfall in this country" with a persistent trade deficit that must be financed by an inflow of foreign capital, he said. On the other hand, currency markets fre- quently go too far as investors and traders switch from one currency to another, Hormats noted. And that means that at some point the United States and other nations probably will be able to intervene in foreign exchange markets to halt the dollar's slide - but not yet, he said. Foreign exchange experts have advanced a host of reasons for the dollar's weakness, in- cluding what Bergsten called "a sharp shift in market expectations" about whether the Fed would continue to raise short-term interest rates. With signs of slowing economic growth acknowledged by Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan and his colleagues, many investors and traders have decided U.S. rates are likely to rise little if at all. Some lawmakers questioned whether the dollar's fall might be a consequence of the Treasury's commitment of $20 billion of its $25 billion Exchange Stabilization Fund, normally used to stabilize the dollar, to finance it prom- ised package of financial aid to Mexico. / AP PHOTO Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (left) speaks with Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar after asking congress to review affirmative action programs. Dole calls for heaings of controversial programs The Washington Post WASHINGTON - Senate Ma- jority Leader Bob Dole of Kansas called on chairmen of committees with jurisdiction over affirmative action programs to hold hearings on the pro- grams, including whether there are "other, more equitable ways to expand opportunities" for minorities and women. Dole, who earlier ordered a review of all federal programs, rules and or- ders that grant preferences to individu- als on the basis of race, gender or other factors, did not propose any specific changes. Instead, he asked Labor and Hu- man Resources Committee Chairman Nancy Landon Kassebaum of Kansas and Small Business Committee Chair- man Christopher S. Bond of Missouri to hold wide-ranging hearings on pro- grams within their panels' purview. "The bottom line is that no federal program should be immune from con- gressional scrutiny," he said. In letters to the two senators, Dole suggested that the hearings cover such questions as whetheroriginal purposes of the programs have been achieved, whether the programs have "operated to discriminate on the basis of race or ethnic background" and whether the government should be "in the business of 'presuming' that members of certain racial and ethnic groups are 'socially disadvantaged."' A key question in both letters asked whether there are "other, more equi- table, ways to expand opportunity for all Americans, without resorting to strat- egies that rely on providing prefer- ences for individuals simply because they belong to certain groups." In the House, the Small Business Committee held a hearing Monday on minority contract set-asides, and the Judiciary Committeeplans toholdhear- ings on civil rights enforcement by the Justice Department. N.Y. brings death penalty back after 18-year hiatus Newsday ALBANY, N.Y. - Eighteen years after New York's death penalty was struck down as cruel and unusual punishment, Gov. George Pataki sat yesterday at a small, makeshift desk in an ornate room in the State -Capitol, and signed it back into law. Picking up the pen of a slain New York City police officer, Pataki slowly signed "George" onto the page. With the pen of another, he added "Pataki," clearing the way for executions to resume in the state after a three-decade hiatus. In brief comments during the ceremony, Pataki said the measure was long overdue and lives would be saved by the tough new law. "Our state has traveled along an arduous road to arrive at this point in history. ..." Pataki said at the bill-signing ceremony packed with crime vic- tims and law enforcement officials. "That long road is now over. Justice will now be served." Under the new law the death penalty -- defined as "the intravenous injection of a sub- stance or substances in a lethal quantity into the body of a person convicted until such person is dead" - may be imposed on those convicted of killing police officers, judges, prison guards or witnesses to crimes, as well as on people who kill for money, who kill while committing an- other violent crime or who commit torture kill- ings or multiple murders, among others. It is to take effect Sept. 1. Legal experts have estimated that as many as 20 percent of New York state's 2,400 annual murders could be classified as capital crimes. 11 Days Left! March 22 is your last chance to pick up a Mac at student prices. Apple ColorStyleWriter 2400 Cable included. $397 iA L_4 o 00 PowerBook 520c 12/320 with Global Village Data/Fax Modem Affordable, advanced processing in an all-in-one color notebook computer. $2,785 -- 11 .1 it's Boulder * Enjoy the relaxe4 comfortable atmosphere of the Boulder campus - Choose from over 500 courses - Select from five-,eight-, and ten-week terms or intensive courses - Have time to work, traveLor just have fun Plan now to make the Summer of 1995 a Boulder one! TermA: June 5-July 7 Term B: July 11-August 11 Term C: June 5-July 28 Term Dr June 5-August 11 Shorter, intensive courses also available. Call or write for your free CU-Boulder Summer Session Catalog. 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