May 2, 1995 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD— SENATE S5997 

When the Supreme Court in the 

Grove City case carved a hole below 

the waterline in laws banning discrimination in Federal programs, Ralph 

Neas played an indispensable role in 

developing the two-thirds majority 

needed to pass the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1988 over President 

Reagan’s veto. 

When President Reagan nominated 

Judge Robert Bork to the Supreme 

Court, Ralph Neas assembled and led 

an extraordinary nationwide coalition 

which successfully opposed the nomination because of Judge Bork’s hostility to protecting the constitutional 

rights and liberties of all Americans. 

When the Supreme Court in 1989 

issued a series of rulings severely reducing protections for job discrimination, Ralph Neas worked closely with 

Republicans and Democrats to fashion 

legislation to restore the protections, 

and after one unfortunate veto by 

President Bush, Congress enacted the 

Civil Rights Act of 1991. 

Under Ralph Neas’ leadership, we 

gained ground on several other important fronts during those years as well. 

In 1988, Congress passed the Fair Housing Act Amendments to strengthen the 

law banning housing discrimination 

and extend its reach to ban discrimination against families with children and 

persons with disabilities. 

In 1990, we enacted the landmark 

American With Disabilities Act, providing comprehensive new protection 

for the rights of 43 million disabled 

Americans. Because of that law, fellow 

citizens across the country are finally 

learning that ‘‘disabled’’ does not mean 

‘‘unable.’’

Ralph Neas’ enormous energy, and 

his extraordinary talents as an advocate, strategist, and spokesperson, 

helped make each of those victories 

possible. Now he is leaving the Leadership Conference to practice law and to 

serve as a visiting professor at Georgetown University Law School. 

Ralph Neas is being honored at a gala 

dinner tomorrow evening, when he will 

receive the Hubert H. Humphrey Award 

for his outstanding achievements in 

making America a better and fairer 

land. Every citizen committed to the 

constitutional ideal of equal justice 

under law owes Ralph Neas a debt of 

gratitude for his brilliant public service. 

Truly, through all these years, Ralph 

Neas has been the 101st Senator for 

civil rights. As he leaves the Leadership Conference, I congratulate him on 

his outstanding accomplishments, and 

I extend my best wishes to Ralph and 

his wife Katy for continuing success in 

the years ahead. 

f 

U.S./CUBA MIGRATION AGREEMENT 

Mr. PELL. Mr. President, today 

President Clinton has announced the 

conclusion of a new migration agreement with the Government of Cuba. 

This new agreement treats the more 

than 15,000 Cuban migrants currently 

detained at Guantanamo in a very humane manner, while putting in place 

safeguards to ensure that a similar 

flood of migrants is not encouraged at 

some future date. I want to commend 

the President for his decision to enter 

into, what I believe is a fair and balanced approach to handling the Cuban 

migrant issue. 

Under the terms of the agreement, 

Cuban migrants currently being detained at Guantanamo will now be eligible to be paroled into the United 

States, provided they qualify under 

United States immigration laws. Those 

paroled from Guantanamo will be 

counted in the annual 20,000 migration 

ceiling set last September in the context of the resolution of last year’s 

Cuban migration crisis. This will mean 

that people at Guantanamo who have 

been in limbo since last year will now 

have the possibility of getting on with 

their lives. To continue to detain these 

people indefinitely was really inhumane, but nothing else could be done 

for them until this new agreement was 

reached with the Government of Cuba. 

In contrast to the treatment of those 

currently at Guantanamo, any future 

Cuban rafters intercepted at sea will be 

returned to Havana. Cuban authorities 

have committed to accepting these migrants back without reprisal, and will 

allow for the monitoring of such individuals to ensure that this is the case. 

Obviously, any individual who might 

qualify for refugee status will be able 

to apply for asylum at the U.S. Interest Section in Havana. 

Finally, those Cubans who may successfully evade interdiction and reach 

the United States will be subject to the 

same deportation procedures any other 

alien would face upon entering the 

United States illegally. 

Mr. President, as you know I am in 

profound disagreement with our overall 

policy toward Cuba. I have said many 

times in the past that I believe that 

policy is outdated and ineffective and 

should be altered to enhance communications and contacts between the Untied States and Cuba. In my view this 

is the best way to facilitate the peaceful transition to democracy on that island. 

Unfortunately, President Clinton has 

not yet decided to alter the overall 

framework of our policy toward Cuba. 

However, I believe that the agreement 

announced today is one step in the 

right direction toward a more enlightened Cuba policy. I hope there will be 

many more steps in that same direction in the very near future. 

f 

IS CONGRESS IRRESPONSIBLE? 

THE VOTERS HAVE SAID YES! 

Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, there’s 

an impression that simply will not go 

away—that the $4.8-plus-trillion Federal debt is a grotesque parallel to the 

energizer bunny we see, and see, and 

see on television. The Federal debt 

keeps going and going and going—up, 

of course!—always to the misery of the 

American taxpayers. 

So many politicians talk a good 

game—when, that is, they go home to 

take—and talk is the operative word—

talk about bringing Federal deficits 

and the Federal debt under control. 

But, oddly enough, so many of these 

same politicians regularly voted for 

one bloated spending bill after another 

during the 103d Congress. Come to 

think about it, this may have been a 

primary factor in the new configuration of U.S. Senators as a result of last 

November’s elections. 

In any event, Mr. President, as of 

yesterday, Friday, May 1, at the close 

of business, the total Federal debt 

stood—down to the penny—at exactly 

$4,860,333,100,308.86 or $18,449,91 per person. Res ipsa loquitur. 

f 

THE RETIREMENT OF NORMAN 

PODHORETZ 

Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, on 

the occasion of his retirement after 35 

years as editor-in-chief of Commentary 

magazine, I would like to offer my concurrence with the sentiments expressed 

in this morning’s New York Post, Wall 

Street Journal, and Washington Times 

honoring the career and the person of 

Norman Podhoretz. As a New York 

Post editorial notes: ‘‘the ideas advanced in Commentary—thanks to 

Podhoretz’s editorial gifts—make it a 

forum for the key policy questions confronting the Nation.’’ David Brooks of 

the Wall Street Journal, offers a similar accolade: 

If there is one thing Mr. Podhoretz and his 

magazine have stood for all these years, it is 

the joy and value of ideas. 

Thirty-four years ago, I first appeared as a contributor to Commentary. The article, entitled ‘‘Bosses 

and Reformers,’’ dealt with conflict 

within the Democratic Party—a subject still alive and well today. 

Norman Podhoretz and Commentary 

have contributed much of value to 

modern political discourse. We owe 

them both great thanks. Mr. President, 

I ask unanimous consent that the full 

text of the above cited articles be reprinted in the RECORD. 

There being no objection, the articles 

were ordered to be printed in the 

Record, as follows: 

[From the Wall Street Journal, May 2, 1995] 

NORMAN PODHORETZ, NEVER RETIRING, 

RETIRES

(By David Brooks) 

Hundreds will gather tonight in a New 

York hotel ballroom to honor Norman 

Podhoretz, who is retiring after 35 years as 

editor of Commentary. There will be toasts 

from Henry Kissinger, Daniel Patrick Moynihan and Cynthia Ozick—and if the thing 

were done in true Commentary style, then 

there would be rebuttals and the whole ballroom would break into discussion groups, debating until morning ‘‘The Podhoretz Question.’’

If there is one thing Mr. Podhoretz and his 

magazine have stood for all these years, it is 

the joy and value of serious discussion. He 

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