| 1 | 1 | | I |
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| 2 | 2 | | 119THCONGRESS |
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| 3 | 3 | | 1 |
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| 4 | 4 | | STSESSION H. R. 40 |
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| 5 | 5 | | To address the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of |
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| 6 | 6 | | slavery in the United States and the 13 American colonies between |
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| 7 | 7 | | 1619 and 1865 and to establish a commission to study and consider |
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| 8 | 8 | | a national apology and proposal for reparations for the institution of |
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| 9 | 9 | | slavery, its subsequent de jure and de facto racial and economic discrimi- |
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| 10 | 10 | | nation against African Americans, and the impact of these forces on |
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| 11 | 11 | | living African Americans, to make recommendations to the Congress |
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| 12 | 12 | | on appropriate remedies, and for other purposes. |
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| 13 | 13 | | IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
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| 14 | 14 | | JANUARY3, 2025 |
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| 15 | 15 | | Ms. P |
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| 16 | 16 | | RESSLEYintroduced the following bill; which was referred to the |
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| 17 | 17 | | Committee on the Judiciary |
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| 18 | 18 | | A BILL |
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| 19 | 19 | | To address the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and |
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| 20 | 20 | | inhumanity of slavery in the United States and the 13 |
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| 21 | 21 | | American colonies between 1619 and 1865 and to estab- |
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| 22 | 22 | | lish a commission to study and consider a national apol- |
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| 23 | 23 | | ogy and proposal for reparations for the institution of |
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| 24 | 24 | | slavery, its subsequent de jure and de facto racial and |
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| 25 | 25 | | economic discrimination against African Americans, and |
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| 26 | 26 | | the impact of these forces on living African Americans, |
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| 27 | 27 | | to make recommendations to the Congress on appro- |
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| 28 | 28 | | priate remedies, and for other purposes. |
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| 32 | 32 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1 |
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| 33 | 33 | | tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 |
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| 34 | 34 | | SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 |
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| 35 | 35 | | This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Commission to Study 4 |
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| 36 | 36 | | and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans 5 |
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| 37 | 37 | | Act’’. 6 |
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| 38 | 38 | | SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 7 |
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| 39 | 39 | | (a) F |
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| 40 | 40 | | INDINGS.—The Congress finds that— 8 |
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| 41 | 41 | | (1) approximately 4,000,000 Africans and their 9 |
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| 42 | 42 | | descendants were enslaved in the United States and 10 |
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| 43 | 43 | | colonies that became the United States from 1619 to 11 |
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| 44 | 44 | | 1865; 12 |
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| 45 | 45 | | (2) the institution of slavery was constitu-13 |
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| 46 | 46 | | tionally and statutorily sanctioned by the Govern-14 |
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| 47 | 47 | | ment of the United States from 1789 through 1865; 15 |
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| 48 | 48 | | (3) the slavery that flourished in the United 16 |
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| 49 | 49 | | States constituted an immoral and inhumane depri-17 |
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| 50 | 50 | | vation of Africans’ life, liberty, African citizenship 18 |
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| 51 | 51 | | rights, and cultural heritage, and denied them the 19 |
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| 52 | 52 | | fruits of their own labor; 20 |
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| 53 | 53 | | (4) a preponderance of scholarly, legal, commu-21 |
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| 54 | 54 | | nity evidentiary documentation and popular culture 22 |
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| 55 | 55 | | markers constitute the basis for inquiry into the on- 23 |
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| 56 | 56 | | going effects of the institution of slavery and its leg-24 |
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| 57 | 57 | | acy of persistent systemic structures of discrimina-25 |
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| 59 | 59 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 3 |
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| 60 | 60 | | •HR 40 IH |
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| 61 | 61 | | tion on living African Americans and society in the 1 |
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| 62 | 62 | | United States; 2 |
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| 63 | 63 | | (5) the brutal overthrow of Reconstruction, 3 |
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| 64 | 64 | | which represented a significant but constrained mo-4 |
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| 65 | 65 | | ment of advances for Black rights as epitomized by 5 |
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| 66 | 66 | | the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Con-6 |
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| 67 | 67 | | stitution, the Civil Rights Acts of 1866 and 1875 7 |
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| 68 | 68 | | and the Freedman’s Bureau, failed African Ameri-8 |
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| 69 | 69 | | cans by failing to ensure their safety and security; 9 |
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| 70 | 70 | | (6) following the abolition of slavery and end of 10 |
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| 71 | 71 | | Reconstruction the United States Government, 11 |
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| 72 | 72 | | through laws enacted at the Federal, State, and 12 |
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| 73 | 73 | | local level, continued to perpetuate, condone and 13 |
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| 74 | 74 | | profit from practices that continued to brutalize and 14 |
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| 75 | 75 | | disadvantage African Americans, including share 15 |
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| 76 | 76 | | cropping, convict leasing, Jim Crow, redlining, un-16 |
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| 77 | 77 | | equal education, and disproportionate treatment at 17 |
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| 78 | 78 | | the hands of the criminal justice system, resulting in 18 |
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| 79 | 79 | | stolen labor and ultimately forestalling landmark 19 |
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| 80 | 80 | | contributions in science, arts, commerce and public 20 |
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| 81 | 81 | | service; 21 |
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| 82 | 82 | | (7) the civil rights movement, and other efforts 22 |
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| 83 | 83 | | to redress grievances arising from systemic inequi-23 |
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| 84 | 84 | | ties, were sabotaged, both intentionally and uninten-24 |
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| 85 | 85 | | tionally, thus rendering the accomplishments of 25 |
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| 89 | 89 | | those efforts transitory and unsustainable, and fur-1 |
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| 90 | 90 | | ther embedding racial inequality in society; 2 |
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| 91 | 91 | | (8) examples of discriminatory Federal Govern-3 |
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| 92 | 92 | | ment actions directed against African Americans in-4 |
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| 93 | 93 | | clude— 5 |
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| 94 | 94 | | (A) the creation of the Federal Housing 6 |
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| 95 | 95 | | Administration, which adopted specific policies 7 |
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| 96 | 96 | | designed to incentivize residential segregation; 8 |
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| 97 | 97 | | (B) the enactment of legislation creating 9 |
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| 98 | 98 | | the Social Security program, for which most Af-10 |
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| 99 | 99 | | rican Americans were purposely rendered ineli-11 |
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| 100 | 100 | | gible during its first two decades; 12 |
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| 101 | 101 | | (C) the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 13 |
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| 102 | 102 | | 1944 (commonly known as the GI Bill of 14 |
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| 103 | 103 | | Rights; 58 Stat. 284, chapter 268), which left 15 |
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| 104 | 104 | | administration of its programs to the States, 16 |
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| 105 | 105 | | thus enabling discrimination against African- 17 |
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| 106 | 106 | | American veterans; and 18 |
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| 107 | 107 | | (D) the Fair Labor Standards Act of 19 |
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| 108 | 108 | | 1938, which allowed labor unions to discrimi-20 |
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| 109 | 109 | | nate based on race; and 21 |
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| 110 | 110 | | (9) as a result of the historic and continued dis-22 |
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| 111 | 111 | | crimination, African Americans continue to suffer 23 |
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| 112 | 112 | | debilitating economic, educational, and health hard-24 |
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| 113 | 113 | | ships including but not limited to having nearly 25 |
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| 117 | 117 | | 1,000,000 Black people incarcerated; an unemploy-1 |
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| 118 | 118 | | ment rate more than twice the current White unem-2 |
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| 119 | 119 | | ployment rate; and an average of less than |
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| 120 | 120 | | 1 |
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| 121 | 121 | | ⁄16of 3 |
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| 122 | 122 | | the wealth of White families, a disparity which has 4 |
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| 123 | 123 | | worsened, not improved over time. 5 |
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| 124 | 124 | | (b) P |
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| 125 | 125 | | URPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to estab-6 |
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| 126 | 126 | | lish a commission to study and develop Reparation pro-7 |
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| 127 | 127 | | posals for African Americans as a result of— 8 |
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| 128 | 128 | | (1) the institution of slavery, including both the 9 |
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| 129 | 129 | | Trans-Atlantic and the domestic ‘‘trade’’ which ex-10 |
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| 130 | 130 | | isted from 1565 in colonial Florida and from 1619 11 |
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| 131 | 131 | | through 1865 within the other colonies that became 12 |
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| 132 | 132 | | the United States, and which included the Federal 13 |
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| 133 | 133 | | and State governments which constitutionally and 14 |
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| 134 | 134 | | statutorily supported the institution of slavery; 15 |
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| 135 | 135 | | (2) the de jure and de facto discrimination 16 |
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| 136 | 136 | | against freed slaves and their descendants from the 17 |
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| 137 | 137 | | end of the Civil War to the present, including eco-18 |
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| 138 | 138 | | nomic, political, educational, and social discrimina-19 |
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| 139 | 139 | | tion; 20 |
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| 140 | 140 | | (3) the lingering negative effects of the institu-21 |
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| 141 | 141 | | tion of slavery and the discrimination described in 22 |
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| 142 | 142 | | paragraphs (1) and (2) on living African Americans 23 |
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| 143 | 143 | | and on society in the United States; 24 |
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| 147 | 147 | | (4) the manner in which textual and digital in-1 |
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| 148 | 148 | | structional resources and technologies are being used 2 |
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| 149 | 149 | | to deny the inhumanity of slavery and the crime 3 |
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| 150 | 150 | | against humanity of people of African descent in the 4 |
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| 151 | 151 | | United States; 5 |
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| 152 | 152 | | (5) the role of Northern complicity in the 6 |
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| 153 | 153 | | Southern based institution of slavery; 7 |
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| 154 | 154 | | (6) the direct benefits to societal institutions, 8 |
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| 155 | 155 | | public and private, including higher education, cor-9 |
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| 156 | 156 | | porations, religious, and associational; 10 |
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| 157 | 157 | | (7) and thus, recommend appropriate ways to 11 |
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| 158 | 158 | | educate the American public of the Commission’s 12 |
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| 159 | 159 | | findings to advance racial healing, understanding, 13 |
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| 160 | 160 | | and transformation; 14 |
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| 161 | 161 | | (8) and thus, recommend appropriate remedies 15 |
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| 162 | 162 | | in consideration of the Commission’s findings on the 16 |
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| 163 | 163 | | matters described in paragraphs (1) through (7); 17 |
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| 164 | 164 | | and 18 |
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| 165 | 165 | | (9) submit to the Congress the results of such 19 |
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| 166 | 166 | | examination, together with such recommendations. 20 |
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| 167 | 167 | | SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT AND DUTIES. 21 |
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| 168 | 168 | | (a) E |
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| 169 | 169 | | STABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 22 |
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| 170 | 170 | | legislative branch the Commission to Study and Develop 23 |
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| 171 | 171 | | Reparation Proposals for African Americans (hereinafter 24 |
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| 172 | 172 | | in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’). 25 |
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| 176 | 176 | | (b) DUTIES.—The Commission shall perform the fol-1 |
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| 177 | 177 | | lowing duties: 2 |
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| 178 | 178 | | (1) Identify, compile, and synthesize the rel-3 |
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| 179 | 179 | | evant corpus of evidentiary documentation of the in-4 |
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| 180 | 180 | | stitution of slavery which existed within the United 5 |
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| 181 | 181 | | States and the colonies that became the United 6 |
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| 182 | 182 | | States from 1619 through 1865. The Commission’s 7 |
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| 183 | 183 | | documentation and examination shall include facts 8 |
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| 184 | 184 | | related to— 9 |
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| 185 | 185 | | (A) the capture and procurement of Afri-10 |
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| 186 | 186 | | cans; 11 |
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| 187 | 187 | | (B) the transport of Africans to the United 12 |
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| 188 | 188 | | States and the colonies that became the United 13 |
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| 189 | 189 | | States for the purpose of enslavement, including 14 |
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| 190 | 190 | | their treatment during transport; 15 |
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| 191 | 191 | | (C) the sale and acquisition of Africans 16 |
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| 192 | 192 | | and their descendants as chattel property in 17 |
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| 193 | 193 | | interstate and intrastate commerce; 18 |
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| 194 | 194 | | (D) the treatment of African slaves and 19 |
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| 195 | 195 | | their descendants in the colonies and the 20 |
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| 196 | 196 | | United States, including the deprivation of their 21 |
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| 197 | 197 | | freedom, exploitation of their labor, and de-22 |
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| 198 | 198 | | struction of their culture, language, religion, 23 |
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| 199 | 199 | | and families; and 24 |
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| 203 | 203 | | (E) the extensive denial of humanity, sex-1 |
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| 204 | 204 | | ual abuse, and the chatellization of persons. 2 |
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| 205 | 205 | | (2) Study and analyze the role which the Fed-3 |
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| 206 | 206 | | eral and State governments of the United States 4 |
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| 207 | 207 | | supported the institution of slavery in constitutional 5 |
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| 208 | 208 | | and statutory provisions, including the extent to 6 |
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| 209 | 209 | | which such governments prevented, opposed, or re-7 |
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| 210 | 210 | | stricted efforts of formerly enslaved Africans and 8 |
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| 211 | 211 | | their descendants to repatriate to their homeland. 9 |
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| 212 | 212 | | (3) Study and analyze the effects of laws en-10 |
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| 213 | 213 | | acted by the Federal Government and State govern-11 |
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| 214 | 214 | | ments with discriminatory intent or discriminatory 12 |
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| 215 | 215 | | effect on the formerly enslaved Africans and their 13 |
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| 216 | 216 | | descendants following the overdue recognition of 14 |
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| 217 | 217 | | such persons as United States citizens beginning in 15 |
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| 218 | 218 | | 1868. 16 |
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| 219 | 219 | | (4) Study and analyze the other forms of dis-17 |
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| 220 | 220 | | crimination in the public and private sectors against 18 |
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| 221 | 221 | | freed African slaves and their descendants who were 19 |
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| 222 | 222 | | belatedly accorded their rightful status as United 20 |
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| 223 | 223 | | States citizens from 1868 to the present, including 21 |
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| 224 | 224 | | redlining, educational funding discrepancies, and 22 |
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| 225 | 225 | | predatory financial practices. 23 |
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| 226 | 226 | | (5) Study and analyze the lingering negative ef-24 |
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| 227 | 227 | | fects of the institution of slavery and the matters de-25 |
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| 231 | 231 | | scribed in paragraphs (1) through (7) of section 2(b) 1 |
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| 232 | 232 | | on living African Americans and on society in the 2 |
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| 233 | 233 | | United States. 3 |
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| 234 | 234 | | (6) Recommend appropriate ways to educate 4 |
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| 235 | 235 | | the American public of the Commission’s findings to 5 |
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| 236 | 236 | | advance racial healing, understanding, and trans-6 |
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| 237 | 237 | | formation. 7 |
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| 238 | 238 | | (7) Recommend appropriate remedies in consid-8 |
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| 239 | 239 | | eration of the Commission’s findings on the matters 9 |
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| 240 | 240 | | described in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), and 10 |
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| 241 | 241 | | (6). In making such recommendations, the Commis-11 |
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| 242 | 242 | | sion shall address, among other issues, the following 12 |
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| 243 | 243 | | questions: 13 |
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| 244 | 244 | | (A) How such recommendations comport 14 |
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| 245 | 245 | | with international standards of remedy for 15 |
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| 246 | 246 | | wrongs and injuries caused by the State, that 16 |
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| 247 | 247 | | include full reparations and special measures, 17 |
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| 248 | 248 | | as understood by various relevant international 18 |
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| 249 | 249 | | protocols, laws, and findings. 19 |
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| 250 | 250 | | (B) How the Government of the United 20 |
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| 251 | 251 | | States will offer a formal apology on behalf of 21 |
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| 252 | 252 | | the people of the United States for the per-22 |
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| 253 | 253 | | petration of gross human rights violations and 23 |
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| 254 | 254 | | crimes against humanity on African slaves and 24 |
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| 255 | 255 | | their descendants. 25 |
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| 259 | 259 | | (C) How Federal laws and policies that 1 |
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| 260 | 260 | | continue to disproportionately and negatively 2 |
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| 261 | 261 | | affect African Americans as a group, and those 3 |
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| 262 | 262 | | that perpetuate the lingering effects, materially 4 |
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| 263 | 263 | | and psycho-social, can be eliminated. 5 |
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| 264 | 264 | | (D) How the injuries resulting from mat-6 |
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| 265 | 265 | | ters described in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (4), 7 |
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| 266 | 266 | | (5), and (6) can be reversed and provide appro-8 |
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| 267 | 267 | | priate policies, programs, projects, and rec-9 |
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| 268 | 268 | | ommendations for the purpose of reversing the 10 |
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| 269 | 269 | | injuries. 11 |
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| 270 | 270 | | (E) How, in consideration of the Commis-12 |
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| 271 | 271 | | sion’s findings, any form of compensation to the 13 |
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| 272 | 272 | | descendants of enslaved Africans is calculated. 14 |
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| 273 | 273 | | (F) What form of compensation should be 15 |
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| 274 | 274 | | awarded, through what instrumentalities, and 16 |
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| 275 | 275 | | who should be eligible for such compensation. 17 |
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| 276 | 276 | | (G) How, in consideration of the Commis-18 |
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| 277 | 277 | | sion’s finding, what forms of satisfaction, in ad-19 |
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| 278 | 278 | | dition to apology, should be implemented in an 20 |
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| 279 | 279 | | effort toward return of dignity and racial heal-21 |
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| 280 | 280 | | ing, and reconciliation. 22 |
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| 281 | 281 | | (H) How, in consideration of the Commis-23 |
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| 282 | 282 | | sion’s findings, any other forms of rehabilita-24 |
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| 283 | 283 | | tion or restitution to African descendants is 25 |
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| 287 | 287 | | warranted and what the form and scope of 1 |
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| 288 | 288 | | those measures should take. 2 |
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| 289 | 289 | | (c) R |
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| 290 | 290 | | EPORT TOCONGRESS.—The Commission shall 3 |
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| 291 | 291 | | submit a written report of its findings and recommenda-4 |
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| 292 | 292 | | tions to the Congress not later than the date which is 18 5 |
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| 293 | 293 | | months after the date of the first meeting of the full Com-6 |
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| 294 | 294 | | mission held pursuant to section 4(f). 7 |
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| 295 | 295 | | SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP. 8 |
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| 296 | 296 | | (a) N |
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| 297 | 297 | | UMBER ANDAPPOINTMENT.— 9 |
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| 298 | 298 | | (1) M |
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| 299 | 299 | | EMBERSHIP.—The Commission shall be 10 |
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| 300 | 300 | | composed of 15 members, who shall be appointed as 11 |
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| 301 | 301 | | follows: 12 |
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| 302 | 302 | | (A) P |
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| 303 | 303 | | OLITICALLY APPOINTED MEMBERS .— 13 |
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| 304 | 304 | | Not later than 60 days after the date of enact-14 |
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| 305 | 305 | | ment of this Act: 15 |
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| 306 | 306 | | (i) Three members shall be appointed 16 |
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| 307 | 307 | | by the President. 17 |
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| 308 | 308 | | (ii) Three members shall be appointed 18 |
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| 309 | 309 | | by the Speaker of the House of Represent-19 |
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| 310 | 310 | | atives, in consultation with the committee 20 |
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| 311 | 311 | | of jurisdiction of the House. 21 |
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| 312 | 312 | | (iii) Three members shall be ap-22 |
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| 313 | 313 | | pointed by the President pro tempore of 23 |
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| 314 | 314 | | the Senate, in consultation with the com-24 |
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| 315 | 315 | | mittee of jurisdiction of the Senate. 25 |
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| 319 | 319 | | (B) SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS .—Not 1 |
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| 320 | 320 | | later than 60 days after the appointment of the 2 |
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| 321 | 321 | | Director under section 6(a), six members, who 3 |
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| 322 | 322 | | shall be individuals appointed by the Director, 4 |
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| 323 | 323 | | and approved by a majority of the members ap-5 |
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| 324 | 324 | | pointed under subparagraph (A). Such individ-6 |
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| 325 | 325 | | uals shall be from the major civil society and 7 |
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| 326 | 326 | | reparations organizations that have historically 8 |
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| 327 | 327 | | championed the cause of reparatory justice. 9 |
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| 328 | 328 | | (2) Q |
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| 329 | 329 | | UALIFICATIONS.—All members of the 10 |
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| 330 | 330 | | Commission shall be persons who are especially 11 |
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| 331 | 331 | | qualified to serve on the Commission by virtue of 12 |
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| 332 | 332 | | their education, training, activism or experience, 13 |
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| 333 | 333 | | particularly in the field of African-American studies 14 |
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| 334 | 334 | | and reparatory justice. 15 |
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| 335 | 335 | | (3) L |
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| 336 | 336 | | IMITATION.—No person who is a member 16 |
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| 337 | 337 | | of Congress or an officer or employee of the Federal 17 |
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| 338 | 338 | | Government or any State or local government may 18 |
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| 339 | 339 | | serve as a member of the Commission. 19 |
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| 340 | 340 | | (b) T |
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| 341 | 341 | | ERMS.—The term of office for members shall 20 |
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| 342 | 342 | | be for the life of the Commission. A vacancy in the Com-21 |
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| 343 | 343 | | mission shall not affect the powers of the Commission and 22 |
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| 344 | 344 | | shall be filled in the same manner in which the original 23 |
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| 345 | 345 | | appointment was made. 24 |
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| 349 | 349 | | (c) QUORUM.—Seven members of the Commission 1 |
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| 350 | 350 | | shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number may hold 2 |
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| 351 | 351 | | hearings. 3 |
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| 352 | 352 | | (d) V |
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| 353 | 353 | | ACANCIES.—Any vacancy on the Commission 4 |
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| 354 | 354 | | shall— 5 |
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| 355 | 355 | | (1) not affect the powers of the Commission; 6 |
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| 356 | 356 | | and 7 |
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| 357 | 357 | | (2) be filled in the same manner in which the 8 |
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| 358 | 358 | | original appointment was made. 9 |
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| 359 | 359 | | (e) C |
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| 360 | 360 | | HAIR ANDVICE-CHAIR.—There shall be a Chair 10 |
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| 361 | 361 | | and a Vice Chair of the Commission selected jointly by 11 |
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| 362 | 362 | | the majority leader of the Senate and the Speaker of the 12 |
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| 363 | 363 | | House of Representatives, in consultation with the com-13 |
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| 364 | 364 | | mittees of jurisdiction. The term of office of each shall 14 |
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| 365 | 365 | | be for the life of the Commission. 15 |
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| 366 | 366 | | (f) I |
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| 367 | 367 | | NITIALMEETING OFFULLCOMMISSION.—The 16 |
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| 368 | 368 | | Chair shall call an initial meeting of the full Commission 17 |
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| 369 | 369 | | not later than 45 days after the appointment of all mem-18 |
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| 370 | 370 | | bers under subsection (a)(1)(B). 19 |
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| 371 | 371 | | SEC. 5. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION. 20 |
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| 372 | 372 | | (a) H |
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| 373 | 373 | | EARINGS AND EVIDENCE.—The Commission 21 |
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| 374 | 374 | | may, for purposes of carrying out this Act— 22 |
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| 375 | 375 | | (1) hold hearings, sit and act at times and 23 |
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| 376 | 376 | | places, take testimony, receive evidence, and admin-24 |
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| 377 | 377 | | ister oaths; and 25 |
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| 381 | 381 | | (2) require, by subpoena or otherwise, the at-1 |
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| 382 | 382 | | tendance and testimony of witnesses and the produc-2 |
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| 383 | 383 | | tion of books, records, correspondence, memoranda, 3 |
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| 384 | 384 | | papers, and documents. 4 |
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| 385 | 385 | | (b) S |
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| 386 | 386 | | UBPOENAS.— 5 |
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| 387 | 387 | | (1) S |
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| 388 | 388 | | ERVICE.—Subpoenas issued under this 6 |
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| 389 | 389 | | section may be served by any person designated by 7 |
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| 390 | 390 | | the Commission. 8 |
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| 391 | 391 | | (2) E |
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| 392 | 392 | | NFORCEMENT.— 9 |
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| 393 | 393 | | (A) I |
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| 394 | 394 | | N GENERAL.—In the case of contu-10 |
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| 395 | 395 | | macy or failure to obey a subpoena issued 11 |
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| 396 | 396 | | under this section, the United States district 12 |
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| 397 | 397 | | court for the judicial district in which the sub-13 |
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| 398 | 398 | | poenaed person resides, is served, or may be 14 |
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| 399 | 399 | | found, or where the subpoena is returnable, 15 |
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| 400 | 400 | | may issue an order requiring such person to ap-16 |
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| 401 | 401 | | pear at any designated place to testify or to 17 |
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| 402 | 402 | | produce documentary or other evidence. Any 18 |
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| 403 | 403 | | failure to obey the order of the court may be 19 |
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| 404 | 404 | | punished by the court as a contempt of that 20 |
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| 405 | 405 | | court. 21 |
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| 406 | 406 | | (B) A |
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| 407 | 407 | | DDITIONAL ENFORCEMENT .—Sec-22 |
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| 408 | 408 | | tions 102 through 104 of the Revised Statutes 23 |
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| 409 | 409 | | of the United States (2 U.S.C. 192 through 24 |
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| 410 | 410 | | 194) shall apply in the case of any failure of 25 |
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| 413 | 413 | | •HR 40 IH |
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| 414 | 414 | | any witness to comply with any subpoena or to 1 |
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| 415 | 415 | | testify when summoned under the authority of 2 |
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| 416 | 416 | | this section. 3 |
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| 417 | 417 | | (C) I |
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| 418 | 418 | | SSUANCE.—A subpoena may be issued 4 |
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| 419 | 419 | | under this section only— 5 |
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| 420 | 420 | | (i) by the agreement of the Chair and 6 |
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| 421 | 421 | | the Vice Chair; or 7 |
|---|
| 422 | 422 | | (ii) by the affirmative vote of a major-8 |
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| 423 | 423 | | ity of the Commission, a majority being 9 |
|---|
| 424 | 424 | | present. 10 |
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| 425 | 425 | | (c) C |
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| 426 | 426 | | ONTRACTING.—To the extent or in amounts pro-11 |
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| 427 | 427 | | vided in Appropriations acts, and subject to the applicable 12 |
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| 428 | 428 | | laws and regulations, the Commission may enter into con-13 |
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| 429 | 429 | | tracts with government entities, private entities, or per-14 |
|---|
| 430 | 430 | | sons for goods or services, including for conducting re-15 |
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| 431 | 431 | | search or surveys, the preparation of reports, and other 16 |
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| 432 | 432 | | activities necessary for the discharge of the duties of the 17 |
|---|
| 433 | 433 | | Commission. 18 |
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| 434 | 434 | | (d) I |
|---|
| 435 | 435 | | NFORMATIONFROMFEDERALAGENCIES AND 19 |
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| 436 | 436 | | O |
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| 437 | 437 | | THERENTITIES.—The Commission may secure directly 20 |
|---|
| 438 | 438 | | from any department, agency, bureau, board, commission, 21 |
|---|
| 439 | 439 | | office, independent establishment, or instrumentality of 22 |
|---|
| 440 | 440 | | the United States any information related to any inquiry 23 |
|---|
| 441 | 441 | | of the Commission conducted under this Act, including in-24 |
|---|
| 442 | 442 | | formation of a confidential nature (which the Commission 25 |
|---|
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| 445 | 445 | | •HR 40 IH |
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| 446 | 446 | | shall maintain in a secure manner). Each such depart-1 |
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| 447 | 447 | | ment, agency, bureau, board, commission, office, inde-2 |
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| 448 | 448 | | pendent establishment, or instrumentality shall furnish 3 |
|---|
| 449 | 449 | | such information directly to the Commission upon request. 4 |
|---|
| 450 | 450 | | (e) A |
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| 451 | 451 | | DMINISTRATIVE SUPPORTSERVICES.—Upon 5 |
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| 452 | 452 | | the request of the Commission— 6 |
|---|
| 453 | 453 | | (1) the Administrator of General Services shall 7 |
|---|
| 454 | 454 | | provide to the Commission, on a reimbursable basis, 8 |
|---|
| 455 | 455 | | the administrative support services necessary for the 9 |
|---|
| 456 | 456 | | Commission to carry out its responsibilities under 10 |
|---|
| 457 | 457 | | this Act; and 11 |
|---|
| 458 | 458 | | (2) other Federal departments and agencies 12 |
|---|
| 459 | 459 | | may pro vide to the Commission any administrative 13 |
|---|
| 460 | 460 | | support services as may be determined by the head 14 |
|---|
| 461 | 461 | | of such department or agency to be advisable and 15 |
|---|
| 462 | 462 | | authorized by law. 16 |
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| 463 | 463 | | (f) D |
|---|
| 464 | 464 | | ONATIONS OF GOODS AND SERVICES.—The 17 |
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| 465 | 465 | | Commission may accept, use, and dispose of gifts or dona-18 |
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| 466 | 466 | | tions of services or property. 19 |
|---|
| 467 | 467 | | (g) P |
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| 468 | 468 | | OSTALSERVICES.—The Commission may use 20 |
|---|
| 469 | 469 | | the United States mails in the same manner and under 21 |
|---|
| 470 | 470 | | the same conditions as departments and agencies of the 22 |
|---|
| 471 | 471 | | United States. 23 |
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| 472 | 472 | | (h) P |
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| 473 | 473 | | OWERS OFSUBCOMMITTEES, MEMBERS, AND 24 |
|---|
| 474 | 474 | | A |
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| 475 | 475 | | GENTS.—Any subcommittee, member, or agent of the 25 |
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| 479 | 479 | | Commission may, if authorized by the Commission, take 1 |
|---|
| 480 | 480 | | any action which the Commission is authorized to take by 2 |
|---|
| 481 | 481 | | this section. 3 |
|---|
| 482 | 482 | | SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS. 4 |
|---|
| 483 | 483 | | (a) D |
|---|
| 484 | 484 | | IRECTOR.—The Commission shall have a Direc-5 |
|---|
| 485 | 485 | | tor who shall be, not later than 60 days after the appoint-6 |
|---|
| 486 | 486 | | ment of all members appointed under section 4(a)(1)(A), 7 |
|---|
| 487 | 487 | | jointly selected by the Chair and Vice Chair, subject to 8 |
|---|
| 488 | 488 | | approval by a majority vote of such members. 9 |
|---|
| 489 | 489 | | (b) S |
|---|
| 490 | 490 | | TAFF.—The Chair and the Vice Chair may joint-10 |
|---|
| 491 | 491 | | ly appoint additional personnel, as may be necessary, to 11 |
|---|
| 492 | 492 | | enable the Commission to carry out its functions. 12 |
|---|
| 493 | 493 | | (c) A |
|---|
| 494 | 494 | | PPLICABILITY OF CERTAINCIVILSERVICE 13 |
|---|
| 495 | 495 | | L |
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| 496 | 496 | | AWS.—The Director and staff of the Commission may 14 |
|---|
| 497 | 497 | | be appointed without regard to the provisions of title 5, 15 |
|---|
| 498 | 498 | | United States Code, governing appointments in the com-16 |
|---|
| 499 | 499 | | petitive service, and may be paid with out regard to the 17 |
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| 500 | 500 | | provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 18 |
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| 501 | 501 | | of such title relating to classification and General Schedule 19 |
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| 502 | 502 | | pay rates, except that no rate of pay fixed under this para-20 |
|---|
| 503 | 503 | | graph may exceed the equivalent of that payable for a po-21 |
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| 504 | 504 | | sition at level V of the Executive Schedule under section 22 |
|---|
| 505 | 505 | | 5316 of title 5, United States Code. Any individual ap-23 |
|---|
| 506 | 506 | | pointed under this section shall be treated as an employee 24 |
|---|
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| 510 | 510 | | for purposes of chapters 63, 81, 83, 84, 85, 87, 89, 89A, 1 |
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| 511 | 511 | | 89B, and 90 of that title. 2 |
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| 512 | 512 | | (d) D |
|---|
| 513 | 513 | | ETAILEES.—Any Federal Government employee 3 |
|---|
| 514 | 514 | | may be detailed to the Commission without reimbursement 4 |
|---|
| 515 | 515 | | from the Commission, and such detailee shall retain the 5 |
|---|
| 516 | 516 | | rights, status, and privileges of his or her regular employ-6 |
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| 517 | 517 | | ment without interruption. 7 |
|---|
| 518 | 518 | | (e) C |
|---|
| 519 | 519 | | ONSULTANTSERVICES.—The Commission is au-8 |
|---|
| 520 | 520 | | thorized to procure the services of experts and consultants 9 |
|---|
| 521 | 521 | | in accordance with section 3109 of title 5, United States 10 |
|---|
| 522 | 522 | | Code, but at rates not to exceed the daily rate paid a per-11 |
|---|
| 523 | 523 | | son occupying a position at level IV of the Executive 12 |
|---|
| 524 | 524 | | Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United States 13 |
|---|
| 525 | 525 | | Code. 14 |
|---|
| 526 | 526 | | (f) C |
|---|
| 527 | 527 | | OMPENSATION AND TRAVELEXPENSES.— 15 |
|---|
| 528 | 528 | | (1) C |
|---|
| 529 | 529 | | OMPENSATION.—Each member of the 16 |
|---|
| 530 | 530 | | Commission may be compensated at a rate not to 17 |
|---|
| 531 | 531 | | exceed the daily equivalent of the annual rate of 18 |
|---|
| 532 | 532 | | basic pay in effect for a position at level IV of the 19 |
|---|
| 533 | 533 | | Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, 20 |
|---|
| 534 | 534 | | United States Code, for each day during which that 21 |
|---|
| 535 | 535 | | member is engaged in the actual performance of the 22 |
|---|
| 536 | 536 | | duties of the Commission. 23 |
|---|
| 537 | 537 | | (2) T |
|---|
| 538 | 538 | | RAVEL EXPENSES .—While away from 24 |
|---|
| 539 | 539 | | their homes or regular places of business in the per-25 |
|---|
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| 543 | 543 | | formance of services for the Commission, members 1 |
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| 544 | 544 | | of the Commission shall be allowed travel expenses, 2 |
|---|
| 545 | 545 | | including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in the 3 |
|---|
| 546 | 546 | | same manner as persons employed intermittently in 4 |
|---|
| 547 | 547 | | the Government service are allowed expenses under 5 |
|---|
| 548 | 548 | | section 5703(b) of title 5, United States Code. 6 |
|---|
| 549 | 549 | | (g) N |
|---|
| 550 | 550 | | ONAPPLICABILITY OF FEDERALADVISORY 7 |
|---|
| 551 | 551 | | C |
|---|
| 552 | 552 | | OMMITTEEACT.—The Federal Advisory Committee Act 8 |
|---|
| 553 | 553 | | (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the Commission. 9 |
|---|
| 554 | 554 | | SEC. 7. TERMINATION. 10 |
|---|
| 555 | 555 | | The Commission shall terminate 90 days after the 11 |
|---|
| 556 | 556 | | date on which the Commission submits its report to the 12 |
|---|
| 557 | 557 | | Congress under section 3(c). 13 |
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| 558 | 558 | | SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 14 |
|---|
| 559 | 559 | | To carry out the provisions of this Act, there are au-15 |
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| 560 | 560 | | thorized to be appropriated $20,000,000. 16 |
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| 561 | 561 | | Æ |
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