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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

117th Congress · introduced 2021-01-04 · Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues · Latest: Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 25 - 17.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2021-01-04 · 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: Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 25 - 17. 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. 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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Arguments against (opponents)

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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] · 196 cosponsors

Cost estimate: CBO cost estimate: H.R. 40, Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act (2021-05-18)

Cosponsors on this site

Stacey E. Plaskett (D-VI), Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Kathy Castor (D-FL), Ro Khanna (D-CA), Joyce Beatty (D-OH), Donald Norcross (D-NJ), Grace Meng (D-NY), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Peter Welch (D-VT), Lori Trahan (D-MA), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY), Hakeem S. Jeffries (D-NY), Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (D-GA), Diana DeGette (D-CO), Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Al Green (D-TX), Gwen Moore (D-WI), Debbie Dingell (D-MI), Alma S. Adams (D-NC), Nikema Williams (D-GA), Donald S. Beyer, Jr. (D-VA), Katherine M. Clark (D-MA), Jason Crow (D-CO), Thomas R. Suozzi (D-NY), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), James P. McGovern (D-MA), Suzan K. DelBene (D-WA), Stephen F. Lynch (D-MA), William R. Keating (D-MA), Joe Neguse (D-CO), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Dwight Evans (D-PA), Betty McCollum (D-MN), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Gregory W. Meeks (D-NY), Marilyn Strickland (D-WA), Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA), Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Joseph D. Morelle (D-NY), Frederica S. Wilson (D-FL) and 136 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-cong117-hr40 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong117 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong117