USA House Republicans To Visit Ghana

Reaching out to black voters in the aftermath of last year's divisive election fight, top congressional Republicans on Friday announced plans to send a delegation to Africa to promote free trade and backed a proposed national museum commemorating African-Americans.

Fewer than one in 10 blacks voted for Republican President George W. Bush (news - web sites) in the November election, and several black groups including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) have accused Florida election officials of purging minority voters from voter rolls.

Hoping to improve relations with minorities, Rep. J.C. Watts of Oklahoma, an African American and a member of the House Republican leadership, announced plans to lead a congressional delegation to Nigeria, Ghana and possibly other countries in April to promote free trade, democratic rights and economic development.

``It's critical for all to understand that President Bush and Republicans in Congress have an inclusive vision,'' Watts said in a statement.

Watts said he would also lead a bipartisan effort to pass legislation establishing a national African-American history museum, and hoped to set up a task force on the role black slaves played in building the U.S. Capitol.

Watts also sought to defuse a dispute over new House rules affecting minority students and colleges, saying Republicans would convene a summit with black and Hispanic university presidents in June.

Earlier this month Democrats in the House Education Committee announced a boycott of key subcommittees to protest the Republican-backed rules, which shifted oversight of black and Hispanic colleges to a newly created panel that oversees youth violence, child abuse and other social programs.

Education Committee Chairman John Boehner, an Ohio Republican, said the changes would free up lawmakers to focus more closely on education issues that affect the nation's 118 historically black public and private colleges and universities and 203 institutions serving Hispanics.

Democrats countered that the changes amounted to discrimination because black and Hispanic institutions would be separated from other colleges, which will fall under the jurisdiction of another panel.