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H.R. 40: Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act

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H.R. 40: Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act

116th Congress · introduced 2019-01-03 · Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues · Latest: Subcommittee Hearings Held.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2019-01-03 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Rep. Jackson Lee, Sheila [D-TX-18] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
  4. Where it stands now: Subcommittee Hearings Held. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
  5. If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act

Plain summary

Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act This bill establishes the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-Americans. The commission shall examine slavery and discrimination in the colonies and the United States from 1619 to the present and recommend appropriate remedies. Among other requirements, the commission shall identify (1) the role of the federal and state governments in supporting the institution of slavery, (2) forms of discrimination in the public and private sectors against freed slaves and their descendants, and (3) lingering negative effects of slavery on living African-Americans and society.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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The strongest published arguments

Arguments for (supporters)

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Jackson Lee, Sheila [D-TX-18] · 173 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Steve Cohen (D-TN), Ro Khanna (D-CA), Gregory W. Meeks (D-NY), Gwen Moore (D-WI), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. (D-GA), Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY), Joyce Beatty (D-OH), Janice D. Schakowsky (D-IL), Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Al Green (D-TX), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Danny K. Davis (D-IL), Dwight Evans (D-PA), Frederica S. Wilson (D-FL), Adam Smith (D-WA), Terri A. Sewell (D-AL), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), James E. Clyburn (D-SC), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), André Carson (D-IN), Alma S. Adams (D-NC), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), Sean Casten (D-IL), Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Maxine Waters (D-CA), Hakeem S. Jeffries (D-NY), Sylvia R. Garcia (D-TX), Katherine M. Clark (D-MA), James P. McGovern (D-MA), Madeleine Dean (D-PA), Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-CA) and 113 more.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (2)
Appropriation
Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.
Bill
A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong116-hr40 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong116 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong116