CIVIL RIGHTS . . . TAKE A NUMBER

The U.S. Civil Rights Commission saysenforcement of civil rights lawsis so bureaucratic and slow that some people have to wait a decade for the federal government to resolve their complaints. The explanation, in a report released today by the bipartisan commission, boils down to budget cuts for the six major federal enforcement agencies even as the workload is expanding due to the passage of new anti-discrimination laws, mainly theAmericans with Disabilities Act. The four Republican appointees to the panel said they would not have released the report, which Democrats approved when three GOP members were absent.