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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (July 28, 1982)
t Page 2 Portland Observer, July 28, 1962 Congressional rule hampers Black Caucus A Congressional rule, which be gan to take effect this year, is put ting a severe financial strain on the Congressional Black Caucus. One of the oldest and most influ ential special interest groups in the Congress, the ruling forbids such caucuses from using public funds and free public office space if they also get contributions from the pri vate sector. In the past the Black Caucus has depended largely on the expensive and lavish Congressional weekend which culminates in a banquet and a dance to raise funds. W ith the new ruling, those funds can only be used for research now. Black Caucus chairman and Dis trict o f Colum bia Representative W alter Fountroy said the Caucus has resorted to some fancy fo o t work to ensure its survival. “ We are utilizing the Congres sional Black Caucus Foundation which we established five or six years ago,” Fountroy said. “ That organization is able to receive out side contributions so long as it does nonpartisan research.” The foundation will sponsor the Black Caucus' annual congressional weekend dinners to finance its legis lative analysis and research. “ Secondly,” Fountroy con tinued, "we have established a polit ical action committee (PAC) which can raise funds from individuals from across the nation. And the third organization [we have set upj is what we call the Legislative Service Organization.” The Legislative Service Organiza tion allows the members o f the Black Caucus to maintain offices on the hill and is supported by contri butions from the caucus members themselves. “ I ’m sure that there are those who are not unhappy thai the cau cus has been put under severe strain by this rule,” Fountroy said. "Bui the fact is that the rule was adopted primarily to get at well-heeled, nar row-interest lobbies that have been able, by contributions they have raised from among their member ship, to finance many members of the Congress in their efforts to rep resent their views.” Fountroy said he did not know whether black Americans would be willing to contribute the necessary financial support to the Black Cau cus without the lavish Black Caucus weekend dinner. " It is going to be increasingly dif ficult, he said. "For our advocacy week, we are going to have to depend upon a great many people who cannot affo rd to come to Washington for the dinner but who certainly need a strong caucus advo cating issues in their behalf." “ I am depending largely on the contributions o f individuals to the Congressional Black Caucus P A C ,” Fountroy added. "W e are going to survive this, but we are going to survive as more and more black people begin to contrib ute the $10 and S I5 that will aggre gate into a sufficient fund to make sure that those who are gloating at this new rule will not have the fu l fillment of their wishes,” Fountroy said. PRO STYL , SHOP 917 S.W. Alder 224-8401 (across from the Galleria) I fl PRO SH O P-STY LIN G SALON Specializing in all curly perms, styling & trimming. TCB • Cara Fraa • Classy Curl & California Curl COt-O* 1«°’ ctvvO1 ,s43 ¡ Israel: No special treatment [Continued from page 1 column tf) and children, both Lebanese and Palestinian, is thus on our hands, not just on the hands of the Israelis. The American-made cluster bombs, for example, are among the most sophisticated and deadly anti personnel w capons ever conceived by man. Scattering hundreds of small bomblets over an area of 25 acres or more, a single CBU has a particular ly horrifying impact on a civilian population. It is well known that cluster bombs were furnished by us to the Israelis in the early 1970s on the specific condition that they be used only against regular armies when Israel was under attack, and that they not be used against guerilla forces or in civilian areas. When Is raelis violated this agreement in 1976 by the use of CBUs in southern Lebanon, the United States govern ment lodged a form al and public protest. N ot so in 1982, however. N ot only has the United States stood si lently by as the CBUs were used in southern Lebanon in recent weeks: we also vetoed a UN Security Coun cil resolution calling for Israeli with drawal from Lebanon. As in the case of Vietnam, whatever may be the merits of the destruction of rural villages by U.S firepower, the indis criminate use o f that firepower is viewed with universal horror else where in the world. It is not merely world opinion that is shocked: We violate our own principles in this process. We have long treasured our heritage as a na tion under law, a nation which sought to restrain the excessive use of force, even in just causes, accord ing to clear legal principles. One of those principles is that our police in pursuit of an armed criminal cannot pursue that individual into a mar ketplace and indiscriminately shoot into a crowd. Under no circum stances can the Israeli pursuit of not more than 15,000 armed Palestin ians, in a country o f three million people be considered a restrained use of force. Naval bombardments and aerial bombing o f Beirut, Si don, and Tyre and the Palestinian refugee villages must, o f necessity, kill and maim tens of thousands of non-combatants. A captured Israeli pilot put it fair ly and accurately the other day when he said that he could not justify his country’s use o f force— that such use of force was excessive. Indeed, to much of the world Israel has be come the newest international bully, created and armed by the United States and now out of control—but still supported by Washington in whatever its leaders, the former ter rorists Begin and Sharon, may seek to do, regardless of how many inno cent people are killed in the process. The growing hatred felt by Arabs for the United States transcends na tional and political views. It is an emotional, gut reaction to our con duct, a reaction which once implant ed in a human heart may remain for years. As the Holocaust is remem bered in Jewish hearts, or as the ex term ination by the Turks in 1915 and 1916 is remembered in Armen ian hearts, it is the kind of hatred that can provoke blind revenge and retaliation for generations. I was recently visited by the am bassador from one of the moderate Arab states which has always been friendly to the United States. He could barely express his horror over the continuing U.S endorsement of Israel’s actions in Lebanon. But more than expressing the concern of his nation, he tried to express a small part of the poison against the United States and its people which he felt was being permanently plant ed in Arab hearts by the daily Israeli bombardment in and around Beirut. The perception is growing that we are not longer people interested in fairness and justice. Instead, we area now viewed as a people who, like the Soviets in Afghanistan, val ue expediency more than the lives of innocent people. An even worse aspect o f Leban on’s tragedy, however, may be the dulling of our own senses toward in discriminate killing with U.S. wea pons, so long as it is Israel which is doing the killing. As opposed to our traditional view of independence of action and policy, the United States seems to have adopted the view that no matter what offenses Israel may commit, against Arabs on the West Bank or in Lebanon, we intend to support them, out o f respect for what Israelis have done in the past, or out o f some sense o f guilt over our inaction 40 years ago in the face of Hitler’s holocaust. When Turkey, a N A TO ally, used U.S. arms to invade Cyprus in 1975, we immediately invoked a provision of the Arms Control Act to cut off aid. Yet when Israel used U.S. wea pons to destroy the Iraq i nuclear reactor, to bomb Beirut and to in vade Lebanon, we stood nearly mute. What is this strange paralysis of American leadership with respect to Israel? In my judgment, respect for the opinions o f mankind and our own legal heritage should prompt us now to treat Israel as just one more for eign country, to be assisted when right and condemned when wrong. There is no longer any reason why we should send $2.2 billion per year in foreign aid (one-fifth of a total $11 billion in U.S. foreign aid this year) to a single nation of 3.5 m il lion people, when that nation is vio lating basic concepts of human de cency. It seems to me high time we con sidered severing the so-called "spe cial” relationship with Israel which has existed since 1948—that we cut o ff the military weapons deliveries, economic assistance and special tax benefits that we have given for so many years. It is time to say: "Israel, after 34 years on this planet, you have final ly come of age. If you choose to use excessive force in attaining your ob jectives. however praiseworthy— if you continue to flout U .S policy goals and unanimous United N a tions Security Council resolutions— then do so on your own. We no longer choose to support the killing of innocent people, no matter how understandable may be your goal of eliminating military threats on your borders. Our past relationship with you has been based on morality, but we find no morality in your actions in and around Beirut today.” ■ ■ w flk Limited Time Only ■ J The two U .S . Presidents who had the most children, John Tyler (with 14) and William Henry Harrison (with 10, were both born in the same place — Charles City County, Virginia. YOU’VE HEARD OF TRADING STAMPS WE OFFER TRADE IN . . .bring in your old rubber stamps & get a trade in on the purchase of a new rubber stam p. . . . STAMPS w good 'til 7-31 -82 - Limit 1 trade-in per stamp order) © PACIFIC NEWSSERVICE. 1982 OREGON STAMP & STATIONERY 1011 SW W ASHINGTON Mitchell charges SBA waging war against minority firms In a speech delivered at the Oper ation PUSH Convention on July 17, 1982, in Charleston, South C aro lina, Congressman Parren J. Mitch ell, (D -7th -M d .) charged that "the Small Business A dm inistration [SBA] has launched the most viciow attack on the minority community in recent memory.” According to Congressman Mitchell, SBA’s failure adequately to defend a court challenge to the award of federal contrcts to certain disadvantaged firms in its 8(a) busi ness development program is the most recent in a series o f moves aimed at the minority business com munity. This latest action will affect 8(a) firms which are nearing compe titive status but which have techni cally exceeded SBA’s definition of a "small business concern.” Accord ing to Congressman M itch ell, " I f these businesses are abrubtly forced out of the 8(a) program, many will be out o f business in less than six months.” A recent General Accounting O f fice decision, which is only advisory in nature, is now being used by SBA to deny contracts to 23 minority 8(a) firms. These firms will be forced to lay o ff most of their 7,500 workers, many of whom are minority. SBA A dm in istrato r James C. Sanders has refused to amend its regulations to redefine a small busi ness for the purpose of the 8(a) pro- gram. According to Congressman M itch ell, “ The inclusion o f in creases in employment and gross re ceipts to the base on which size is measured is artifician when these in creases are attributable only to the performance of 8(a) contracts which are by no means permanent sources of income, as this latest maneuver demonstrates.” Mitchell stated, " I have received over 200 telegrams, letters and tele phone calls in less than 3 days pro testing this unreasonable and in equitable situation. As a result of this massive community outcry, I have initiated discussions with the W hite House, SBA, Members ol Congress and the minority business community.” To date, neither the W hite House nor A dm inistrator Sanders has responded in a positive fashion. SBA is consistently acting to deny economic parity for minority busi nesses. Programs for economic ad vancement are being sabotaged by those very persons who, by law, are directed and charged with responsi bility for their proper implementa tion. 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