Page A4
August 8,2001
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Bush Lukewarm to Voting Reforms
(A P) — P resident Bush, who
still faces stinging criticism over
the w ay he w on last y ea r’s elec
tion, gave a lukew arm em brace last
w eek to voting reform s recom
m e n d e d by fo rm e r P re sid e n ts
C arter and F ord, calling their pro
posals only guidelines.
Bush, casting him selfas an elec
tion reform er, accorded C arter a
Rose G arden cerem ony to unveil
the report by the N ational C om m is-
sio n o n F ed e ra l E lection, w hich he
led w ith Ford. B ut Bush avoided
taking a stand on specific propos
als, including m aking election day
a national holiday, restoring vot
ing rights to felons and allow ing
voters challenged by poll w orkers
to cast provisional ballots any
way.
“T oday I accep t th eir report and
reco m m en d th e k ey p rin cip les
draw n from the report as guide
lines for m eaningful reform ,” Bush
said, w ith C arter standing beside
him. Ford could n ot attend because
o f a scheduling conflict.
“ I com m end the com m issioners
for their statesm anlike w ork. They
from.”
T h e 19-m em ber co m m issio n
calls for a voluntary em bargo on
airing E lection N ight projections
b y the new s
m e d ia u n til
p o lls
have
closed every
w here in the
c o n tin e n ta l
U nited States.
F a ilin g that,
C o n g ress
s h o u ld c o n
sider legisla
tion to ban dis
closure o f o f
ficial resu lts
until 11 p.m.
George W. Bush accepts a report on voting reforms
E S T o rto s e ta
from former President Jimmy Carter at the White
u n ifo rm n a
House. (AP Photo)
tio n a l p o ll
closing tim e.
sh o u ld listen to them and follow
T h e panel asks new s organiza
th eir lead,” B ush added.
tions
to voluntarily refrain from the
H ouse Speaker D ennis Hastert,
state-by-state
calls that caused so
R -Ill., said the C arter-F ord panel
m
uch
confusion
in the 2000 presi
“to o k a serious look at our election
dential
race
betw
een
Bush and then-
law s an d found w ays to im prove
V
ice
President
A1
Gore.
them. I think this com m ission gives
“ If necessary, Congress and the
us a fram ew ork from w hich to work
have risen above partisan em o
tions and p ut forth practical sug
gestions for im proving dem ocracy
and the U nited States C ongress
states should consider legislation,
within First A m endm ent limits, to
protect the integrity o f the electoral
process,” the panel concludes.
Steering clear o f those specifics,
Bush endorsed the p an el’s broad
est and least controversial findings:
G ive states and localities the prim e
role in running elections; modernize
ballots and election equipment; pro
tect the rights o f U.S. troops voting
from overseas; and enforce civil
rights laws.
Bush has been under pressure,
particularly from Democrats, to cor
rect problem s that arose in last fall’s
Florida election. Bush was declared
the w inner 36 days after the voting,
following a 5-4 Supreme Court deci
sion that effectively halted a partial
recount in Florida.
The president may feceeven more
pressure from Carter, who already
has been critical o f the adm inistra
tion.
C arter w as quoted in a recent
article criticizing B ush’s positions
on m issile defense, A laska oil drill
ing and global w arm ing and said he
has been disappointed m alm ost
everything Bush has done. In a fol
low -up statem ent, C arter said he
respects Bush despite their honest
differences o f opinion. The W hite
H ouse refused direct com m ent on
either statem ent.
O n one o f the m ost critical de
bates on how to craft reform, the
100-page report endorsed grants that
w ould require states to make certain
im provem ents if they were to re
ceive federal money. A substantial
m inority said the federal govern
m ent should go further and m an
date standards for better elections.
T he report laid out a detailed recipe
for im proving elections, from im
proving voting m achinery and bal
lot design to strengthening state
registration procedures. It acknowl
edged the extent o f the problem s
across the country, but concluded
that the fram ew ork already exists to
bring the system up to expectations.
“In a world o f problems that often
deny any solution, the weaknesses
in election adm inistration are, to a
very great degree, problem s that
governm ent can solve,” the report
says.
Faith Based Initiative Laudable, but Unconstitutional
On behalf o f the Congressional
Black Caucus, Chairwoman Eddie
BemiceJohnson delivered thefol
lowing statement regarding the
passage o f President Bush’sfaith-
based initiative called the ‘"Com
munity Solutions Act. ”
“T o d ay ’s action in the H ouse is
contem ptuous to the m em ory o f
the m any w arriors o f the civil rights
m ovem ent. In am a tte ro fm in u tes,
m y colleagues in the H ouse o f
R e p re s e n ta tiv e s h av e n e g a te d
years o f struggle for equality and
fairness. H.R. 7, the “C om m unity
Solutions A ct,” is laudable, but
unconstitutional.
“A s C h air o f the C ongressional
B lack C aucus, I am com m itted to
continuing to w ork w ith o u r reli
gious leaders w ho have been som e
o f the best leaders in our com m u
nities for decades.
I know first hand about the good
that the church can do in the com -
m unity. H ow ever, w e cannot for
get that th e use o f federal funds,
w hich are co llected from the hard
earned tax dollars o f all ofthe people
can n o t and sh o u ld n ot be used to
discrim inate.
“C hurches and religious insti
tutions h av e been on the front
lines o f d ealing w ith so cieties’
w oes sin ce the b eg in
ning o f tim e, an d in the
A frican-A m erican com
m unity these are called
the churches m inistries
- the hom eless m inistry,
the sick and shut-in m in
istry and a host o f o th
ers. So, using the faith
w e have in our church to
try to address the p ro b
lem s that m any people
fa c e isn ’tn e w . “B ut, the
C haritable C hoice p ro
vision in its current form
threatens to underm ine
Oregon Braces For
West Nile Virus
S tory continued from front page
virus.
T h e re h av e b ee n no h u m an
c a s e s o f m o s q u ito -b o rn e e n
ce p h alitis in O reg o n o ver th e p ast
3 0 years.
A cc o rd in g to C h risto p h e r M.
W irth , su p e rv is o r o f M u ltn o m ah
C o u n ty V e c to r a n d N u isa n c e
C o n tro l, “T o m o st p eo p le, m o s
q u ito e s are ju s t an an n o y in g
p est, b u t th e se in sects ca rry se
rio u s d ise a se s.”
T he h ea lth d iv isio n rec eiv e d a
$ 9 0 ,0 0 0 g ra n t from the C e n te rs
fo r D ise a se C o n tro l an d P re v e n
tio n to tra c k th e d ise a se -c a rry
ing m o sq u ito e s.
V e c to r an d n u isa n c e c o n tro l
officers w ill collect field-captured
m o sq u ito es and h av e them tested
fo r W e st N ile v iru s, as w ell as St.
L o u is a n d W e s te r n
E q u in e E n ce p h alitis.
A c c o rd in g to a re
p o rt b y th e C e n te rs for
D ise a se C o n tro l, ty p i
cal W e st N ile v ira l in
fe c tio n s in p e o p le are
m ild inflam m ation o f die
b ra in w ith sy m p to m s
th a t in c lu d e f e v e r ,
headache,
body
ac h es, sk in rash an d
sw o lle n ly m p h glands.
“ M o re se v ere in fec
tio n m ay be m ark ed by
h ea d ac h e, h igh fev er,
n ec k stiffn ess, stu p o r,
d iso rie n ta tio n , co m a,
trem o rs, c o n v u lsio n s,
m u sc le w ea k n ess, p a
r a ly s i s , a n d r a r e ly ,
d e a th ,” the rep o rt said.
What Can I Do?
nearly 60 years o f federal civil rights
protections against discrim ination.
A dditionally, H.R. 7 would over
ride state and local civil rights laws
and ordinances that currently pro
tect em ployees.
W e can n o t afford to roll back
the strides m ade in the civil rights
m ovem ent by allow ing this provi
sion, w hich w ould allow religious
in s titu tio n s to re c e iv e fed eral
funds, b ut w ould also allow for
them to discrim inate in the use o f
those funds. I ju s t d o n ’t think that
w e sh o u ld let that happen.
“F o r these reasons, yesterday,
the M em bers o f the C ongressional
B lack C aucus unanim ously passed
a resolution to express our opposi
tion to H .R . 7.
U nfortunately, m any o f o u r col
leagues in the H ouse did n ot share
o u r sentim ent for the hard fought
m erits o f the C ivil R ights A ct o f
1964. O u r only prayer is that our
colleagues in the Senate w ill be
m ore reverent.”
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