Us Congress 2025-2026 Regular Session

Us Congress Senate Bill SB40 Compare Versions

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11 II
22 119THCONGRESS
33 1
44 STSESSION S. 40
55 To address the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of
66 slavery in the United States and the 13 American colonies between
77 1619 and 1865 and to establish a commission to study and consider
88 a national apology and proposal for reparations for the institution of
99 slavery, its subsequent de jure and de facto racial and economic discrimi-
1010 nation against African Americans, and the impact of these forces on
1111 living African Americans, to make recommendations to the Congress
1212 on appropriate remedies, and for other purposes.
1313 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
1414 JANUARY9, 2025
1515 Mr. B
1616 OOKER(for himself, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. WELCH, Mr.
1717 K
1818 IM, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Ms. WARREN, Mr. PADILLA, Mr. VANHOLLEN,
1919 Mr. S
2020 CHIFF, Mr. WARNOCK, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. SANDERS, Ms. HIRONO,
2121 Ms. S
2222 MITH, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, and Mr. MERKLEY) intro-
2323 duced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Com-
2424 mittee on the Judiciary
2525 A BILL
2626 To address the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and
2727 inhumanity of slavery in the United States and the 13
2828 American colonies between 1619 and 1865 and to estab-
2929 lish a commission to study and consider a national apol-
3030 ogy and proposal for reparations for the institution of
3131 slavery, its subsequent de jure and de facto racial and
3232 economic discrimination against African Americans, and
3333 the impact of these forces on living African Americans,
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3737 to make recommendations to the Congress on appro-
3838 priate remedies, and for other purposes.
3939 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
4040 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
4141 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3
4242 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Commission to Study 4
4343 and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans 5
4444 Act’’. 6
4545 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 7
4646 (a) F
4747 INDINGS.—The Congress finds that— 8
4848 (1) approximately 4,000,000 Africans and their 9
4949 descendants were enslaved in the United States and 10
5050 colonies that became the United States from 1619 to 11
5151 1865; 12
5252 (2) the institution of slavery was constitu-13
5353 tionally and statutorily sanctioned by the Govern-14
5454 ment of the United States from 1789 through 1865; 15
5555 (3) the slavery that flourished in the United 16
5656 States constituted an immoral and inhumane depri-17
5757 vation of Africans’ life, liberty, African citizenship 18
5858 rights, and cultural heritage, and denied them the 19
5959 fruits of their own labor; 20
6060 (4) a preponderance of scholarly, legal, commu-21
6161 nity evidentiary documentation and popular culture 22
6262 markers constitute the basis for inquiry into the on- 23
6363 going effects of the institution of slavery and its leg-24
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6767 acy of persistent systemic structures of discrimina-1
6868 tion on living African Americans and society in the 2
6969 United States; 3
7070 (5) following the abolition of slavery, govern-4
7171 ments at the Federal, State, and local levels contin-5
7272 ued to perpetuate, condone, and often profit from 6
7373 practices that continued to brutalize and disadvan-7
7474 tage African Americans, including share cropping, 8
7575 convict leasing, Jim Crow, redlining, unequal edu-9
7676 cation, and disproportionate treatment at the hands 10
7777 of the criminal justice system; and 11
7878 (6) as a result of the historic and continued dis-12
7979 crimination, African Americans continue to suffer 13
8080 debilitating economic, educational, and health hard-14
8181 ships including having more than 1,000,000 Black 15
8282 people incarcerated or under correctional super-16
8383 vision; an unemployment rate more than twice the 17
8484 current White unemployment rate; and an average 18
8585 of less than
8686 1
8787 ⁄16of the wealth of White families, a 19
8888 disparity which has worsened, not improved, over 20
8989 time. 21
9090 (b) P
9191 URPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to estab-22
9292 lish a commission to— 23
9393 (1) study and develop reparation proposals for 24
9494 African Americans as a result of— 25
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9898 (A) the institution of slavery, including 1
9999 both the Trans-Atlantic and the domestic 2
100100 ‘‘trade’’ which existed from 1565 in colonial 3
101101 Florida, and from 1619 within the other colo-4
102102 nies that became the United States, through 5
103103 1865, and which included the Federal and 6
104104 State governments which constitutionally and 7
105105 statutorily supported the institution of slavery; 8
106106 (B) the de jure and de facto discrimination 9
107107 against freed slaves and their descendants from 10
108108 the end of the Civil War to the present, includ-11
109109 ing economic, political, educational, and social 12
110110 discrimination; 13
111111 (C) the lingering negative effects of the in-14
112112 stitution of slavery and the discrimination de-15
113113 scribed in subparagraphs (A) and (B) on living 16
114114 African Americans and on society in the United 17
115115 States; 18
116116 (D) the manner in which textual and dig-19
117117 ital instructional resources and technologies are 20
118118 being used to deny the inhumanity of slavery 21
119119 and the crime against humanity of people of Af-22
120120 rican descent in the United States; 23
121121 (E) the role of Northern complicity in the 24
122122 Southern-based institution of slavery; and 25
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126126 (F) the direct benefits to societal institu-1
127127 tions, public and private, including higher edu-2
128128 cation, corporations, and religious and 3
129129 associational entities; 4
130130 (2) recommend appropriate ways to educate the 5
131131 American public of the Commission’s findings; 6
132132 (3) recommend appropriate remedies in consid-7
133133 eration of the Commission’s findings on the matters 8
134134 described in subparagraphs (A) through (F) of para-9
135135 graph (1); and 10
136136 (4) submit to the Congress the findings of the 11
137137 study under paragraph (1), together with the rec-12
138138 ommendations under paragraphs (2) and (3). 13
139139 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT AND DUTIES. 14
140140 (a) E
141141 STABLISHMENT.—There is established the Com-15
142142 mission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for 16
143143 African Americans (hereinafter in this Act referred to as 17
144144 the ‘‘Commission’’). 18
145145 (b) D
146146 UTIES.—The Commission shall perform the fol-19
147147 lowing duties: 20
148148 (1) Identify, compile, and synthesize the rel-21
149149 evant corpus of evidentiary documentation of the in-22
150150 stitution of slavery which existed from 1565 in colo-23
151151 nial Florida, and from 1619 within the other colo-24
152152 nies that became the United States, through 1865. 25
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156156 The Commission’s documentation and examination 1
157157 under this paragraph shall include the facts related 2
158158 to— 3
159159 (A) the capture and procurement of Afri-4
160160 cans; 5
161161 (B) the transport of Africans to the United 6
162162 States and the colonies that became the United 7
163163 States for the purpose of enslavement, including 8
164164 their treatment during transport; 9
165165 (C) the sale and acquisition of Africans as 10
166166 chattel property in interstate and intrastate 11
167167 commerce; 12
168168 (D) the treatment of African slaves in the 13
169169 colonies and the United States, including the 14
170170 deprivation of their freedom, exploitation of 15
171171 their labor, and destruction of their culture, 16
172172 language, religion, and families; 17
173173 (E) the extensive denial of humanity, sex-18
174174 ual abuse, and the chatellization of persons; 19
175175 (F) the role the Federal Government and 20
176176 State governments played in supporting the in-21
177177 stitution of slavery including through constitu-22
178178 tional and statutory provisions, including the 23
179179 extent to which the Federal Government and 24
180180 State governments prevented, opposed, or re-25
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184184 stricted efforts of formerly enslaved Africans 1
185185 and their descendants to repatriate to their 2
186186 homeland; and 3
187187 (G) the Federal and State laws that dis-4
188188 criminated against formerly enslaved Africans 5
189189 and their descendants who were determined 6
190190 United States citizens from 1868 to the 7
191191 present. 8
192192 (2) Identify the other forms of discrimination in 9
193193 the public and private sectors against freed African 10
194194 slaves and their descendants who were determined 11
195195 United States citizens from 1868 to the present, in-12
196196 cluding redlining, educational funding discrepancies, 13
197197 and predatory financial practices. 14
198198 (3) Identify the lingering negative effects of the 15
199199 institution of slavery and the matters described in 16
200200 subparagraphs (A) through (F) of section 2(b)(1) 17
201201 and paragraphs (1) and (2) on living African Ameri-18
202202 cans and on society in the United States. 19
203203 (4) Recommend appropriate ways to educate 20
204204 the American public of the Commission’s findings on 21
205205 the matters described in subparagraphs (A) through 22
206206 (F) of section 2(b)(1) and paragraphs (1), (2), and 23
207207 (3). 24
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211211 (5) Recommend appropriate remedies in consid-1
212212 eration of the Commission’s findings on the matters 2
213213 described in subparagraphs (A) through (F) of sec-3
214214 tion 2(b)(1) and paragraphs (1), (2), and (3). In 4
215215 making such recommendations, the Commission 5
216216 shall address, among other issues, the following 6
217217 questions: 7
218218 (A) How such recommendations comport 8
219219 with international standards of remedy for 9
220220 wrongs and injuries caused by the governments 10
221221 of foreign countries, that include full repara-11
222222 tions and special measures, as understood by 12
223223 various relevant international protocols, laws, 13
224224 and findings. 14
225225 (B) How the Federal Government will 15
226226 offer a formal apology on behalf of the people 16
227227 of the United States for the perpetration of 17
228228 gross human rights violations and crimes 18
229229 against humanity on African slaves and their 19
230230 descendants. 20
231231 (C) How Federal laws and policies that 21
232232 continue to disproportionately and negatively 22
233233 affect African Americans as a group, and those 23
234234 that perpetuate the lingering effects, materially 24
235235 and psycho-social, can be eliminated. 25
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239239 (D) How the injuries resulting from the 1
240240 matters described in subparagraphs (A) 2
241241 through (F) of section 2(b)(1) and paragraphs 3
242242 (1), (2), and (3) can be reversed and provide 4
243243 appropriate policies, programs, projects and 5
244244 recommendations for the purpose of reversing 6
245245 the injuries. 7
246246 (E) How, in consideration of the Commis-8
247247 sion’s findings, any form of compensation to the 9
248248 descendants of enslaved Africans is calculated. 10
249249 (F) What form of compensation should be 11
250250 awarded, through what instrumentalities should 12
251251 such compensation be awarded, and who should 13
252252 be eligible for such compensation. 14
253253 (G) Whether, in consideration of the Com-15
254254 mission’s findings, any other measures of reha-16
255255 bilitation or restitution to African descendants 17
256256 is warranted and what the form and scope of 18
257257 those measures should take. 19
258258 (c) R
259259 EPORT TOCONGRESS.—The Commission shall 20
260260 submit a written report of its findings and recommenda-21
261261 tions to the Congress not later than the date that is one 22
262262 year after the date of the first meeting of the Commission 23
263263 held pursuant to section 4(c). 24
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267267 SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP. 1
268268 (a) N
269269 UMBER ANDAPPOINTMENTS.— 2
270270 (1) I
271271 N GENERAL.—The Commission shall be 3
272272 composed of 13 members, who shall be appointed 4
273273 within 90 days after the date of enactment of this 5
274274 Act, as follows: 6
275275 (A) Three members shall be appointed by 7
276276 the President. 8
277277 (B) Three members shall be appointed by 9
278278 the Speaker of the House of Representatives. 10
279279 (C) One member shall be appointed by the 11
280280 President pro tempore of the Senate. 12
281281 (D) Six members shall be selected from the 13
282282 major civil society and reparations organiza-14
283283 tions that have historically championed the 15
284284 cause of reparatory justice. 16
285285 (2) Q
286286 UALIFICATIONS.—All members of the 17
287287 Commission shall be persons who are especially 18
288288 qualified to serve on the Commission by virtue of 19
289289 their education, training, activism, or experience, 20
290290 particularly such education, training, activism, or ex-21
291291 perience in the field of African-American studies and 22
292292 reparatory justice. 23
293293 (b) T
294294 ERMS.—The term of office for members shall 24
295295 be for the life of the Commission. A vacancy in the Com-25
296296 mission shall not affect the powers of the Commission and 26
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300300 shall be filled in the same manner in which the original 1
301301 appointment was made. 2
302302 (c) F
303303 IRSTMEETING.—The President shall call the 3
304304 first meeting of the Commission within 120 days after the 4
305305 date of enactment of this Act or within 30 days after the 5
306306 date on which legislation is enacted making appropriations 6
307307 to carry out this Act, whichever date is later. 7
308308 (d) Q
309309 UORUM.—Seven members of the Commission 8
310310 shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number may hold 9
311311 hearings. 10
312312 (e) C
313313 HAIR ANDVICECHAIR.—The Commission shall 11
314314 elect a Chair and Vice Chair from among its members. 12
315315 The term of office of each shall be for the life of the Com-13
316316 mission. 14
317317 (f) C
318318 OMPENSATION.— 15
319319 (1) I
320320 N GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-16
321321 graph (2), each member of the Commission shall be 17
322322 compensated at a rate not to exceed the daily equiv-18
323323 alent of the annual rate of basic pay in effect for a 19
324324 position at level IV of the Executive Schedule under 20
325325 section 5315 of title 5, United States Code, for each 21
326326 day, including travel time, during which that mem-22
327327 ber is engaged in the actual performance of the du-23
328328 ties of the Commission. 24
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332332 (2) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES .—A member of the 1
333333 Commission who is a full-time officer or employee of 2
334334 the United States or a Member of Congress shall re-3
335335 ceive no additional pay, allowances, or benefits by 4
336336 reason of the service of the member to the Commis-5
337337 sion. 6
338338 (3) T
339339 RAVEL, SUBSISTENCE, AND OTHER EX -7
340340 PENSES.—All members of the Commission shall be 8
341341 reimbursed for travel, subsistence, and other nec-9
342342 essary expenses incurred in the performance of their 10
343343 duties to the extent authorized by chapter 57 of title 11
344344 5, United States Code. 12
345345 SEC. 5. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION. 13
346346 (a) H
347347 EARINGS AND SESSIONS.—The Commission 14
348348 may, for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this 15
349349 Act, hold such hearings and sit and act at such times and 16
350350 at such places in the United States, and request the at-17
351351 tendance and testimony of such witnesses and the produc-18
352352 tion of such books, records, correspondence, memoranda, 19
353353 papers, and documents, as the Commission considers ap-20
354354 propriate. The Commission may invoke the aid of an ap-21
355355 propriate United States district court to require, by sub-22
356356 poena or otherwise, such attendance, testimony, or pro-23
357357 duction. 24
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361361 (b) POWERS OFSUBCOMMITTEES AND MEMBERS.— 1
362362 Any subcommittee or member of the Commission may, if 2
363363 authorized by the Commission, take any action which the 3
364364 Commission is authorized to take by this section. 4
365365 (c) O
366366 BTAININGOFFICIALDATA.—The Commission 5
367367 may acquire directly from the head of any department, 6
368368 agency, or instrumentality of the executive branch of the 7
369369 Federal Government, available information which the 8
370370 Commission considers useful in the discharge of its duties. 9
371371 All departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the ex-10
372372 ecutive branch of the Federal Government shall cooperate 11
373373 with the Commission with respect to such information and 12
374374 shall furnish all information requested by the Commission 13
375375 to the extent permitted by law. 14
376376 SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS. 15
377377 (a) S
378378 TAFF.—The Commission may, subject to sub-16
379379 section (b), appoint and fix the compensation of such per-17
380380 sonnel as the Commission considers appropriate. 18
381381 (b) A
382382 PPLICABILITY OF CERTAINCIVILSERVICE 19
383383 L
384384 AWS.—The personnel of the Commission may be ap-20
385385 pointed without regard to the provisions of title 5, United 21
386386 States Code, governing appointments in the competitive 22
387387 service, and without regard to the provisions of chapter 23
388388 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title relating 24
389389 to classification and General Schedule pay rates, except 25
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393393 that the rate of compensation of any personnel of the 1
394394 Commission may not exceed the daily equivalent of the 2
395395 annual rate of basic pay in effect for a position at level 3
396396 IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 4
397397 5, United States Code. 5
398398 (c) E
399399 XPERTS ANDCONSULTANTS.—The Commission 6
400400 may procure the services of experts and consultants in ac-7
401401 cordance with the provisions of section 3109(b) of title 5, 8
402402 United States Code, but at rates for individuals not to 9
403403 exceed the daily equivalent of the highest rate payable 10
404404 under section 5332 of such title. 11
405405 (d) A
406406 DMINISTRATIVE SUPPORTSERVICES.—The 12
407407 Commission may enter into agreements with the Adminis-13
408408 trator of General Services for procurement of financial 14
409409 and administrative services necessary for the discharge of 15
410410 the duties of the Commission. Payment for such services 16
411411 shall be made by reimbursement from funds of the Com-17
412412 mission in such amounts as may be agreed upon by the 18
413413 Chair of the Commission and the Administrator. 19
414414 (e) C
415415 ONTRACTS.—The Commission may— 20
416416 (1) procure supplies, services, and property by 21
417417 contract in accordance with applicable laws and reg-22
418418 ulations and to the extent or in such amounts as are 23
419419 provided in appropriations Acts; and 24
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423423 (2) enter into contracts with departments, 1
424424 agencies, and instrumentalities of the Federal Gov-2
425425 ernment, State agencies, and private firms, institu-3
426426 tions, and agencies, for the conduct of research or 4
427427 surveys, the preparation of reports, and other activi-5
428428 ties necessary for the discharge of the duties of the 6
429429 Commission, to the extent or in such amounts as are 7
430430 provided in appropriations Acts. 8
431431 SEC. 7. TERMINATION. 9
432432 The Commission shall terminate 90 days after the 10
433433 date on which the Commission submits its report to the 11
434434 Congress under section 3(c). 12
435435 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 13
436436 To carry out the provisions of this Act, there are au-14
437437 thorized to be appropriated $12,000,000. 15
438438 Æ
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