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Lawmakers - June 24, 1982 - Budget Debate
Representative Eugene Johnston (R - North Carolina) argues that assistance packages are bad because every industry will come begging to congress to be bailed out. There will be another industry, either the airline industry, the automobile industry or seeking bailouts next moth or next year and it will go on forever. Everyone here knows we face a serious budget crunch. And if we continue to bailout, that problem will not go away, it will get worse.
Lawmakers - June 24, 1982 - Budget Debate
Representative Jim Wright (D - Texas) asking for construction industry assistance, If it s alright for us to continue to have 20% unemployment in the home building industry if you think it s alright for unemployment to soar as high as 70% in the lumbering trades, and for bankruptcies to continue on their spiraling course, then vote against the rule. But a vote against the rule is a vote against doing anything about this housing problem. I suggest that we vote for the rule and that we vote for the bill.
Lawmakers - June 24, 1982 - Budget Debate
Senator Richard Lugar (R - Indiana), Many people will go out of business and that is the tragedy of the situation. We re talking about real people, real businesses, housing that is not going to happen, unemployment statics that are much higher than they needed to have been. I think everybody needs to know that. That s what the fight was all about. Cokie Roberts: Your opponents say that this is the camel s nose . After this legislation there will be something for jobs, and for thrift institutions and for farmers and for all the other hard hit groups in the economy. Is that true? Is this just the beginning? Senator Richard Lugar (R - Indiana), The jobs bill we had in the housing forum was not the first step. It was only step. It is the only possibility for anti-recession legislation in this Congress, this year. If you craft a conservative, tightly drawn piece of legislation, targeted for just this building season, and for jobs and repayment, that is not a bailout. It s not a budget buster and it s not first in line.
Lawmakers - June 24, 1982 - Budget Debate
Cokie Roberts: Reagan disagrees with Lugar s position, opposes any kind of assistance as "bailouts", vetoed the housing bill, which pleases Democrats who can use it for ammo in the campaigns.
Lawmakers - June 24, 1982 - Budget Debate
Representative Jim Wright (D - Texas) accusing Republicans of serving Reagan instead of the people. Tell them you don t serve those 20% in the employment and the construction trades who are out of work. Tell them you don t have any care about those young couple who can t afford to buy homes. Whom do you serve? You serve the President.
Lawmakers - June 24, 1982 - Budget Debate
Representative Les AuCoin (D - Oregon), asks Congress to override Reagan s veto of the Housing Assistance bill. If you believe the people who are saying we are in pain because we re out of work. If you believe you want to represent people who say give us some help so that we can last until the economic recovery comes through, if you want to represent them, then vote to override this veto. It s a very important choice. Do we represent the White House, or the people who are really feeling pain at this particular time.
Lawmakers - June 24, 1982 - Budget Debate
Representative Jerry Patterson (D - California), Maybe President Reagan thinks and maybe he can wait until 1984. Maybe he can wait until 1984 for his economic recovery program to work. And yes, that other body we ve been talking about maybe 2/3 of them who have no elections this November, maybe the other body, or 2/3 of them, can wait until 184. But ladies and gentlemen, we re up this November. The American people are on the line now.
Lawmakers - June 24, 1982 - Budget Debate
Cokie Roberts: Democrats strategy until the elections is to propose economic assistance packages and force the Republicans to act the villain by voting against them. The path is tricky, because Republicans will counter with "big spender" charges.
Lawmakers - June 24, 1982 - Voting Rights Act
Lawmakers - June 24, 1982 - Voting Rights Act
Lawmakers - June 24, 1982 - Voting Rights Act
Paul Duke intro report on the extension of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
Lawmakers - June 24, 1982 - Voting Rights Act
Mostly African American marchers outside of Capitol, loudspeaker playing spirituals, some singing along, holding signs/banners. v.o. - the march started in Alabama, a contrast to the climate of marches in the 1960's in that state.
Lawmakers - June 24, 1982 - Voting Rights Act
1965 civil rights scenes, Martin Luther King leading line of marchers on city sidewalk in Selma, Alabama. Cops with batons, on horseback, brutalizing marchers, using fire hoses. Old women marchers covering faces against tear gas. Police running and chasing demonstrators. Tear gas exploding, chaos in streets.
Lawmakers - June 24, 1982 - Voting Rights Act
Lyndon Johnson announcing passage of Voting Rights Act. Remarks in the Capitol Rotunda at the Signing of the Voting Rights Act. August 6, 1965. They came in darkness and they came in chains. And today we strike away the last major shackle of those fierce and ancient bonds.
Lawmakers - June 24, 1982 - Voting Rights Act
v.o.-the bill signed by LBJ in 1965 requires periodic renewal. Marchers approaching Capitol. One black man holds sign to camera praising "ancestors" in Civil Rights movement. v.o.-the renewal effort proceeded much more easily than expected-there was a filibuster in Senate that lasted only 7 days, and only 8 senators voted against the bill.
Lawmakers - June 24, 1982 - Voting Rights Act
Senator John East (R - North Carolina), I don t quarrel with the goal. The goal which Congress clearly has of tailoring legislation directed in ensuring the right of every American to vote, regardless of race or color. As I said on the Senate floor, I would happily support any reasonable legislation drafted to that end, in 1965 or today. I didn t feel the new bill that has just been enacted was, as I saw it at least, reasonably directed to that end. Because of the quota problem and again the problems effecting the South.
Lawmakers - June 24, 1982 - Voting Rights Act
Paul Duke, How do you explain the overwhelming support for this bill? Senator John East (R - North Carolina), A certain momentum builds for legislation, the Act was in place. It was often described as fundamentally an extension of the 65 Act. Many Senators and Congressmen thought that was fundamentally what they were doing. Congressman Hyde in the House pointed this out. I would simply argue, with all due respect to my colleagues, and I tried to argue that they were getting a lot more than the 65 Act.
Lawmakers - June 24, 1982 - Voting Rights Act
Paul Duke, But many of your fellow Senators, most of you fellow Senators, disagreed with you. Didn t you feel that you were making a Custer s Last Stand? Senator John East (R - North Carolina), Well, no. If you feel that something that is being done is not well considered - legislation is defective - I think you owe it to yourself and to the institution of the Senate and to the country as a whole, to raise it. I must say I had a number of Senators come up to me afterwards and felt we did a very good job in offering the amendments in the way in which we argued them. And yet they wouldn t necessarily vote with us on these things.
Lawmakers - June 24, 1982 - Voting Rights Act
Paul Duke, Do you attribute the outcome, at least in part, to an attempt by the White House and certain Senators to appease Civil Rights forces? Senator John East (R - North Carolina), I think the point is well taken. There seem to be a certain strong political current and momentum for it and so perhaps the rationale was let s acknowledge the inevitable, do the best we can and move on. Not an uncommon phenomenon in American politics and it occurred here. Sure it did.
Lawmakers - June 24, 1982 - Voting Rights Act
Paul Duke and Cokie Roberts discuss of passage of the Voting Rights Act extension. Interesting that the victory was so convincing. Civil Rights groups got more than they expected a more liberal law than expected. Even more interesting that Strom Thurmond, who set a record with a 24 hours filibuster against the 1957 Civil Rights Act, ended up voting in favor of the 1982 bill. Roberts notes that thanks to the 1965 Act, Thurmond now has to contend with black voters and must be careful not to appear bigoted or hostile to civil rights.
Lawmakers - June 24, 1982 - Insanity Defense Debate
Cokie Roberts intro report on Congressional hearings following the not guilty by reason of insanity verdict in John Hinckley s trial for shooting President Reagan (assassination attempt). Hearings on reforms on insanity defense part of a play to be "Tough on Crime before the elections.
Lawmakers - June 24, 1982 - Insanity Defense Debate
Senator Arlen Specter (R - Pennsylvania), opening hearing, This hearing has been convened promptly because of the public concern engendered by the acquittal of Mr. Hinckley. The American public has raised the questions appropriately as to whether the criminal justice system can deal with violent crime and whether or not the legal technicalities weigh too heavily in favor of defendants.
Lawmakers - June 24, 1982 - Insanity Defense Debate
Senator Howell Heflin (D - Alabama), There has been a miscarriage of justice. There is a need for a change of law, but I think it has to be done very carefully and from a studious point of view. Wide shots of hearing.
Lawmakers - June 24, 1982 - Insanity Defense Debate
At Senate Hearing about changes in insanity defense rules; shot of witness table with half-dozen jurors from the John Hinckley trial, all African American men and women. Nathalia Brown, juror on the Hinckley trial, testifying, They lay this in our laps. And the people are looking down on the jurors. They don t realize what it means to be a juror on this type of case. They don t know the different pressures of being away from your family. They sit and tell us, Hinckley - he s locked up playing ping pong, what a good basketball player he is. Here we are incarcerated by justice trying to figure out what his outcome going to be - those pressures.
Lawmakers - June 24, 1982 - Insanity Defense Debate
Senator Joe Biden (D - Delaware), Quite frankly I find this an extremely unusual hearing. I ve been in the Senate almost 10 years and practiced law before that and was one of those trial lawyers that stood before juries like part of the jury in front of us. And I ve never thought that I would be a position where we would be dissecting a case with the jurors, after the fact before a Senate Committee. Although the jurors may very well act in a way that is responsible in terms of what questions they decide to answer and not to answer, I hope that as this hearing continues, we Senator will act responsible as attorneys and know what to ask and what not to ask.