Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to maintain the Hope Six public housing program in the federal budget. Farai Chideya talks with Artur Davis, an up-and-coming Democratic congressman from Alabama who played a key role in sustaining the program.
ED GORDON, host: From NPR News, this is NEWS & NOTES.  I'm Ed Gordon.</s>ED GORDON, host: Going against the Bush administration's wishes, last week the House of      Representatives voted to maintain the Hope VI public housing program in      the federal budget.  A young up-and-coming Democrat from Alabama, Arturo      Davis, played a key role in sustaining the program, but it still faces      obstacles. Congressman Davis spoke with NPR's Farai Chideya before the      House voted.  He explained why he was willing to put his political clout      on the line to keep Hope VI alive.</s>Representative ARTURO DAVIS (Democrat, Alabama): Well, Hope VI has been      an enormously important program for renovating inner-city communities and      for bringing vitality and health back to a lot of those communities over      the last 15 or 16 years.  It was initially a bipartisan project.  It was      started under Bush 41.  HUD Secretary Jack Kemp was the instigator of the      program.  And for about 16 years the program has had enormous bipartisan      support from Congress. Unfortunately, the last several years, the Bush      administration has tried to not just cut the program, but to do away with      it altogether.  And the last two years the president was unsuccessful.</s>Representative ARTURO DAVIS (Democrat, Alabama): The president proposed no new money for Hope VI.  Congress restored      funding the last two years.  This year, the president, for the third      time, has tried to do away with Hope VI, and the Transportation, Treasury      and Housing Appropriations bill does not contain any provision for Hope      VI.  That's a big disappointment to those of us who care about economic      development in the inner city and that's why we played a major role in      leading this fight.  My district alone has three Hope VI projects that      we've gotten in the last six years. These projects have had an enormous      impact around the country.</s>Representative ARTURO DAVIS (Democrat, Alabama): FARAI CHIDEYA reporting:</s>Representative ARTURO DAVIS (Democrat, Alabama): When you talk about these projects that are in your district, paint us a      picture of what they look like.  Give us a sense of who lives there.</s>Representative ARTURO DAVIS (Democrat, Alabama): Well, Hope VI targets public housing projects, to revitalize      them, to turn them into mixed-income dwellings.  People aren't displaced.      The people who live there are given the first opportunity to stay.  But      they're physically renovated so they look like more conventional, modern      town homes, which draws young professionals, which draws families back      into the community, and which also creates a basis for businesses to      relocate near the area.  So what you get from a Hope VI project is an      area that's often been blighted and neglected is physically transformed      into a vibrant center of city life.  We think it's important to get Hope      VI funded at some level so that we keep the program going and that we get      additional projects in the pipeline.</s>CHIDEYA: Let's turn a little bit to some of your background and history.      You grew up in a family where you didn't have a ton of money, ended up      going to Harvard, going into private practice, and then, when you were      elected, you beat out a fairly traditional, old-school African-American      Democrat, the first Democratic African-American representative since      Reconstruction.  Did you burn some bridges when you ran against an      incumbent?</s>Representative ARTURO DAVIS (Democrat, Alabama): Oh, I don't think that we burned any bridges with the voters      in our district.  The reality is that whenever you run for Congress      against an incumbent, most incumbents tend to view their positions as      their job, and they tend to view their position as something they're      gonna fight very hard to hold on to.  The district is still in very      strong Democratic hands, and I think the district has a representative in      myself who's committed to issues at the core of the Democratic Party:      lifting up the conditions of people who've been left behind; giving      people help when they need it; giving them a fair shot at opportunity in      this society.  I consider those to be the values of the Democratic Party      and those are the values I've been fighting for since I've been in      Congress.</s>CHIDEYA: How do you, as a congressman who's part of a minority party,      advocate for these quality-of-life issues for jobs when you are not in      power?</s>Representative ARTURO DAVIS (Democrat, Alabama): Well, make no mistake, it's been a very, very difficult task      for those of us who have a certain set of values for America to prevail      in the last couple sessions of Congress.  The Republican majority in      Congress has a very different vision of America, and Hope VI is a good      example of that.  I firmly believe that you can make a difference by      engaging particular issues and by challenging Republicans to make their      rhetoric fit their votes.  We did it two years ago when President Bush      tried to cut funding for black land-grant colleges like Alabama A&M and      Tuskegee University in my state.  We managed to get Congress to pass an      amendment restoring that funding.  We managed to get Congress to expand      the child tax credit for working-class families.  So I'm a very strong      believer that if you find some issues that you can press, and you can      challenge Republicans on their own rhetoric, if you can challenge them to      make their votes and their rhetoric catch up, you can make a difference      every now and then.  But, obviously, this has been a long and difficult      fight for Democrats.</s>CHIDEYA: Let's talk a little bit more about the Democratic Party.  You      are often grouped with a new generation of African-American leadership,      including Harold Ford and Barack Obama, that try to promote a big-tent      theory of how the Democrats should reach out to America as opposed to      perhaps a more traditionally partisan one.  Do you agree with that      assessment, and is it a strength or a weakness in a highly partisan      atmosphere to try to be a centrist?</s>Representative ARTURO DAVIS (Democrat, Alabama): Well, I reject a little bit the generational argument      because I think that the generational divide--you can find younger      politicians who embrace inclusive politics, you can find younger      politicians who don't embrace the politics of inclusion, and the same      with politicians who are on the other side of the generational divide.  I      think the real division is not so much whether or not you're born after      1960 or after 1965; the real division is what your experiences have been      and how you can use those experiences to serve the people that you      represent.  I'm a very strong believer that for Democrats to regain the      House and Senate, to take the White House back, we've obviously got to      find out how we can reach out to people who have not been voting for      Democrats.  That's self-evident.</s>Representative ARTURO DAVIS (Democrat, Alabama): And we can't just be a party that bashes what the Republicans do without      having some constructive alternative to put on the table.  We have to      have our own compelling vision of what this country ought to be and I      think we've gotten one.  We're a party that believes that if you work in      this country, you ought to have a shot at opportunity, you ought to have      a shot at health care, you ought to have a shot at being able to take      care of your family and send your kids to college, and we understand that      government can play a role in making those things happen.</s>Representative ARTURO DAVIS (Democrat, Alabama): Final point that I'll make is that those of us who are trying to push the      Democratic Party forward recognize that we have to be a commonsense      party.  We have to be a party that speaks to people's basic sense of      values and their basic sense of what our country ought to be.  We're a      country that believes in fair play for people.  We're a country that      believes if you work hard, you ought to be rewarded for that.  We're not      a country that believes in government of the privileged, by the      privileged and for the privileged, and that's what we've had the last      four years.  But we have to be direct about those things, and we have to      paint this picture for the American people if we're going to be      successful.</s>CHIDEYA: Before we let you go, I want to do two things.  First of all,      want to ask you about some of the other legislation you've been involved      in, or the votes.  You took a strong stand on flag-burning, saying that      though you thought it was odious, that it was constitutional and part of      the government. You were trying to increase the amount of money to      preserve cord blood for future stem-cell research.  What do those      decisions say about how you operate in this highly partisan world of left      and right?  What kind of vision are you trying to shape?</s>Representative ARTURO DAVIS (Democrat, Alabama): Well, I voted against the flag-burning amendment, which is      not a popular vote with everyone in the state of Alabama, but this is the      reality. We have all kinds of offensive and outrageous speech in our      society.  I'm offended when someone burns a cross.  I'm offended when      someone displays the swastika.  I'm offended when people use racial slurs      to try to demean people. But we permit all that discussion, we permit all      of those symbols, not because we like them, but because we believe in the      First Amendment.  We believe that even the worst ideas in our country      ultimately will be pushed down by the better ideas.  Only weak societies      need flag-burning amendments.  Only weak societies need to hold up      symbols and to say that we value the symbol more than the substance of      the symbol.  We're a strong enough country that we don't need to do that.      We've marginalized people who hate our country.  We marginalize people      who burn flags.  They're not a part of the respectable political      discourse, and we've won this argument, and we don't need to amend our      Constitution.</s>Representative ARTURO DAVIS (Democrat, Alabama): As far as the cord-blood bill goes, I'm a supporter of stem-cell      research. I'm also a supporter of cord-blood research.  We've learned in      the last several years that the umbilical cords can be used--rather than      being discarded, they can be used for blood transfusions, they can be      used for important research, and they're very important for combatting      diseases like sickle-cell anemia, so I was fortunate that a few months      ago I was the lead Democrat on a bill that passed the House 431-to-1 that      will lead to expanded federal research and expanded availability of cord      blood cells.</s>Representative ARTURO DAVIS (Democrat, Alabama): The broader point I'll make about my voting record is that, on the      overwhelming majority of issues facing this country, there's not a simple      liberal or conservative solution.  A lot of the issues are packaged on      liberal or conservative dynamic, but on the basic questions of how you      educate our children, how you provide adequate health care, how you      provide the right balance between environment and growing jobs, the      answers aren't easily packaged on a liberal or conservative bias.  So my      obligation is to try to find some way to move toward commonsense      solutions on the problems that impact people in my state and my district.</s>CHIDEYA: Final question:  You have been written about as someone who      could be a contender for statewide office, whether that was the      governorship or perhaps moving up into the Senate from the US House of      Representatives.  But David Bositis, who is with the Joint Center in      Washington, a think tank that analyzes black participation in politics,      said, `Alabama hasn't made it to the 20th century, let alone the 21st.'      Now in terms of allowing an African-American to be considered for that      prominent a role, do you believe, as David Bositis says, that Alabama is      just not ready for you to go any further than you are?</s>Representative ARTURO DAVIS (Democrat, Alabama): Oh, I think those of us from Alabama, are used to people      underestimating our state.  I think those of us from Alabama are used to      people doubting our capacity to move forward and we've been dealing with      that for years.  When John Lewis and Martin Luther King mobilized the      people of Selma to demand their voting rights, they were told that Selma      was the wrong place to go, the people of Selma were too passive to stand      up; they were told there was no way that Alabama would ever bend.  When      Martin Luther King and Fred Shuttlesworth attempted to mobilize the      people of Birmingham to resist segregation, they were told that      Birmingham was the most segregated city in America and would never      change.  I'm used to people doubting the state of Alabama.</s>Representative ARTURO DAVIS (Democrat, Alabama): If I decide to make a run for the governorship or the Senate seat, A,      that wouldn't be in any scenario that I can see until 2010, but if I      decide to do that, it will be with the conviction that if you talk about      the right issues, if you talk about issues that matter to people, they      will give you an opening. And I would submit that Alabama is not      fundamentally different from Tennessee or Maryland or Illinois.  The      reality is that--or Virginia, which elected Wilder.  The reality is that      whenever black candidates run breakthrough races, they're always expected      to fail at the outset.  No one expected that Wilder would win in      Virginia.  When my friend, Barack Obama, ran for the Senate in Illinois,      his prospects were widely dismissed.  The reality is that people rarely      see the potential of a breakthrough until it's on the eve of happening.</s>CHIDEYA: All right.  Well, we are going to keep an eye on that issue and      an eye on you.</s>CHIDEYA: Democratic Congressman Arturo Davis represents Alabama's 7th District.      Thank you for joining us.</s>Representative ARTURO DAVIS (Democrat, Alabama): Thank you.</s>CHIDEYA: Farai Chideya, NPR News.</s>ED GORDON, host: This is NPR News.