II
119THCONGRESS
1
STSESSION S. 40
To address 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 study and consider
a national apology and proposal for reparations for the institution of
slavery, its subsequent de jure and de facto racial and economic discrimi-
nation 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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
JANUARY9, 2025
Mr. B
OOKER(for himself, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. WELCH, Mr.
K
IM, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Ms. WARREN, Mr. PADILLA, Mr. VANHOLLEN,
Mr. S
CHIFF, Mr. WARNOCK, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. SANDERS, Ms. HIRONO,
Ms. S
MITH, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, and Mr. MERKLEY) intro-
duced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Com-
mittee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To address the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and
inhumanity of slavery in the United States and the 13
American colonies between 1619 and 1865 and to estab-
lish a commission to study and consider a national apol-
ogy and proposal for reparations for the institution of
slavery, its subsequent de jure and de facto racial and
economic discrimination against African Americans, and
the impact of these forces on living African Americans,
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to make recommendations to the Congress on appro-
priate remedies, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Commission to Study 4
and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans 5
Act’’. 6
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 7
(a) F
INDINGS.—The Congress finds that— 8
(1) approximately 4,000,000 Africans and their 9
descendants were enslaved in the United States and 10
colonies that became the United States from 1619 to 11
1865; 12
(2) the institution of slavery was constitu-13
tionally and statutorily sanctioned by the Govern-14
ment of the United States from 1789 through 1865; 15
(3) the slavery that flourished in the United 16
States constituted an immoral and inhumane depri-17
vation of Africans’ life, liberty, African citizenship 18
rights, and cultural heritage, and denied them the 19
fruits of their own labor; 20
(4) a preponderance of scholarly, legal, commu-21
nity evidentiary documentation and popular culture 22
markers constitute the basis for inquiry into the on- 23
going effects of the institution of slavery and its leg-24
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acy of persistent systemic structures of discrimina-1
tion on living African Americans and society in the 2
United States; 3
(5) following the abolition of slavery, govern-4
ments at the Federal, State, and local levels contin-5
ued to perpetuate, condone, and often profit from 6
practices that continued to brutalize and disadvan-7
tage African Americans, including share cropping, 8
convict leasing, Jim Crow, redlining, unequal edu-9
cation, and disproportionate treatment at the hands 10
of the criminal justice system; and 11
(6) as a result of the historic and continued dis-12
crimination, African Americans continue to suffer 13
debilitating economic, educational, and health hard-14
ships including having more than 1,000,000 Black 15
people incarcerated or under correctional super-16
vision; an unemployment rate more than twice the 17
current White unemployment rate; and an average 18
of less than
1
⁄16of the wealth of White families, a 19
disparity which has worsened, not improved, over 20
time. 21
(b) P
URPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to estab-22
lish a commission to— 23
(1) study and develop reparation proposals for 24
African Americans as a result of— 25
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(A) the institution of slavery, including 1
both the Trans-Atlantic and the domestic 2
‘‘trade’’ which existed from 1565 in colonial 3
Florida, and from 1619 within the other colo-4
nies that became the United States, through 5
1865, and which included the Federal and 6
State governments which constitutionally and 7
statutorily supported the institution of slavery; 8
(B) the de jure and de facto discrimination 9
against freed slaves and their descendants from 10
the end of the Civil War to the present, includ-11
ing economic, political, educational, and social 12
discrimination; 13
(C) the lingering negative effects of the in-14
stitution of slavery and the discrimination de-15
scribed in subparagraphs (A) and (B) on living 16
African Americans and on society in the United 17
States; 18
(D) the manner in which textual and dig-19
ital instructional resources and technologies are 20
being used to deny the inhumanity of slavery 21
and the crime against humanity of people of Af-22
rican descent in the United States; 23
(E) the role of Northern complicity in the 24
Southern-based institution of slavery; and 25
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(F) the direct benefits to societal institu-1
tions, public and private, including higher edu-2
cation, corporations, and religious and 3
associational entities; 4
(2) recommend appropriate ways to educate the 5
American public of the Commission’s findings; 6
(3) recommend appropriate remedies in consid-7
eration of the Commission’s findings on the matters 8
described in subparagraphs (A) through (F) of para-9
graph (1); and 10
(4) submit to the Congress the findings of the 11
study under paragraph (1), together with the rec-12
ommendations under paragraphs (2) and (3). 13
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT AND DUTIES. 14
(a) E
STABLISHMENT.—There is established the Com-15
mission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for 16
African Americans (hereinafter in this Act referred to as 17
the ‘‘Commission’’). 18
(b) D
UTIES.—The Commission shall perform the fol-19
lowing duties: 20
(1) Identify, compile, and synthesize the rel-21
evant corpus of evidentiary documentation of the in-22
stitution of slavery which existed from 1565 in colo-23
nial Florida, and from 1619 within the other colo-24
nies that became the United States, through 1865. 25
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The Commission’s documentation and examination 1
under this paragraph shall include the facts related 2
to— 3
(A) the capture and procurement of Afri-4
cans; 5
(B) the transport of Africans to the United 6
States and the colonies that became the United 7
States for the purpose of enslavement, including 8
their treatment during transport; 9
(C) the sale and acquisition of Africans as 10
chattel property in interstate and intrastate 11
commerce; 12
(D) the treatment of African slaves in the 13
colonies and the United States, including the 14
deprivation of their freedom, exploitation of 15
their labor, and destruction of their culture, 16
language, religion, and families; 17
(E) the extensive denial of humanity, sex-18
ual abuse, and the chatellization of persons; 19
(F) the role the Federal Government and 20
State governments played in supporting the in-21
stitution of slavery including through constitu-22
tional and statutory provisions, including the 23
extent to which the Federal Government and 24
State governments prevented, opposed, or re-25
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stricted efforts of formerly enslaved Africans 1
and their descendants to repatriate to their 2
homeland; and 3
(G) the Federal and State laws that dis-4
criminated against formerly enslaved Africans 5
and their descendants who were determined 6
United States citizens from 1868 to the 7
present. 8
(2) Identify the other forms of discrimination in 9
the public and private sectors against freed African 10
slaves and their descendants who were determined 11
United States citizens from 1868 to the present, in-12
cluding redlining, educational funding discrepancies, 13
and predatory financial practices. 14
(3) Identify the lingering negative effects of the 15
institution of slavery and the matters described in 16
subparagraphs (A) through (F) of section 2(b)(1) 17
and paragraphs (1) and (2) on living African Ameri-18
cans and on society in the United States. 19
(4) Recommend appropriate ways to educate 20
the American public of the Commission’s findings on 21
the matters described in subparagraphs (A) through 22
(F) of section 2(b)(1) and paragraphs (1), (2), and 23
(3). 24
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(5) Recommend appropriate remedies in consid-1
eration of the Commission’s findings on the matters 2
described in subparagraphs (A) through (F) of sec-3
tion 2(b)(1) and paragraphs (1), (2), and (3). In 4
making such recommendations, the Commission 5
shall address, among other issues, the following 6
questions: 7
(A) How such recommendations comport 8
with international standards of remedy for 9
wrongs and injuries caused by the governments 10
of foreign countries, that include full repara-11
tions and special measures, as understood by 12
various relevant international protocols, laws, 13
and findings. 14
(B) How the Federal Government will 15
offer a formal apology on behalf of the people 16
of the United States for the perpetration of 17
gross human rights violations and crimes 18
against humanity on African slaves and their 19
descendants. 20
(C) How Federal laws and policies that 21
continue to disproportionately and negatively 22
affect African Americans as a group, and those 23
that perpetuate the lingering effects, materially 24
and psycho-social, can be eliminated. 25
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(D) How the injuries resulting from the 1
matters described in subparagraphs (A) 2
through (F) of section 2(b)(1) and paragraphs 3
(1), (2), and (3) can be reversed and provide 4
appropriate policies, programs, projects and 5
recommendations for the purpose of reversing 6
the injuries. 7
(E) How, in consideration of the Commis-8
sion’s findings, any form of compensation to the 9
descendants of enslaved Africans is calculated. 10
(F) What form of compensation should be 11
awarded, through what instrumentalities should 12
such compensation be awarded, and who should 13
be eligible for such compensation. 14
(G) Whether, in consideration of the Com-15
mission’s findings, any other measures of reha-16
bilitation or restitution to African descendants 17
is warranted and what the form and scope of 18
those measures should take. 19
(c) R
EPORT TOCONGRESS.—The Commission shall 20
submit a written report of its findings and recommenda-21
tions to the Congress not later than the date that is one 22
year after the date of the first meeting of the Commission 23
held pursuant to section 4(c). 24
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SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP. 1
(a) N
UMBER ANDAPPOINTMENTS.— 2
(1) I
N GENERAL.—The Commission shall be 3
composed of 13 members, who shall be appointed 4
within 90 days after the date of enactment of this 5
Act, as follows: 6
(A) Three members shall be appointed by 7
the President. 8
(B) Three members shall be appointed by 9
the Speaker of the House of Representatives. 10
(C) One member shall be appointed by the 11
President pro tempore of the Senate. 12
(D) Six members shall be selected from the 13
major civil society and reparations organiza-14
tions that have historically championed the 15
cause of reparatory justice. 16
(2) Q
UALIFICATIONS.—All members of the 17
Commission shall be persons who are especially 18
qualified to serve on the Commission by virtue of 19
their education, training, activism, or experience, 20
particularly such education, training, activism, or ex-21
perience in the field of African-American studies and 22
reparatory justice. 23
(b) T
ERMS.—The term of office for members shall 24
be for the life of the Commission. A vacancy in the Com-25
mission shall not affect the powers of the Commission and 26
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shall be filled in the same manner in which the original 1
appointment was made. 2
(c) F
IRSTMEETING.—The President shall call the 3
first meeting of the Commission within 120 days after the 4
date of enactment of this Act or within 30 days after the 5
date on which legislation is enacted making appropriations 6
to carry out this Act, whichever date is later. 7
(d) Q
UORUM.—Seven members of the Commission 8
shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number may hold 9
hearings. 10
(e) C
HAIR ANDVICECHAIR.—The Commission shall 11
elect a Chair and Vice Chair from among its members. 12
The term of office of each shall be for the life of the Com-13
mission. 14
(f) C
OMPENSATION.— 15
(1) I
N GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-16
graph (2), each member of the Commission shall be 17
compensated at a rate not to exceed the daily equiv-18
alent of the annual rate of basic pay in effect for a 19
position at level IV of the Executive Schedule under 20
section 5315 of title 5, United States Code, for each 21
day, including travel time, during which that mem-22
ber is engaged in the actual performance of the du-23
ties of the Commission. 24
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(2) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES .—A member of the 1
Commission who is a full-time officer or employee of 2
the United States or a Member of Congress shall re-3
ceive no additional pay, allowances, or benefits by 4
reason of the service of the member to the Commis-5
sion. 6
(3) T
RAVEL, SUBSISTENCE, AND OTHER EX -7
PENSES.—All members of the Commission shall be 8
reimbursed for travel, subsistence, and other nec-9
essary expenses incurred in the performance of their 10
duties to the extent authorized by chapter 57 of title 11
5, United States Code. 12
SEC. 5. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION. 13
(a) H
EARINGS AND SESSIONS.—The Commission 14
may, for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this 15
Act, hold such hearings and sit and act at such times and 16
at such places in the United States, and request the at-17
tendance and testimony of such witnesses and the produc-18
tion of such books, records, correspondence, memoranda, 19
papers, and documents, as the Commission considers ap-20
propriate. The Commission may invoke the aid of an ap-21
propriate United States district court to require, by sub-22
poena or otherwise, such attendance, testimony, or pro-23
duction. 24
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(b) POWERS OFSUBCOMMITTEES AND MEMBERS.— 1
Any subcommittee or member of the Commission may, if 2
authorized by the Commission, take any action which the 3
Commission is authorized to take by this section. 4
(c) O
BTAININGOFFICIALDATA.—The Commission 5
may acquire directly from the head of any department, 6
agency, or instrumentality of the executive branch of the 7
Federal Government, available information which the 8
Commission considers useful in the discharge of its duties. 9
All departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the ex-10
ecutive branch of the Federal Government shall cooperate 11
with the Commission with respect to such information and 12
shall furnish all information requested by the Commission 13
to the extent permitted by law. 14
SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS. 15
(a) S
TAFF.—The Commission may, subject to sub-16
section (b), appoint and fix the compensation of such per-17
sonnel as the Commission considers appropriate. 18
(b) A
PPLICABILITY OF CERTAINCIVILSERVICE 19
L
AWS.—The personnel of the Commission may be ap-20
pointed without regard to the provisions of title 5, United 21
States Code, governing appointments in the competitive 22
service, and without regard to the provisions of chapter 23
51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title relating 24
to classification and General Schedule pay rates, except 25
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that the rate of compensation of any personnel of the 1
Commission may not exceed the daily equivalent of the 2
annual rate of basic pay in effect for a position at level 3
IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 4
5, United States Code. 5
(c) E
XPERTS ANDCONSULTANTS.—The Commission 6
may procure the services of experts and consultants in ac-7
cordance with the provisions of section 3109(b) of title 5, 8
United States Code, but at rates for individuals not to 9
exceed the daily equivalent of the highest rate payable 10
under section 5332 of such title. 11
(d) A
DMINISTRATIVE SUPPORTSERVICES.—The 12
Commission may enter into agreements with the Adminis-13
trator of General Services for procurement of financial 14
and administrative services necessary for the discharge of 15
the duties of the Commission. Payment for such services 16
shall be made by reimbursement from funds of the Com-17
mission in such amounts as may be agreed upon by the 18
Chair of the Commission and the Administrator. 19
(e) C
ONTRACTS.—The Commission may— 20
(1) procure supplies, services, and property by 21
contract in accordance with applicable laws and reg-22
ulations and to the extent or in such amounts as are 23
provided in appropriations Acts; and 24
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(2) enter into contracts with departments, 1
agencies, and instrumentalities of the Federal Gov-2
ernment, State agencies, and private firms, institu-3
tions, and agencies, for the conduct of research or 4
surveys, the preparation of reports, and other activi-5
ties necessary for the discharge of the duties of the 6
Commission, to the extent or in such amounts as are 7
provided in appropriations Acts. 8
SEC. 7. TERMINATION. 9
The Commission shall terminate 90 days after the 10
date on which the Commission submits its report to the 11
Congress under section 3(c). 12
SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 13
To carry out the provisions of this Act, there are au-14
thorized to be appropriated $12,000,000. 15
Æ
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