Quote of note:

Reynolds said the Social Security study has nothing to do with partisan politics. "I want to see if the current [Social Security] system has a disparate impact on racial minorities," he said. "I don't know where the truth is, and that's the whole point of the exercise."

Member of Civil Rights Panel Quits, Says It Should Be Closed
Conservative Cites Partisan Agendas
By Darryl Fears
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 16, 2005; Page A02

The longest-serving member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights abruptly resigned yesterday, saying that the agency spends money irresponsibly in pursuit of partisan agendas -- liberal and conservative -- and should be shut down.

Russell G. Redenbaugh, a conservative unaffiliated with either major party, said he decided to end his 15-year tenure on the commission because his colleagues have resisted calls for more than a decade to appoint an independent agent to manage the commission's funds and an independent auditor to review its operations. The commission has not had a financial audit in 12 years; board and staff members believe it is deeply in the red.

...The commission is poised to press what some civil rights advocates, some academics and the two remaining liberal board members call a Republican agenda. On Friday, the board is scheduled to consider launching studies on whether Social Security shortchanges African Americans and whether minorities and women deserve advantages in the awarding of federal contracts. Both issues are part of Bush's agenda.

The commission's staff relied on research by the conservative Heritage Foundation and the libertarian Cato Institute to shape the proposal for the study.

Wade Henderson, executive director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, an umbrella group, predicted that "in each of these studies, I can assure you that they are going to reflect the right's ideology. It confirms our worst fears that the commission is little more than a handmaiden for the far right."

Reynolds said the Social Security study has nothing to do with partisan politics. "I want to see if the current [Social Security] system has a disparate impact on racial minorities," he said. "I don't know where the truth is, and that's the whole point of the exercise."