August 5, 1992 EXPANDING OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL AMERICANS +quot;I believe in an America where

August 5, 1992


             EXPANDING OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL AMERICANS


     "I believe in an America where we measure success not in
     dollars and lawsuits -- but in opportunity, prosperity and
     harmony.  I believe in the ideals we all share -- ideals that
     made America great: decency, fairness, faith, hard work,
     generosity, vigor, and vision."

                                   --   President George Bush
                                        November 21, 1991        

The President's Philosophy:  Create Opportunity                  

o    George Bush believes that with opportunity, hard work, faith,
     vigor, and dedication will allow every American to achieve
     their God-given potential; civil rights laws must provide the
     opportunity to make that dream possible.

o    President Bush has worked personally to ensure each American
     has an opportunity to achieve their full potential.  As a
     young man, George Bush walked door-to-door collecting
     donations for the United Negro College Fund.  As a
     Congressman, George Bush faced down constituents angry with
     his support of the 1968 Fair Housing Act.  

o    The President has opposed so-called civil rights proposals
     that would divide the nation by forcing hiring quotas or
     pitting one group of Americans against another.  In the
     President's view, the cause of civil rights is trivialized
     when laws are used to ration opportunity among groups, rather
     than to make opportunity real for each individual.

Expanding and Preserving Opportunity

o    The Americans with Disabilities Act -- For too long, disabled
     Americans have been denied the opportunity to achieve their
     full potential.  Under the President's leadership, the
     Americans with Disabilities Act was proposed, passed and
     signed into law, extending for the first time the same
     protections, independence, and opportunity to 43 million
     disabled Americans now enjoyed by any other American.

o    The Civil Rights Act of 1991 -- In signing the Civil Rights
     Act of 1991, the President strengthened legal protections that
     ensure each American's opportunity to obtain a job.

     --   But the President resisted measures that would have
          escalated the politics of division.  In 1990 he vetoed a
          bill that would have forced the use of hiring quotas.  In
          1991, the President again fought proposals that would
          have forced employers to adopt quotas merely to avoid the
          threat of lawsuits.

     --   Instead of quotas, the President believes civil rights
          laws should work along side policies that promote
          personal responsibility -- like tenant management of
          public housing and welfare reform -- and self-advancement
          -- like enterprise zones that create jobs.  

o    Strong Enforcement of Civil Rights Laws -- Through enforcement
     efforts and legislative action, the Administration has pursued
     civil rights policies that resist the politics of division,
     seeking instead to pursue efforts that promote opportunity,
     fairness and individual freedom for all Americans.

     --   In fair housing, the Department of Housing and Urban
          Development has resolved nearly 12,000 of 16,000
          outstanding fair housing cases.

     --   The Labor Department has obtained the largest settlements
          for discriminatory practices in the history of the
          Federal Contract Compliance program.  In one case, about
          1000 women were awarded $3.5 million to compensate for
          discrimination in hiring.

     --   Prosecution of hate crimes generated 35 convictions in 
          FY 1990 and another 30 convictions in FY 1991.  These
          convictions represent success rates of 100% and 98%
          respectively.  


President Bush's Urban Renewal Plan

o    The President recognizes the need to rejuvenate our nation's
     cities and to provide opportunity to hard working, law-abiding
     urban residents.  In the wake of the Los Angeles riots, the
     President proposed both near-term economic assistance, and a
     series of longer-term initiatives:

     --   to restore safe streets (Weed and Seed), 
     --   encourage business investment and job creation
          (enterprise zones, job training), 
     --   reform federal programs that encourage dependency
          (welfare reform), 
     --   require more personal responsibility (housing and welfare
          reform), and 
     --   create new opportunities for personal growth (education
          reform, including school choice). 

o    President Bush responded immediately to the Los Angeles riots.

     To restore order, he mobilized more than 5,000 National
     Guardsmen, Marines, and riot-trained Federal law enforcement
     personnel.  The President then focused Administration efforts
     on providing aid to get business owners and community leaders
     back on their feet.  Federal aid totalled $1.2 billion.

o    The President went directly to Los Angeles' citizens monitored
     the situation closely and then went to Los Angeles to learn
     first-hand about the needs of the area's citizens.  Once in
     Los Angeles, he ordered federal agencies to move quickly to
     provide food, rental assistance, and temporary jobs for
     dislocated workers.

o    The President's long-term goals are to address the root cause
     of urban unrest and to revitalize cities with jobs and
     investment.  His urban agenda will empower every American to
     achieve, through equal opportunity and hard work, the dignity
     and economic security they desire.  Components of the urban
     agenda include:

     --   Weed and Seed, which is winning back inner cities from
          gangs and drug dealers.  The President requested $500
          million for this program in his FY1993 budget.

     --   Welfare reform that encourages productive lifestyles and
          fosters independence.

     --   Urban enterprise zones to reinvigorate business activity
          and to provide jobs in neighborhoods blighted by poverty.

     --   Youth jobs that will build a more skilled and more
          competitive America by tapping into the energy and talent
          that exists in our inner cities.

     --   Home ownership through the HOPE (Homeownership and
          Opportunity for People Everywhere) initiative to provide
          low-income Americans with the opportunity to purchase a
          home, giving them a stake in their communities.

     --   Education reform that improves American schools by
          pursuing a strategy (America 2000) that empowers all
          parents to choose the best schools available.

Education

o    President Bush believes that the best way to empower
     disadvantaged Americans and to make the United States more
     competitive is through education.  As a complement to his
     America 2000 program, he has sought to make higher education
     accessible to all Americans.   

o    President Bush's Fiscal Year 1993 budget proposes the largest
     one-year increase in Pell grants in the program's history. 
     More funding would be available for students in income
     categories up to $50,000, especially in low- and middle-income
     categories.

o    President Bush has had a lifelong commitment to Historically
     Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs); as a young man he
     collected funds for the United Negro College Fund.

o    He has continued this commitment as President, both by
     encouraging Federal support for HBCUs and through his moral
     support for their role in American higher education.  

     --   Federal awards to HBCUs increased from $776 million in
          FY1989 to $888 million in FY1991, or 14.5%.

     --   The Bush Administration argued successfully before the
          Supreme Court that Mississippi has not done enough to
          remove the vestiges of segregation from its public
          university system.