Democrats Seek to Force Action on Civil Rights Bill

WASHINGTON —  Senate Democrats moved Friday to force action on civil rights legislation as angry Republican conservatives balked at a tentative accord between White House Chief of Staff John H. Sununu and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) on a key provision that had prompted a veto threat by President Bush.

Majority Leader George J. Mitchell (D-Me.) scheduled a vote Tuesday on a cloture motion to limit debate in apparent hopes of hastening action on the controversial measure, which has stirred considerable opposition in the business community.

When leaving for Camp David on Friday afternoon, Bush said he was optimistic that an agreement could be reached with the Democrats. “I hope I’m right in saying it looks like we can work something out on that,” he said.

The Kennedy-sponsored legislation would overturn a series of recent Supreme Court decisions that have narrowed the reach of existing laws against job discrimination. It would also allow victims of all forms of employment bias to sue for compensatory and punitive damages, which are now permissible only in cases of racial discrimination.

The Kennedy-Sununu understanding, reached Thursday, seeks to spell out in highly legalistic language what an employer must do to comply with affirmative action laws without resorting to quotas, which the Bush Administration vigorously opposes.

But the language did not satisfy either civil rights groups or conservative Republicans, although civil rights lobbyists described it as an improvement over earlier Sununu proposals. Conservative Republicans contended that it would force employers into quotas to avoid endless litigation.