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- NATION, Page 53American NotesCONGRESSDoing the Rights Thing
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- After nearly two years of political skirmishes with the
- White House over racial discrimination and quotas, the Senate
- last week voted 95 to 5 to pass a civil rights bill. The House
- is expected to act quickly to adopt the compromise bill, which
- overrides eight Supreme Court decisions and makes it easier for
- employees to sue in job-bias cases. An amendment to extend civil
- rights protections to Senate employees caused a last-minute
- sideshow of debate. Under the measure, the Senate's 6,000
- workers, as well as political appointees in the Executive
- Branch, will be able to take their complaints to an office of
- fair employment practices. If they fail to resolve their dispute
- there, they may appeal to a three-member independent panel and,
- ultimately, to the U.S. Court of Appeals. Stung by criticism
- over the handling of sexual-harassment charges against Supreme
- Court Justice Clarence Thomas, the Senate passed the measure to
- deflect criticism that Congress exempts itself from laws it
- applies to everyone else.
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