Just out., October 05, 2001, Page 23, Image 23

O
ne result of the Sept. 11 terrorist
attack has been to paper over
partisan divisions, at least tem ­
porarily, in the political terrain of
Washington, D.C.
That has both positive and negative effects on
what advocates had hoped to accomplish during
the remaining days of this session o f Congress on
issues affecting the gay and lesbian community. A
traditional priority at the end-of-session rush is to
pass the appropriations bills to operate govern­
ment agencies for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1.
"Previous to Sept. 11, 1 think that we were
all pessimistic about increases in funding for a
number of domestic discretionary programs,
including A ID S, breast and cervical cancer
detection and research programs,” said W innie
Stachelberg, Human Rights Campaign political
director. “Things are very different o n every
level in all of our lives since Sept. 11.”
Bill Arnold of the A ID S Drug Assistance
Program Working Group said “the starkly parti­
san political debates” concerning tapping the
Social Security Trust Fund for deficit spending
virtually have disappeared. His agency pays for
HIV drugs and is in need o f additional money.
“W e’re benefiting somewhat from the ‘let’s
not have any fights’ atmosphere on Capitol
Hill,” Arnold said. “T h e politics o f the moment
is that if the economy tanks, there won’t be any-
body working to provide the money,” so spend­
ing to stimulate the economy is O K.
“It’s no secret that the W hite House is advo­
cating for more A D A P money,” but the final
number is still unclear, Arnold said. T h e Depart­
ment o f Health and Human Services has
promised to release the money early, which “may
prevent the Florida A D A P program from collaps­
ing in November, and who knows what else.”
C asualty
of
W ar
Gay rights legislation might be another victim of the terrorist attacks
by B o b R o e h r
Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D -S.D ., embraces President Bush after his Sept. 2 0
address to a joint session of Congress
But Stachelberg added, “I think that the
proactive legislative agenda is very much on
hold as we, as m uch o f the rest o f the country,
grieve and as we try to figure out what our
n ext steps are.” A Sen ate hearing on the
Em ploym ent N ondiscrim ination A ct, sched­
uled for O ct. 2, was canceled.
Log Cabin Republicans spokesman Kevin
Ivers was even more blunt. “W hat was defined as
the gay agenda before Sept. 11 has been shoved to
the side” along with most other legislation, “and
you are not hearing any screaming and yelling
from the gay groups about that. If you walk the gay
neighborhoods, you see American flags every­
where. You realize that things have changed."
Ivers added, “Very real concerns have come
to the forefront, things like partner and survivor
benefits and the Pentagon policy” known as
“don’t ask, don’t tell.” He said gay men and les­
bians are looking for a way to support the effort
against terrorism.
Ivers pointed to public officials’ statements of
tolerance, even though they were directed
toward Muslims and Arab Americans, as having
a spillover effect on creating a better atmosphere
for the gay and lesbian community. T h e fact
that the FBI is investigating more than 300 alle­
gations of such discrimination perhaps lessens
the need for further legislation in this area.
A vote on hate crimes legislation, once
promised in the fall by Senate Majority Leader
Tom Daschle, D -S.D ., now seems unlikely this
year. However, one can create a scenario in
which the measure might be attached to anti­
terrorism legislation, with the acquiescence if
not quite the support of the W hite House, to
help allay fears o f the erosion o f civil liberties.
Stachelberg said H R C has taken on other
responsibilities. O ne was to monitor closely the
package of financial relief for the airline indus­
try that was rushed through Congress.
“W e were concerned that a provision might
be attached to exempt airlines from state and
local laws” that the industry views as financial
burdens. Sh e mentioned local living wage laws
and the San Francisco domestic partners bene­
fits law that the industry has been fighting. But
that did not end up happening. J H
B ob ROEHR is a free-lance reporter based in
Washington, D .C .
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