Black congressional leaders emerged from a White House meeting Wednesday with President George W. Bush saying they used the one-hour session to present Bush with a nine-point domestic agenda that outlines critical social and economic disparities between blacks and whites.
Rep. Mel Watt (D-NC), chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, said the purpose of the meeting was to offer Bush the agenda in hopes that the president will incorporate the plan into his domestic policies and allocate more funds to close disparities in education, employment, health-care, criminal justice, retirement security and foreign policy.
“We described dramatic disparities that continue to exist between African Americans and the majority community,” Watt told BlackAmericaWeb.com. “He has an opportunity during the State of the Union address to say whether he endorses our agenda, and he has another opportunity when he presents his budget to put some money behind initiatives to close the gap in disparities.”
“Will he use his bully pulpit to talk about disparities, and will he recommend that the government use its resources to close the gap in disparities?” Watt asked. “That’s where the rubber will hit the road.”
The meeting Wednesday marked only the second time since Bush took office in 2000 that the president has met with the 43-member Congressional Black Caucus. Black congressional leaders have been critical of Bush’s social and economic policies and the relationship between black congressional members and the president has been strained.
But since Bush was re-elected to office in November, he has signaled that he is more receptive to meeting with mainstream black leadership. On Tuesday, he met with black ministers and business leaders who supported his reelection, and last month, the president met with former NAACP CEO Kweisi Mfume.
Black Republicans have recently put more effort into reaching out to black voters, maintaining that there was unprecedented minority outreach in the 2004 presidential election. In last year’s election, Bush won 11 percent of the black vote. He received nine percent of the black vote in 2000.
During a press conference Wednesday, in response to a question about meeting with black leaders twice this week and his views on race in America, Bush said he wants to preside over a nation that embraces all people.
“Civil rights is a good education. Civil rights is opportunity. Civil rights is home ownership. Civil rights is owning your own business,” Bush said. “Civil rights is making sure all aspects of our society are open for everybody.”
“We've got to shed ourselves of bigotry if we expect to lead by example,” Bush said. “And I'll do the very best I can as the President to make sure that the promise -- and I believe in the promise of America -- is available for everybody.”
Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (D-MI), who attended the Wednesday meeting, described the session as “cordial,” but said the caucus is looking to Bush for immediate action. Nationally, Kilpatrick said, unemployment rates for blacks are consistently double the rates of whites, and home ownership for blacks is at 48 percent, compared to 72 percent for whites, she said.
“We don’t want more meetings, we want him to act,” said Kilpatrick, who is also a member of the House Appropriations Committee. “What we’re proposing is for a stronger America. The ball is in his court.”
Black congressional leaders have also been vocal about their opposition to the war in Iraq and say that a new Bush administration request for $80 billion to pay for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan could further jeopardize critical social-service initiatives that millions of blacks rely on for basic needs.
Bush’s funding request, expected on Feb. 7, comes at a time when financially-troubled public hospitals in black communities are facing closure and the future of Social Security is being debated. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) said she expects Bush to return to Congress again sometime during his tenure to request even more funding for military operations in Iraq.
At the press conference Wednesday, Bush told reporters that he stands behind his decision to go to war in Iraq and his request to Congress for $80 billion for military operations in Iraq.
“I made the commitment to our troops; we'll fund them,” Bush said. “And that's exactly what we're doing. We've got people in harm's way. I look forward to working with Congress to fund what is necessary to help those troops complete their mission.”
“I'd say the world is better off without Saddam Hussein in power,” Bush added. “A world with Saddam Hussein in power would have been a more dangerous world today.”
At Tuesday’s meeting with black religious hierarchy, according to those in attendance, Bush talked about his plans for Social Security, health care, home ownership and funding for Africa.
Renee Amoore, deputy chair of the Pennsylvania Republican State Committee, who was among those attending the 90-minute meeting, said 20 prominent blacks – both Democrats and Republicans -- listened to Bush talk about his commitment to social service initiatives at home and overseas.
Amoore said Bush was also commended for nominating Condoleezza Rice as the next Secretary of State. Rice received Senate confirmation Wednesday. The final vote of the full Senate was 85-13 in favor of the nomination. Rice, 50, is the first black woman, second black and second woman to become secretary of state.
“Say what you want,” Amoore said in an interview Wednesday, “but no president has ever appointed a black woman to this position.”
Amoore said she believes the president will continue to meet with blacks during his second term, adding that it’s not out of character for Bush to meet with people of color. She also said that many blacks have resisted meeting with Bush because he’s Republican.
“This is not a change of posture,” Amoore said of Bush’s recent meetings with black leaders. “He’s always met with African-Americans, even when he was governor," she said. "Whoever is in this office, we need help for our community. We need to get out of attack mode and find a way to work together. The president is willing to listen.”
