Ehrlich on Washington column, June 11, 1995

MEWS FROM Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. Second Congressional District of Maryland 1407 York Road, Suite 304 Lutherville, Maryland 21093 EHRLICH ON WASHINGTON By Congressman Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. 315 Cannon House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Week of June 11, 1995 TOWARDS AN OPPORTUNITY SOCIETY One of the greatest things about America is the ability of its citizens to rise from modest beginnings to achieve great things. Over the course of my lifetime, seven people born to poor or working-class families have become President of the United States. A possible future presidential or vice presidential candidate, retired General Colin Powell, was also the son of impoverished Jamaican immigrants. In America, the future can be better than the past. Our abilities and determination should be the only limitations each of us must face. This philosophy transformed the United States from a nation of simple farmers to the leader of the industrialized world. It is an essential part of the American ideal. Over the past 30 years, this founding principle has suffered as a result of a well-meaning but failed attempt at social engineering conceived during the Great Society era. Federal affirmative action or preferential hiring programs, originally intended to broaden opportunity for some deserving Americans, have had the paradoxical effect of denying it to others. The time has come to lift artificial barriers that prevent any American from realizing his or her potential. Congress must ensure that benefits originally intended by affirmative action are targeted to those who demonstrably need or deserve special assistance, and not provided solely on the basis of race or gender.