Record shows Lott's stand on civil rights
By DAVID E. ROSENBAUM
New York Times
WASHINGTON -- In his 29 years in Congress, 16 in the House and the last 13 in the Senate, Trent Lott has voted consistently against measures that could be identified as civil rights legislation, and often he was one of a small number of lawmakers to vote that way.
A review of his voting record shows, for example, that Lott, a Mississippi Republican, opposed extension of the Voting Rights Act, expansion of fair housing laws, establishment of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday and payment of attorneys' fees to people who bring successful civil rights suits.
Last year, Lott was the only senator to vote against President Bush's nomination of Roger Gregory to be the first black judge on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va.
Over the years, he favored measures to outlaw busing for school desegregation, to extend a design patent owned by the United Daughters of the Confederacy and to eliminate affirmative action in federal contracts.
On Wednesday, Lott's office put out a list of his legislative accomplishments in the areas of trade with Africa, economic development and community health. The news release noted that Lott had sponsored Senate resolutions condemning the bombing of black churches and commemorating Juneteenth, a celebration of the emancipation of the slaves.
"Under Lott's majority leadership," the release stated, Congress approved measures such as a congressional Gold Medal for Rosa Parks, a day of honor to recognize minority veterans of World War II and a resolution honoring Jackie Robinson.
Lott was majority leader from 1996 to 2001, and he has been elected by Republican senators to be majority leader again when the new Congress convenes next month.
In some instances, Lott's positions had widespread support in Congress. For example, his opposition to school busing was consistent with the position of a large majority of lawmakers, including staunch Democrats such as Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia.
But in many other cases, Lott stood as part of a small minority. In 1983, he voted against making King's birthday a holiday. The House passed the bill, 338-to-90.
In the Senate, Lott supported measures in 1995 and 1998 that, had they been enacted, would have prohibited affirmative action programs in federal contracts such as highway construction grants.
In 2000, he opposed a measure that made it easier for the federal government to investigate and prosecute hate crimes.
In 2001, Lott was the only senator who voted against Gregory's confirmation. Gregory had been put on the bench by President Clinton as a recess appointment while Congress was out of session.
Lott's spokesman, Ron Bonjean, said the senator had voted against confirmation to register a protest against the recess appointment of judges.
At the end of every Congress, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People publishes a "legislative report card" that grades lawmakers on the percentage of times they were in accordance with the NAACP's position on selected votes.
In nearly every year he has been in the Senate, Lott has been one of the lowest-ranked senators, if not the lowest.
