Conferees OK Rights Bill to Reverse Court Rulings

WASHINGTON —  A Senate-House conference committee reached agreement Tuesday on a civil rights bill that would provide generous awards to victims of discrimination and reverse or modify five recent Supreme Court rulings that made it harder to win discrimination cases.

Opponents of the bill, which now returns for final votes in both houses, predict that President Bush will follow through on a veto threat. However, supporters remain optimistic that Bush will sign it, even though the Administration has complained that the bill would cause employers to use quotas in hiring.

“I wouldn’t think the President would accept it,” said Rep. Carlos J. Moorhead (R-Glendale), a senior Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, one of three panels on the conference committee.

Rep. Augustus F. Hawkins (D-Los Angeles), the conference committee chairman and a key sponsor of the bill, said a veto is uncertain.

As to an override, Hawkins said that may be a moot issue. “I have no idea what the President will do,” he said. “But we’re going to take it to the floor, possibly on Thursday. I don’t think there’s any doubt about it’s passage in Congress. We’ve got the votes in both houses.”

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), the Senate sponsor of the bill, said no agreement was reached Friday during the most recent talks with the Administration that would ensure Bush’s support.

During Tuesday’s meetings, the committee accepted a compromise offered by Kennedy on the only point of serious disagreement between the House and Senate versions of the legislation. By a 9-7 vote, with four members abstaining, the panel agreed to put a $150,000 cap on punitive damages for all businesses found guilty of discriminatory acts.

The original Senate bill offered no cap on punitive damages. The House version had specified a $150,000 cap only for small businesses, those employing fewer than 100 people.

Some of the committee’s Democrats, led by Rep. Patricia Schroeder of Colorado, said the bill should contain no limits on punitive awards to people who have been denied their civil rights.

“I would hope the House would turn this down,” she said during debate on the measure. “This sets a terrible precedent. We are going to regret having done this because we’re going to have it served back to us in many, many ways.”

However, Hawkins said he opposed the damage caps but did not want to jeopardize the entire bill.

The debate on the caps ended when put to a vote. Initially voting against the bill were Schroeder and several black Democrats, who opposed the damage caps while supporting the bill, and conservative Republicans, who favored the caps but objected to the bill. After a brief House member caucus, several of the Democrats changed their votes or abstained, allowing the bill to pass.