Us Congress 2023-2024 Regular Session

Us Congress House Bill HCR44

Introduced
5/17/23  

Caption

Urging the establishment of a United States Commission on Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation.

Impact

The resolution calls for a commission that would serve as a platform to work towards recognizing the historical wrongs inflicted on marginalized communities and would aim to advance racial equity through acknowledgment, education, and transformation. It also argues that such an initiative could help create a more unified nation by addressing the persistent belief in racial hierarchies that have led to inequities and social divisions. By promoting truth-telling and restorative justice, HCR44 hopes to empower communities affected by historical injustices and foster a collective movement towards healing.

Summary

HCR44 is a concurrent resolution urging the establishment of a United States Commission on Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation. The resolution acknowledges the historical injustices faced by African Americans and other people of color since the arrival of the first slave ship in 1619. It asserts that the legacy of chattel slavery and systemic oppression has left deep, unresolved divisions within American society, which continue to manifest as persistent racial inequities in various areas such as education, health care, and employment. The bill emphasizes the importance of acknowledging this history in order to foster healing and understanding among all racial groups.

Contention

Key points of contention surrounding HCR44 revolve around the effectiveness and necessity of establishing a commission, as well as potential concerns regarding implementation. Supporters argue that the commission would be essential for confronting uncomfortable truths about America's past and for laying the groundwork for genuine reconciliation. However, critics may argue that such commissions risk becoming political tools that could sidestep more pressing issues of economic and social disparity. Additionally, there may be debates over resource allocation, as well as differing views on whether reparative measures should be established as a formal outcome of the commission's findings.

Companion Bills

US SCR19

Related A concurrent resolution urging the establishment of a United States Commission on Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation.

Previously Filed As

US SCR19

A concurrent resolution urging the establishment of a United States Commission on Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation.

US SR319

A resolution declaring racism a public health crisis.

US HR414

Recognizing that the United States has a moral and legal obligation to provide reparations for the enslavement of Africans and its lasting harm on the lives of millions of Black people in the United States.

US HR519

Recognizing that the United States has a moral obligation to meet its foundational promise of guaranteed justice for all.

US HCR37

Expressing the sense of Congress that there is a climate emergency which demands a massive-scale mobilization to halt, reverse, and address its consequences and causes.

US HR204

Honoring the life of Dr. Paul Farmer by recognizing the duty of the Federal Government to adopt a 21st-century global health solidarity strategy and take actions to address past and ongoing harms that undermine the health and well-being of people around the world.

US HCR56

Recognizing that the climate crisis disproportionately affects the health, economic opportunity, and fundamental rights of children, expressing the sense of Congress that leadership by the United States is still urgently needed to address the climate crisis, and acknowledging the need of the United States to develop a national, comprehensive, science-based, and just climate recovery plan to phase out fossil fuel emissions, protect and enhance natural carbon sequestration, and put the United States on a path toward stabilizing the climate system.

US HCR62

Original Slavery Remembrance Day Memorialization Resolution

US HR368

Encouraging Americans to recognize the historical significance of Emancipation Day to the Virgin Islands of the United States and the Nation.

US HR414

Recognizing that the United States has a moral and legal obligation to provide reparations for the crime of enslavement of Africans and its lasting harm on the lives of millions of Black people in the United States.

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