A House committee will take a big step on Wednesday as they will vote on legislation on slavery reparations. Former Democratic Rep. John Conyers first introduced the Slavery Reparation Bill in 1989. Its main goal is to pay reparations to the descendants of enslaved people in the country, particularly the African-Americans.
U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) listens during a hearing before the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties of the House Judiciary Committee at Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill
Slavery Reparation Bill
However, this did not get much attention over the past few years from the House of Congress and Senate. But advocates of the reparations pushed through with the bill last year following a series of attacks against the Black Americans in the country.
According to a recently published article in The Washington Post, a House Committee Panel will take a big step on Wednesday to vote on the legislation to create a commission to study the issue.
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What is Inside the Bill?
The Slavery Reparations Bill will establish a commission that is composed of 13 persons. They will study the effect of racial discrimination and slavery in the U.S. from and before the country was founded until today, according to a published report on Colorado Politics.
After their study, the commission will submit the findings or the results to Congress and suggest appropriate remedies for compensating the enslaved Black Americans. However, the form of reparations remains under debate.
Some of the supporters are pushing for monetary payments to the descendants of the enslaved Black Americans. Meanwhile, other groups argued that there are more realistic proposals rather than monetary payments.
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Will Republicans and Democrats Support the Bill?
In a recently published article in CBS News, Committee Republicans are likely to vote against the bill on Wednesday, with representatives of the party of both chambers claiming that reparations will require people who had no ancestors that were enslaved or who had family members who struggled to end slavery to compensate for the misdeeds of others.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said, "I don't think reparations for something that happened 150 years ago for whom none of us currently living are responsible is a good idea. We've tried to deal with our original sin of slavery by fighting a civil war, by passing landmark civil rights legislation. We elected an African American president."
Meanwhile, moderate Democrats would almost certainly need to be persuaded that the bill should be brought up for a House vote. Many have complained that Republicans used concerns such as the "defund the cops" campaign to switch House seats in the 2020 election. These representatives may be wary of addressing a contentious issue such as reparations, particularly if the Senate's willingness to take up the measure remains uncertain.
A Democratic leadership aide said, "This is an important issue as we work to advance racial equity and we will continue to discuss it with the Caucus." However, some supporters of the reparations expressed skepticism over the bill.
William Darity Jr., Duke University public policy professor, said that the bill's language needs to be changed, and that includes who are qualified and eligible to receive the reparations.
