Senate Panel Backs Law to Restore Civil Rights Limited by High Court

Civil rights supporters won a victory Wednesday when a Senate committee, in a show of force by its new Democratic leadership, approved long-stalled legislation to broaden anti-discrimination laws that had been limited by a 1984 Supreme Court decision.

The Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee, in a bipartisan 12-4 vote, sent to the Senate floor the Civil Rights Restoration Act, which would extend civil rights protection for minorities, women, the disabled and elderly.

The bill had been blocked by Senate conservatives since its introduction in 1984.

“We have won a major victory,” said Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), the committee chairman. “After years of filibusters, the logjam is finally breaking on civil rights.”

The legislation is one of several liberal measures taken up by Kennedy’s committee since the Democrats regained control of the Senate and began reasserting their priorities. The panel also has approved a welfare reform and job retraining bill and is considering legislation aimed at raising the minimum wage.

The civil rights bill, sponsored by 58 senators, is aimed at reversing the Supreme Court’s Grove City College ruling, which narrowly applied the law prohibiting sex discrimination in schools and colleges receiving federal funds. The decision, later extended to other civil rights laws, limited the law to specific programs rather than an entire institution.