Introduction
There were high hopes that the change in leadership in the 110th Congress would alter Congress' partisan work atmosphere, opening avenues for solutions to the continuing and pressing problems of inequality and lack of opportunity for all Americans.
With the nation hobbled by a mortgage crisis, an economic downturn, a deficit, and an ongoing war, the expectation was that the 110th Congress would mark a new era of bipartisan cooperation to address these and other problems. The passage of the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act lived up to the hope of bipartisan, bicameral cooperation.
Unfortunately, with narrow majorities in both houses, and presidential candidates often absent in the Senate, the 110th Congress was largely a repeat of the same gridlock and political posturing that characterized the 107th, 108th and 109th Congresses.
Undeterred, the civil rights coalition continued to press an agenda that would help the nation live up to its highest ideals, which included bills to combat discrimination in the workplace, strengthen existing laws to assist law enforcement in prosecuting hate crimes, provide voting representation in Congress for residents of the District of Columbia, and provide a chance for significant progress in achieving comprehensive immigration reform.
But the promises and opportunities of a shift in power for progress on civil rights remained largely unfulfilled.
Nonetheless, in the House, some progress was made because of the shift in leadership, which was more supportive of progressive issues. As a result, the House passed the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, to address the housing crisis.
Although the new law creates an affordable housing trust fund, monitors mortgage brokers, and helps cities rehabilitate foreclosed properties, it failed to include LCCR's main objective to give subprime homeowners, who are disproportionately African-American and Latino, a last resort to prevent foreclosures through bankruptcy courts.
The civil rights coalition had high hopes that the House-passed Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, a "fix" to a 2007 Supreme Court decision that severely limited the ability of victims of pay discrimination to sue and recover damages, would be taken up by the Senate, but the bill was filibustered and prevented from receiving a full vote.
Indeed, almost every progressive step forward in the House was countered by stalemates and intransigence in the Senate. Bills were passed in the House, but died in the Senate, where the minority forced cloture votes on nearly every piece of legislation under consideration by the Senate.
Even when bills moved through both houses, President Bush vetoed 11 bills and threatened to veto 54 more. The result was that the 110th Congress made little headway on legislation or ensuring the fullest opportunities for all Americans.
The American people are demanding an end to partisanship in Washington, and both major presidential candidates are promising to deliver on that demand. The next Congress and a new administration could offer hope for more progress on key civil rights issues, and new opportunities to set a course to fulfill an unfinished agenda.
To pass legislation, a bill needs 51 votes—but to end debate and get to a vote, 60 senators were needed to vote for cloture. The result was a record number of cloture votes in the 110th Congress.
About the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
LCCR is the nation's oldest, largest, and most diverse civil and human rights coalition. Founded in 1950, LCCR is currently made up of nearly 200 organizations representing persons of color, women, children, labor unions, individuals with disabilities, older Americans, major religious groups, gays and lesbians, and civil liberties and human rights groups.
LCCR works to effect meaningful legislation, policies, and executive branch appointments, and to ensure the proper enforcement of civil rights laws to unite us as a nation true to its promise of equal justice, equal opportunity, and mutual respect.
