Washington, DC - Congressman Ed Towns (D-Brooklyn), along with 42 other members of the Congressional Black Caucus met with President Bush today to discuss the glaring disparities that exist across a wide array of social issues between blacks and the rest of society. 

"While the meeting was very cordial, the President was non-committal in addressing the issues CBC members raised such as the disparities that exist in health care, education and job opportunities."

New CBC Chair Mel Watt (D-NC) told the President that the Caucus would view all of the President's initiatives through the lens of whether the policy would help close any of the disparity gaps that exist from housing to education.

"I think the Caucus did a very good job in making its case to the President.  We had numerous members who made well prepared and thought-out presentations to the Administration, said Towns.  "I think the President was surprised about how organized we were."

During the meeting, which lasted about 40 minutes, CBC members also raised the issue of disparity in voting rights.  Many CBC members believe that there were a concerted effort in the last election to suppress the vote in the black community, and want to strengthen existing law to make sure such problems do not occur again.  

"I was disappointed when CBC members brought up renewal of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, that the President said that he was not familiar enough with the subject to discuss it," said Towns.  "It is a sad reflection on the state of civil rights that our President is unfamiliar with such landmark legislation."

Towns says he is hopeful that a follow-up meeting can be scheduled so the Caucus can continue to discuss whether any progress is being made on the issues the CBC put on the table.  

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