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mahatmakanejeeves

(57,577 posts)
Thu Jun 1, 2017, 09:30 AM Jun 2017

Budget Would Cut Civil Rights Positions

That's the print title, Tuesday morning, above the fold, all the way on the right hand side. Online:

Politics

Trump administration plans to minimize civil rights efforts in agencies

By Juliet Eilperin, Emma Brown and Darryl Fears May 29

The Trump administration is planning to disband the Labor Department division that has policed discrimination among federal contractors for four decades, according to the White House’s newly proposed budget, part of wider efforts to rein in government programs that promote civil rights. ... As outlined in Labor’s fiscal 2018 plan, the move would fold the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, now home to 600 employees, into another government agency in the name of cost-cutting.

The proposal to dismantle the compliance office comes at a time when the Trump administration is reducing the role of the federal government in fighting discrimination and protecting minorities by cutting budgets, dissolving programs and appointing officials unsympathetic to previous practices.

The new leadership at the Environmental Protection Agency, for instance, has proposed eliminating its environmental justice program, which addresses pollution that poses health threats specifically concentrated in minority communities. The program, in part, offers money and technical help to residents who are confronted with local hazards such as leaking oil tanks or emissions from chemical plants.

Under President Trump’s proposed budget, the Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights — which has investigated thousands of complaints of discrimination in school districts across the country and set new standards for how colleges should respond to allegations of sexual assault and harassment — would also see significant staffing cuts. Administration officials acknowledge in budget documents that the civil rights office will have to scale back the number of investigations it conducts and limit travel to school districts to carry out its work.
....

Juliet Eilperin is The Washington Post's senior national affairs correspondent, covering how the new administration is transforming a range of U.S. policies and the federal government itself. She is the author of two books—one on sharks, and another on Congress, not to be confused with each other—and has worked for the Post since 1998. Follow @eilperin

Emma Brown writes about national education and about people with a stake in schools, including teachers, parents and kids. Follow @emmersbrown

Darryl Fears has worked at The Washington Post for more than a decade, mostly as a reporter on the National staff. He currently covers the environment, focusing on the Chesapeake Bay and issues affecting wildlife. Follow @bydarrylfears
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Budget Would Cut Civil Rights Positions (Original Post) mahatmakanejeeves Jun 2017 OP
Related: Fed investigation of Google gets shut down one day after Google CEO defends Jared Kushner mahatmakanejeeves Jun 2017 #1
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