Time Has Passed for Snow White Week

WASHINGTON —  Venerable members of the United States House of Representatives do not usually sponsor bills concerning frilly, imaginary lasses like Snow White. Something like that doesn’t play too well on campaign literature.

But Rep. Carlos J. Moorhead, the dean of California’s congressional delegation, says he has no regrets about declaring the week of July 13-19, 1987, as Snow White Week--even though opponent after opponent has brought it up derisively at election time as an example of his lack of legislative clout.

“I got kidded a lot about it--and I still do--but that was something that helped a major industry in my district,” said Moorhead, a Glendale Republican whose turf includes Disney’s Burbank studios. “I hear about it during every election.”

Moorhead made the designation at the request of Disney, which was eager for a bit of positive PR during the 50th anniversary of “Snow White,” the first animated motion picture. As Moorhead explains it, this was patriotism, not frivolity.

“There are many industries that use these commemorative designations to help them stimulate interest,” he said. “Many of them are very helpful to the country as a whole.”

But on this issue, Moorhead is out of step with his Republican colleagues. The new reform-minded Congress has called for an end to commemorative years, months, weeks or days. There is no time for catchy slogans, it seems, as Republicans launch work on their “contract with America.”

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Happy National Grandparent Year!

Yes, all of 1995 has been set aside by Congress to honor those all-important family elders without whom none of us would be around. And just in case you missed it, 1994 was the official congressional Year of Gospel Music--365 days of deep, soulful singing.

But when this year is over, hang up your party hat.

With the elimination of commemorative days, out goes National Walking Week, set aside for the first week of May to encourage folks to stride a bit more often. And National Character Counts Week, seven days in October designed to pat the virtuous on the back.

No more months honoring Irish Americans, Italian Americans or Native Americans either.

As freshman Rep. Gerald C. Weler (R-Ill.), who helped slash the hoopla, said at a recent press conference: “Congress has spent one-fourth . . . of its time dealing with National Pickle Month and other commemorative-type legislation. We eliminated that so Congress can get down to its business.”

After that remark, the Washington Post launched an investigation and found no record of a pickle month. But pickle or no pickle, Congress has considered just about everything else fair game for an honor--from family farms to trees to John Barry, the founder of the U.S. Navy.

Such a sudden end to these national days of celebration may raise concerns among the C-SPAN junkies or Congressional Record subscribers who kept track of all the designations. And some natural questions spring to mind: Will stinginess take over if there is no longer a National Penny Charity Week? What will happen to our youth without National Good Teen Day? Will volunteers walk off the job if they are not recognized with Public Service Recognition Week?

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The attack launched at Moorhead during this past election sure sounded good: The only bill that Moorhead successfully pushed through Congress in the past decade, challenger Doug Kahn charged in a campaign mailer, was Snow White Week.

Bearing a photo of Snow White, the hit piece went on: “Snow White was a hard worker. No one begrudges her a week of glory. The woman deserved it. But do-nothing career politicians like Carlos Moorhead are another matter.”

As a low-key guy who had heard the gibe many times before, Moorhead did not get bent out of shape. He patiently pointed out to reporters that it was difficult for a Republican to navigate anything through the old Democratic House of Representatives.

So Snow White Week was a triumph of sorts.

After all, even Snow White Week required 218 signatures, a majority of the House. Then it had to endure a rigorous review in the Senate Judiciary Committee, before finally going to Senate itself. And like weightier matters--things like the ban on assault weapons or the North American Free Trade Agreement--commemorative days must be signed by the President.

Kahn, who lost to Moorhead 53% to 42%, sees all of this as a royal waste of time.

“There’s nothing wrong with honoring groups or people, but that’s not the proper function of the Congress of the United States,” said Kahn, an Altadena resident who owns a small typesetting firm. “It’s gotten out of hand.”

But to be fair, Kahn’s campaign broadside did not fully capture Moorhead’s legislative history. It ignored all the behind-the-scenes work Moorhead has pursued during his 22-year career and the items he co-sponsored with other legislators. And it completely overlooked another Moorhead initiative from the 1970s--National Prayer Week.