PoliticalHarmony Is Beautiful Music : New urban-policy chorus line in Washington

Harmony is rare on Capitol Hill. Power struggles between an intractable Republican President and an uncompromising and predominantly Democratic Congress often hold up action. This stalemate was rightly put aside, for a moment at least, to give the nation a chance to grapple with the challenges of the Los Angeles riots.

President Bush reached out to Democrats and Republicans. In a White House meeting, leaders from both parties quickly came to a rare broad compromise on aid for the cities. The speed is stunning given the legislative gridlock during much of the Bush presidency. The accord proves that the Administration and Congress can work together if the will is there.

The new urban aid package is expected to include help for the jobless, tax breaks for investors who put businesses in inner cities and immediate disaster aid for riot-devastated Los Angeles and flood-damaged Chicago. That help is in addition to $600 million in community investment funds, through the Federal Home Loan Bank System, for loans for economic development and for construction or renovation of businesses and houses in low- and moderate-income areas of Los Angeles.

The Administration is also pressing for $500 million for a nationwide “Weed and Seed” drive to boost the weeding out of urban criminals by police and the “seeding” of promising urban social programs.

The Democrats want, in exchange for their cooperation, presidential approval of a youth jobs program, permanent extension of unemployment benefits, housing assistance and a crime bill that would strengthen gun control.

The price tag for the new urban assistance could top $6 billion. To pay for these new bills in the face of spiraling deficits, the Democrats again look longingly at the defense budget. Bush has outlined no payment plan but has ruled out a tax increase on the ground that the slow economic recovery might be stalled.

America’s cities have suffered more than a decade of federal neglect. The Los Angeles riots changed the atmosphere in Washington. Suddenly, Bush and the Democrats, once so shrill and bitter in their exchanges, now appear willing to find common ground. Of course, neither party wants the blame for fiddling while the nation burns. Whatever the motives, the action is welcome.

President Bush said earlier this week that “the American Dream is hindered by too many obstacles: unsafe cities, slow economic growth, an out-of-date education system and dependency-creating government programs.” Addressing all that--plus the growing gap between rich and poor and growing racial and ethnic tensions--will require an even greater spirit of compromise in Washington.