H.R. 40: Commission to Study Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act
To acknowledge the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of slavery in the United States and the 13 American colonies between 1619 and 1865 and to establish a commission to examine the institution of slavery, subsequently de jure and de facto racial and economic discrimination against African-Americans, and the impact of these forces on living African-Americans, to make recommendations to the Congress on appropriate remedies, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: John Conyers, Jr. (D. Mich)
It is strange that a person who never was a slave, whose parents and grandparents were never slaves, whose great-grandparents were never slaves would get money from the government for slavery to their ancestor (providing they can prove that their ancestor was a slave). This is absurd. To get money for what happened to your ancestor will open the flood gates in every nation. I could sue the Egyptians for what they did to my ancestors (a couple of million dollars would compensate me nicely). How about a listing of those people who can sue nations for what was done to their ancestors.The Full Text
HR 40 IH
111th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 40
To acknowledge the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of slavery in the United States and the 13 American colonies between 1619 and 1865 and to establish a commission to examine the institution of slavery, subsequently de jure and de facto racial and economic discrimination against African-Americans, and the impact of these forces on living African-Americans, to make recommendations to the Congress on appropriate remedies, and for other purposes.IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 6, 2009
Mr. CONYERS (for himself and Mr. SCOTT of Virginia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the JudiciaryA BILL
To acknowledge the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of slavery in the United States and the 13 American colonies between 1619 and 1865 and to establish a commission to examine the institution of slavery, subsequently de jure and de facto racial and economic discrimination against African-Americans, and the impact of these forces on living African-Americans, to make recommendations to the Congress on appropriate remedies, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘Commission to Study Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) Findings- The Congress finds that--
(1) approximately 4,000,000 Africans and their descendants were enslaved in the United States and colonies that became the United States from 1619 to 1865;
(2) the institution of slavery was constitutionally and statutorily sanctioned by the Government of the United States from 1789 through 1865;
(3) the slavery that flourished in the United States constituted an immoral and inhumane deprivation of Africans’ life, liberty, African citizenship rights, and cultural heritage, and denied them the fruits of their own labor; and
(4) sufficient inquiry has not been made into the effects of the institution of slavery on living African-Americans and society in the United States.
(b) Purpose- The purpose of this Act is to establish a commission to--
(1) examine the institution of slavery which existed from 1619 through 1865 within the United States and the colonies that became the United States, including the extent to which the Federal and State Governments constitutionally and statutorily supported the institution of slavery;
(2) examine de jure and de facto discrimination against freed slaves and their descendants from the end of the Civil War to the present, including economic, political, and social discrimination;
(3) examine the lingering negative effects of the institution of slavery and the discrimination described in paragraph (2) on living African-Americans and on society in the United States;
(4) recommend appropriate ways to educate the American public of the Commission’s findings;
(5) recommend appropriate remedies in consideration of the Commission’s findings on the matters described in paragraphs (1) and (2); and
(6) submit to the Congress the results of such examination, together with such recommendations.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT AND DUTIES.
(a) Establishment- There is established the Commission to Study Reparation Proposals for African-Americans (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the ‘Commission’).
(b) Duties- The Commission shall perform the following duties:
(1) Examine the institution of slavery which existed within the United States and the colonies that became the United States from 1619 through 1865. The Commission’s examination shall include an examination of--
(A) the capture and procurement of Africans;
(B) the transport of Africans to the United States and the colonies that became the United States for the purpose of enslavement, including their treatment during transport;
(C) the sale and acquisition of Africans as chattel property in interstate and instrastate commerce; and
(D) the treatment of African slaves in the colonies and the United States, including the deprivation of their freedom, exploitation of their labor, and destruction of their culture, language, religion, and families.
(2) Examine the extent to which the Federal and State governments of the United States supported the institution of slavery in constitutional and statutory provisions, including the extent to which such governments prevented, opposed, or restricted efforts of freed African slaves to repatriate to their homeland.
(3) Examine Federal and State laws that discriminated against freed African slaves and their descendants during the period between the end of the Civil War and the present.
(4) Examine other forms of discrimination in the public and private sectors against freed African slaves and their descendants during the period between the end of the Civil War and the present.
(5) Examine the lingering negative effects of the institution of slavery and the matters described in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4) on living African-Americans and on society in the United States.
(6) Recommend appropriate ways to educate the American public of the Commission’s findings.
(7) Recommend appropriate remedies in consideration of the Commission’s findings on the matters described in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4). In making such recommendations, the Commission shall address among other issues, the following questions:
(A) Whether the Government of the United States should offer a formal apology on behalf of the people of the United States for the perpetration of gross human rights violations on African slaves and their descendants.
(B) Whether African-Americans still suffer from the lingering effects of the matters described in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4).
(C) Whether, in consideration of the Commission’s findings, any form of compensation to the descendants of African slaves is warranted.
(D) If the Commission finds that such compensation is warranted, what should be the amount of compensation, what form of compensation should be awarded, and who should be eligible for such compensation.
(c) Report to Congress- The Commission shall submit a written report of its findings and recommendations to the Congress not later than the date which is one year after the date of the first meeting of the Commission held pursuant to section 4(c).
SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP.
(a) Number and Appointment- (1) The Commission shall be composed of 7 members, who shall be appointed, within 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, as follows:
(A) Three members shall be appointed by the President.
(B) Three members shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
(C) One member shall be appointed by the President pro tempore of the Senate.
(2) All members of the Commission shall be persons who are especially qualified to serve on the Commission by virtue of their education, training, or experience, particularly in the field of African-American studies.
(b) Terms- The term of office for members shall be for the life of the Commission. A vacancy in the Commission shall not affect the powers of the Commission, and shall be filled in the same manner in which the original appointment was made.
(c) First Meeting- The President shall call the first meeting of the Commission within 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, or within 30 days after the date on which legislation is enacted making appropriations to carry out this Act, whichever date is later.
(d) Quorum- Four members of the Commission shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number may hold hearings.
(e) Chair and Vice Chair- The Commission shall elect a Chair and Vice Chair from among its members. The term of office of each shall be for the life of the Commission.
(f) Compensation- (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), each member of the Commission shall receive compensation at the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay payable for GS-18 of the General Schedule under section 5332 of title 5, United States Code, for each day, including travel time, during which he or she is engaged in the actual performance of duties vested in the Commission.
(2) A member of the Commission who is a full-time officer or employee of the United States or a Member of Congress shall receive no additional pay, allowances, or benefits by reason of his or her service to the Commission.
(3) All members of the Commission shall be reimbursed for travel, subsistence, and other necessary expenses incurred by them in the performance of their duties to the extent authorized by chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code.
SEC. 5. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.
(a) Hearings and Sessions- The Commission may, for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this Act, hold such hearings and sit and act at such times and at such places in the United States, and request the attendance and testimony of such witnesses and the production of such books, records, correspondence, memoranda, papers, and documents, as the Commission considers appropriate. The Commission may request the Attorney General to invoke the aid of an appropriate United States district court to require, by subpoena or otherwise, such attendance, testimony, or production.
(b) Powers of Subcommittees and Members- Any subcommittee or member of the Commission may, if authorized by the Commission, take any action which the Commission is authorized to take by this section.
(c) Obtaining Official Data- The Commission may acquire directly from the head of any department, agency, or instrumentality of the executive branch of the Government, available information which the Commission considers useful in the discharge of its duties. All departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the executive branch of the Government shall cooperate with the Commission with respect to such information and shall furnish all information requested by the Commission to the extent permitted by law.
SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.
(a) Staff- The Commission may, without regard to section 5311(b) of title 5, United States Code, appoint and fix the compensation of such personnel as the Commission considers appropriate.
(b) Applicability of Certain Civil Service Laws- The staff of the Commission may be appointed without regard to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing appointments in the competitive service, and without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title relating to classification and General Schedule pay rates, except that the compensation of any employee of the Commission may not exceed a rate equal to the annual rate of basic pay payable for GS-18 of the General Schedule under section 5332 of title 5, United States Code.
(c) Experts and Consultants- The Commission may procure the services of experts and consultants in accordance with the provisions of section 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, but at rates for individuals not to exceed the daily equivalent of the highest rate payable under section 5332 of such title.
(d) Administrative Support Services- The Commission may enter into agreements with the Administrator of General Services for procurement of financial and administrative services necessary for the discharge of the duties of the Commission. Payment for such services shall be made by reimbursement from funds of the Commission in such amounts as may be agreed upon by the Chairman of the Commission and the Administrator.
(e) Contracts- The Commission may--
(1) procure supplies, services, and property by contract in accordance with applicable laws and regulations and to the extent or in such amounts as are provided in appropriations Acts; and
(2) enter into contracts with departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the Federal Government, State agencies, and private firms, institutions, and agencies, for the conduct of research or surveys, the preparation of reports, and other activities necessary for the discharge of the duties of the Commission, to the extent or in such amounts as are provided in appropriations Acts.
SEC. 7. TERMINATION.
The Commission shall terminate 90 days after the date on which the Commission submits its report to the Congress under section 3(c).
SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
To carry out the provisions of this Act, there are authorized to be appropriated $8,000,000.
- Jews suing Italy for the destruction of the Temple by Titus in 70 CE. He even wrote to the Roman Senate bragging about it.
- The French suing Italy for Julius Caesar's invasion of Gaul 58-50 BCE. Caesar did a real number on them.
- The British suing Italy for the Roman invasion of their nation in 43 AD by Emperor Claudius.
- The Romanians could sue Italy for the invasion of Dacia (Romania) by Trajan in 101 CE.
- Italy could sue Spain and Portugal for the sacking of Rome by the Visigoths.
- France could sue every Muslim nation for the invasion in 732 CE.
- Armenians suing the government of Turkey for the Armenian Genocide of 1915. At least they have some survivors of the genocide still alive.
The last time the US gave reparations to a group was to the men and women who were interred in Interment Camps during WW2, not to their descendants. At this time in the history of the US it is time we move away from this idea. We cannot afford it, and it will do nothing but anger the majority of Americans who don't want to even consider reparations to people who did nothing but be born to a family that once were slaves. It is just wrong.
21 comments:
This is the biggest load of bullcrap I have ever heard of. Blacks were the ones who were selling them, and brought them over here. This could be the start of the next civil war.
The last time the US gave reparations to a group was to the men and women who were interred in Interment Camps during WW2, not to their descendants.
Actually, many of those who were put into U.S. concentration camps were already dead by the 1980s, when Reagan signed reparations for them into law, and in those cases, their descendants received the money.
It is strange that a person who never was a slave, whose parents and grandparents were never slaves, whose great-grandparents were never slaves would get money from the government for slavery to their ancestor (providing they can prove that their ancestor was a slave). This is absurd.
Absurd or not, this legislation isn't about handing out checks to people who can prove their ancestors were enslaved.
It's about compensating people today for the harm they've inherited from our long history of slavery and racial discrimination.
That's where it is a wrong idea. You want to single out a group of people to say I'm sorry with money. So what if they were discriminated in the past. Many people were in the past. And don't tell me that African-Americans are still disenfranchised. WE HAVE A BLACK PRESIDENT! So it is just another welfare program for the poor black man. Really that is all it is.
BTW: I know many in the Japanese Community. The checks were given out ONLY to those who were interred. Their children didn't get them.
AND MANY IN THAT COMMUNITY REFUSED TO TAKE IT! THAT WAS A POINT OF HONOR TO THEM!
Something the black community doesn't seem to know about or understand.
Findalis, you say that "to say I'm sorry with money" is the wrong idea, but that's not what these reparations proposals are about.
These are about the present-day effects of slavery and discrimination. Of course, black Americans are no longer disenfranchised. But that doesn't mean that blacks were ever put right after slavery and a century of brutal discrimination.
You mention welfare, but of course most welfare goes to whites, not blacks.
The checks were given out ONLY to those who were interred. Their children didn't get them.
Not true. The law signed by Reagan provided that the checks would go to their children, if they and their spouses were dead.
MANY IN THAT COMMUNITY REFUSED TO TAKE IT! THAT WAS A POINT OF HONOR TO THEM!
$1.6 billion were given out to the survivors of the U.S. concentration camps, or to their spouses or descendants. How many do you think refused to take any money?
Quite a few James. About 1/4 of the Japanese Community refused the payments. It was a matter of honor for them. I knew quite a few men and women who were interred (some even served in the 442) and they were outraged at the idea of money. Honor is a big part of the Japanese culture and a payment would be dishonorable to them.
How many in the Black community would refuse the payment? 0
I knew quite a few men and women who were interred (some even served in the 442) and they were outraged at the idea of money.
Outraged? Not too proud to take it, or convinced it was an unnecessary gesture, but outraged at the very idea?
That sounds to me as though they hadn't "gotten over it," but thought that money simply couldn't atone for what had been done to them and to their families.
How many in the Black community would refuse the payment?
Refuse a payment for what had been done to them? Probably very few, I would think.
Of course, reparations proposals aren't about payment to individuals, so no one will ever have a chance to refuse a payment, even if Congress follows through and implements reparations.
Of course, reparations proposals aren't about payment to individuals, so no one will ever have a chance to refuse a payment, even if Congress follows through and implements reparations.
That is one of the biggest pieces of BS I've heard. Of course it will be payments to individuals. Otherwise it wouldn't be reparations.
Outraged? Not too proud to take it, or convinced it was an unnecessary gesture, but outraged at the very idea?
Yes Outraged. You don't understand honor do you? The apology that was given was not dishonorable to these men and women, the payment was. How could money compensate them for what they suffered, what they endured. Oh and after the war there was still discrimination against the Japanese in the US. It wasn't until the 1960's that it died down.
What the forefathers of this nation did was wrong. What was done after the Civil War was wrong. But throwing money at it won't help. It never does.
Of course it will be payments to individuals. Otherwise it wouldn't be reparations.
If you'll take a look at most of the proposals for reparations for slavery and discrimination, they simply aren't about payments to individuals.
This is true of the major books on the subject, as well as the terms of debate over the legislation in Congress.
Now, if you think those proposals ought to have another name, fine. But then you'll be relieved to know that virtually no one is promoting reparations, as you understand that term.
You don't understand honor do you?
What do I have to do with this? I wasn't saying they shouldn't be outraged, merely that if they were, it sounds like they felt their honor was impugned--not if they took it, or even because it was offered, but because it was inadequate.
How could money compensate them for what they suffered, what they endured.
It sounds like we agree on this. In which case, if they think money won't atone for being herded into concentration camps, how much less should black Americans think that atonement has been made for what their ancestors suffered?
Oh and after the war there was still discrimination against the Japanese in the US. It wasn't until the 1960's that it died down.
Have you heard of the Vincent Chin case in the 1980s? Discrimination against Japanese-Americans didn't exactly end in the 1960s.
What the forefathers of this nation did was wrong. What was done after the Civil War was wrong. But throwing money at it won't help. It never does.
Fair enough.
Are you at least in favor of an apology for what the nation did for most of its history?
James don't you think that after 35 years of enforced reversed discrimination known as Affirmative Action has solved the problem.
Blacks in the US are victims of their own making now. There are no discrimination laws (haven't been for over 40 years), they have every right that everyone else has, and yet they are mainly in poverty. Can it be the fault of the government and white people?
No it is their own doing. They have refused to take responsibility for their own actions and instead take on the mantle of victimhood. It is someone else's fault that 75% of all children born in the Black Community are born to unwed, single mothers (not the mother's fault that they couldn't use birth control or better yet, not have sex until marriage). It is someone else's fault that the majority of inmates in our prisons are black. And it is someone else's fault that illiteracy is high among the community.
James don't you think that after 35 years of enforced reversed discrimination known as Affirmative Action has solved the problem.
Really, Findalis? Even though affirmative action mostly benefited groups other than blacks? And even though it barely made a dent in the situation?
I'm not saying affirmative action is a good policy. I'm just saying it hasn't done much for blacks.
Can it be the fault of the government and white people?
Can it be anything else?
The slaves were freed in 1865 with nothing, after being stripped of everything they had -- including language, culture, religion, values, and family structure.
They were mostly prevented, until about the 1960s, from more than menial labor and rudimentary education.
In that time, the federal government built the white middle class with vast spending programs on housing, education, and small businesses which excluded blacks.
The share of American wealth possessed by blacks has hardly changed since 1865, and has only crept upward very slowly, year by year.
How is this a problem created by blacks?
The other problems you describe are common to communities mired in poverty and despair.
No James they are problems that the Black community put upon themselves. It is not the duty of government to correct these problems. It is time that the people in the community take a good hard look at their lives. It is time they reject the victimhood that their leaders keep them in and start looking towards the future.
If only 1/2 of the young women in these communities practiced Smart Sex (birth control or abstinence) and saw the value of education poverty would be reduced. Now how is the government going to enforce that?
If only 1/2 of the young men in these communities refused to father children out of wedlock, didn't worship gangsters, and saw the value of education, poverty would be reduced (and so would crime).
The problems of the Black Community are caused by victimhood and not the rest of US society. They can only be solved through education. Something most members of that community refuse to take advantage of.
And if the schools are bad, don't just blame the government. Throwing money at the problem doesn't work (it never did). It is the fault of the parents who didn't go into to the school board and DEMAND better schools. Who didn't vote for a school board that would make their schools better.
The problems of the black community are within the community. After 40 years of throwing money at the problems, they are only getting worse. It is time for another solution. Maybe no extra money and force people to take RESPONSIBILITY for their actions.
No James they are problems that the Black community put upon themselves.
You say that, but how do you explain those facts? Where do you get this idea?
You imply that single parenthood is to blame, and yet the rise of single parenthood in the 1960s and 1970s (in both the white and black population) didn't worsen the situation for blacks at all.
You suggest that part of the problem is not valuing education. Parents and communities value education (or don't), and pass this on to children. How can you attribute the failure of the black community to do this, to anything except the fact that for many generations, until very recently (within the lifetimes of most parents), black families knew that education wasn't something for them to value? Blacks were systematically prevented from getting a decent education and were deprived of any opportunity to use a good education to get jobs or career advancement. They knew education wasn't a key to doing well, and lessons like that are hard to unlearn.
The problems of the Black Community are caused by victimhood ....
Then how is it that those problems came before the victimhood mentality, and didn't become worse when it arose?
I think it's very easy for people whose families weren't discriminated against, and who managed to get ahead year by year, generation by generation, to cast blame on those whose families were held back for so long.
You suggest that part of the problem is not valuing education. Parents and communities value education (or don't), and pass this on to children. How can you attribute the failure of the black community to do this, to anything except the fact that for many generations, until very recently (within the lifetimes of most parents), black families knew that education wasn't something for them to value? Blacks were systematically prevented from getting a decent education and were deprived of any opportunity to use a good education to get jobs or career advancement. They knew education wasn't a key to doing well, and lessons like that are hard to unlearn.
That is BS again. How many black men and women went to terrible schools and got an education in spite of the hardships of segregation. Quite a few. For some examples I can point to Dr. King, Gen. Powell, even Pres. Obama. All had families that valued education over everything else, they took advantage of opportunities to further their education.
I think it's very easy for people whose families weren't discriminated against, and who managed to get ahead year by year, generation by generation, to cast blame on those whose families were held back for so long.
Don't talk to me about discrimination. I have and had family members with numbers tattooed on their arms. When Black people can point to that, then they can say they know discrimination and racism. Until then, they have felt nothing.
How many black men and women went to terrible schools and got an education in spite of the hardships of segregation. Quite a few.
Sure. It was much harder than for whites, but many still did it.
And what happened to them? Were they allowed to attend the nation's finest universities? Were they allowed to take professional jobs and advance to the highest levels in their chosen fields?
For the most part, no. They were lucky to have low-level jobs without much hope of advancement.
In short, the lesson was that education wasn't going to do for a black person what it would do for a white person.
For some examples I can point to Dr. King, Gen. Powell, even Pres. Obama.
Obama isn't an example of someone who was educated prior to the 1960s. My argument was that since for most of our history, blacks mostly weren't allowed to get good educations or to use them if they did, the lessons learned over generations were that education wasn't worthwhile. And that these cultural values don't simply disappear in a generation.
It's also interesting that two of your three examples aren't products of those generations of black Americans. Their families weren't a part of all that. Secretary Powell is the child of immigrants, and of course President Obama's father was Kenyan.
Of course it's better to take advantage of education. How nice it is, too, to grow up in a community which knows this, and hasn't endured centuries of contrary lessons.
I have and had family members with numbers tattooed on their arms. When Black people can point to that, then they can say they know discrimination and racism. Until then, they have felt nothing.
You really believe that black families have felt nothing in the way of discrimination and racism?
I guess we just don't experience the same reality.
No James. You feel that only people of color have been discriminated against. Believe me, Black people don't know what horror is in discrimination. And may they never know it.
It's also interesting that two of your three examples aren't products of those generations of black Americans. Their families weren't a part of all that. Secretary Powell is the child of immigrants, and of course President Obama's father was Kenyan.
Ok some more examples: Condi Rice, Jesse Jackson, Maxine Water, Michelle Obama, Hiram Rhodes Revels, Carol Moseley Braun, Roland Burris, David Paterson, Dr. William Cosby, Cynthia McKinney, Vanessa Williams, Harold Ford, Jr., Al Sharpton, James Earl Jones, Morgan Freeman, Thurgood Marshall, Clarence Thomas, Neil deGrasse Tyson. I could go on for days with this list. Each came from families that valued education as a way out of poverty and ignorance.
You feel that only people of color have been discriminated against.
I've never said anything of the kind.
Believe me, Black people don't know what horror is in discrimination.
Do you mean only those black people who haven't been murdered because of their race? Haven't been raped or mutilated because of the color of their skin?
My point is simply that it's unproductive, at best, to try comparing horrors.
I could go on for days with this list. Each came from families that valued education as a way out of poverty and ignorance.
Well, some of them did, at any rate.
Do you seriously deny that few blacks, during slavery and segregation, were kept from good schools and good educations?
Do you seriously deny that most blacks who managed to get a good education in those days were kept from the same kinds of jobs that well-educated whites could have?
This is the lesson that many black families learned, and that many haven't yet unlearned: that education wouldn't matter.
To get back on the point of the article. There is no need for reparations. These people were not slaves, nor were their parents or grandparents slaves. Nor does the black community need a handout from the government. It needs a kick in the balls to wake up to what they have done to their own people. Otherwise all you do is throw money at them and never solve the problem.
It needs a kick in the balls to wake up to what they have done to their own people.
What have "they" done to "their" own people?
It's not about jobs, money, or education. By those counts, blacks are either doing better than ever, or else no worse than before gaining equality under the law.
It almost sounds to me as if you want to say that somehow, sometime, blacks were made whole again after slavery. And that sometime after that, they started screwing up and going downhill. I realize you don't believe that, but I'm trying to understand what you're saying in any other way.
The topic James is reparations, not the civil rights movement of the 1950's and 60's.
Reparations is just throwing money at a problem, it won't solve it.
I'm sorry if I wasn't clear, Findalis.
I'm not arguing that throwing money at this problem is the right answer, and I only raised the 1950s and 1960s to show that the issues reparations are intended to address didn't arise, or become worse, when the things you point to came into being.
I'm just taking issue with your claim that blacks are responsible for their current situation, since it seems plain as day, to me, that American slavery and discrimination must be primarily responsible, directly and indirectly, for that situation.
No James. It is ignorance that is the cause of the problem. The solution is education.
Post a Comment