Groups push Senate on staff diversity

WASHINGTON — For years, Don Cravins was the only African-American chief of staff in the Senate. He may be gone. but not much has changed.

There is still only one African-American chief of staff in the chamber and fewer than two dozen staffers of color in other top senior level positions.

“The doors have been closed to many of our people," said Cravins, who served as chief of staff for former Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu, and is now senior vice president for policy at the National Urban League. “We’re going to really try to put a stop to this and deal with this issue once and for all.”

The Urban League, along with other civil rights groups, and current and former staffers are calling on Senate leaders to step up efforts to address the lack of diversity among top staffers and make it a priority in the new Congress. Just this month, groups have sent letters to Senate leaders, hosted a panel on the issue and met with Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer.

“There’s seems to be more synergy this time around," said Cory Horton, legislative director for Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss.

Don Bell, president of the Senate Black Legislative Staff Caucus, said the push is coming from groups on and off the hill, which has made it "an issue that members and senior staffers here in the Senate have to take notice of.''

Booker, Menendez give new meaning to Senate diversity

Bell said his group has been meeting for weeks with senior staffers and lawmakers from both sides of the aisle. “Our perspective is that the lack of diversity is an institutional problem that requires a bipartisan response," he said.

Supporters of the effort note that Congress is more diverse. The Congressional Black Caucus is the largest it has ever been with 49 members. The Senate has three African-Americans senators.  Despite those milestones, they say lawmakers have fallen short on hiring a more diverse staff.

Of the more than 300 top staffers in the Senate in 2015, only 24 were people of color, according to the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a think tank that focuses on issues affecting African Americans.

The center, which plans to release an updated report, recently applauded several lawmakers for hires, including House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., whose chief of staff is African American.

The groups say the push comes at a critical time as communities become more diverse.

“With a country as diverse as ours we need policy makers providing input from as wide a spectrum as possible," Horton said. "The things that members of Congress do on the Hill are often a reflection of who they are and their staff."

A coalition of civil rights groups met Tuesday with Schumer, where they discussed a range of issues, including the lack of diversity. The groups also hope to meet with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

    Schumer’s office said he has taken some steps, including expansion of an initiative set up by Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., in 2006 to focus on increasing staff diversity. Schumer has hired more staffers and revamped the candidate database.

Schumer is also encouraging colleagues to follow the so-called “Rooney Rule," an NFL policy that requires teams to also interview minority candidates for top jobs.

“The more diverse the Senate is, the better it can serve the American people," Schumer said. “Expanding the diversity initiative, following the Rooney Rule, and dedicating ourselves to increasing diversity will be good for the Senate and for the country.”

Supporters say many senior-level jobs are not posted, so the rule may not be enough.

This new Capitol Hill selfie highlights interns of color

“The Rooney Rule is great, but it doesn’t work if there’s no interview process,’’ said Cravins, a Louisiana native. “If we never know there’s a vacancy, then how do you know if the Rooney Rule was even used?’’

Democratic Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Brian Schatz of Hawaii are also urging colleagues to diversify their staffs.

Among other proposals, groups are also calling for senators to:

• Adopt a resolution to create a Senate chief of diversity office and diversity office
• Collect data on the makeup of offices
• Support minority internships and fellowships to increase the number of prospects in the pipeline
• Expand the pool of candidates 
• Create a task force of lawmakers, civil rights leaders and staffers to address the issue

The Urban League also plans to send a letter later this month to Senate leaders and new senators, particularly those from states with significant minority populations, such as John Kennedy, R-La. The Urban League also hosted a panel last week.

“We’re not telling them who to hire. They can hire who they want,'' Cravins said. "We’re just saying we’d like you to interview some of these qualified people of color and we got some."

Although the Senate is the focus now, the groups say the House also needs to improve its staff diversity. Many senior level staffers of color work in the offices of minority lawmakers.

“The House shouldn’t get a pass," Cravins said.

Lawmaker raps Obama for lack of diversity in top posts

Supporters acknowledge there may not be a legislative fix to the problem, but said the effort should come from lawmakers.

“Whether they legislate or not, they could just do it on their own," Cravins said. “There are some things they can do starting now and they can fix this issue in six months if they really wanted to."

Follow Deborah Barfield Berry on Twitter: @dberrygannett