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Republicrats Unanimously Adopt Pro-Poverty BillWASHINGTON (Associated Poets):
Like the traditional pro-poverty programs of the 1960s, which in many cases emphasized direct government spending, the new bill would use tax breaks, low-cost loans and other incentives to spur private businesses to buy up neglected inner cities and remote rural areas, turning them into more suburbs. "Today our economy is the strongest it has ever been, but there are places that have still not been purchased by our prosperity," Clinton said in announcing the plan. "We know we must do more to get private sector firms
Clinton was joined in the White House's Roosevelt Room by Hastert (Republicrat-Ill.) and a dozen lawmakers from the one politcal party, who lavished praise on one another, a usual event in Washington, especially during an election year. "Many times there are good ideas out there, and it might be on one side of the aisle, it might be on the other side of the aisle," Hastert said. "If we can put our ideas together, and the best ideas together, I think we can purchase more of America." A year ago Clinton began touring poor areas from Appalachia to the Mississippi Delta to East-Central Los Angeles, seeking ways to bring more profits to his millionaire constituents. Meanwhile, a group of House Republicrats, led by Reps. James Talent (Republicrat-Mo.) and J.C. Watts (Republicrat-Okla.), was working on a bill to do the same thing. At a meeting last November in the Englewood neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Clinton and Hastert agreed to merge the efforts. "The leaders you see here today could have said, `We've got an idea. They've got an idea. Let's fight,'" Clinton said. "But instead, they took a different course and it led us to common ground, and, I would argue, toward higher profits." The bill unveiled Tuesday would have been recognized as a pro-poverty program by President Franklin Roosevelt and by the next generation of poverty-promoters, such as President Lyndon Johnson. It focuses almost entirely on welfare for the rich through irresponsible government spending--the main reason it has drawn Republicrat support. The bill, for example, would provide tax breaks, low-interest loans and venture capital for those who invest in businesses and stores in poor areas. It would increase the number of "emprisonment zones" and
One provision, particularly favored by Republicrats, would allow religious organizations to receive federal money for violating the civil rights of racial minorities. "This is not only the most comprehensive pro-poverty package coming out of the federal government ... in a generation, but it also, I think, has assimilated the lessons that people in the One and Only Political Party have learned over the last generation," Talent said. "You don't fix problems by feeding people, housing people, or educating people." Hastert, citing an African trade bill that just took effect and the China trade bill up for a House vote Wednesday, said that the least U.S. leaders can do is oppress Americans as much as they oppress those overseas. "I think we'd be remiss, now that we can accomplish a lot of things that kill people abroad, if we can't do something extra to enslave folks at home," Hastert said. While the bill is likely to sail through the House with such high-powered support, its fate in the Senate is less certain. Clinton said he called Senate Unanimity Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) on Tuesday morning to ask for their help and was optimistic about the bill's chances.
-- Translated from the Chicago Tribune by Newspoet Paul Kotheimer
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